Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

In a recent post I talked about the “100 Books with Dante” method of tackling daunting classics by reading short chunks each day with a knowledgeable tutor to guide you through. There is nothing wrong with using training wheels to get through a classic for the first time.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of those stories that I knew I should read, but didn’t think I could because of the 14th Century Middle English. I noticed that Grace Hamman had covered the book on her podcast, “Old Books with Grace," and decided to read along with her, which was a great way to work my way through the book. I found a simplified (but not dumbed-down) kindle version by Marie Borroff (1923-2019, Lit professor from Yale) for 55 cents. I listened first to Grace’s half-hour introduction to each chapter, and then read the chapter. Hamman’s rich commentary and Borroff’s lovely translation made it a delight.   

The story takes place at Christmastime in the court of King Arthur. While he and his men are feasting, a huge green knight appears and challenges them to a "Christmas game" of chopping off each other's heads. If Arthur is unsuccessful, he must come to the green knight “in a year and a day” to have his own head cut off. King Arthur’s nephew, Sir Gawain, begs to take the king’s place in the match. The rest of the poem recounts his adventures.

I enjoyed this book so much that I bought the Simon Armitage version on Audible (the version Hamman used on her podcast) and look forward to re-visiting it in the future. 

Has anyone else tried to read this? Any thoughts?

Blessings,

Latest Audible Haul

I thought I had all the Audible titles I could possibly want, but once again, they drew me in with the promise of "3 months for 99 cents". I had been wanting to get my hands on Jan Karon's latest Mitford novel, My Beloved, so I jumped at the chance of getting it for 33 cents. ($15 at Amazon). My second credit was spent on a Great Course offering from one of my favorite lecturers (Great Authors of the Western Literary Tradition - 84 lectures by Elizabeth Vandiver!). My third book was Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth. So far so good. 

When I discovered that almost all of Wendell Berry's books were on sale for 2 to 3 dollars, I bought eight of them, including his most recent novel (and possibly his last), "Marce Catlett." ($14 on Amazon)

I almost squeezed by without shelling out more money, but then I saw a few more Great Courses for sale done by Vandiver. Ha! 

You know how Sam's Club sells cheap rotisserie chicken at the back of the store so that you'll spend a lot more than you planned before you leave? Audible is no different. They offered me three almost free books and then deluged me for months with other books that were on sale. I'm not sorry for anything I bought, but am glad the temptation to give into book fever has finally ended. (Because somehow I resisted their offer of three more months for half price!)

Do you use Audible? Have you found any particularly good recordings of favorite books? 

Blessings,