Overview

Frans Gunnar Bengtsson’s The Long Ships resurrects the fantastic world of the tenth century AD when the Vikings roamed and rampaged from the northern fastnesses of Scandinavia down to the Mediterranean. Bengtsson’s hero, Red Orm—canny, courageous, and above all lucky—is only a boy when he is abducted from his Danish home by the Vikings and made to take this place at the oars of their dragon-prowed ships. Orm is then captured by the Moors in Spain, where he is initiated into the pleasures of the senses and fights ...
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The Long Ships

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Overview

Frans Gunnar Bengtsson’s The Long Ships resurrects the fantastic world of the tenth century AD when the Vikings roamed and rampaged from the northern fastnesses of Scandinavia down to the Mediterranean. Bengtsson’s hero, Red Orm—canny, courageous, and above all lucky—is only a boy when he is abducted from his Danish home by the Vikings and made to take this place at the oars of their dragon-prowed ships. Orm is then captured by the Moors in Spain, where he is initiated into the pleasures of the senses and fights for the Caliph of Cordova. Escaping from captivity, Orm washes up in Ireland, where he marvels at those epicene creatures, the Christian monks, and from which he then moves on to play an ever more important part in the intrigues of the various Scandinavian kings and clans and dependencies. Eventually, Orm contributes to the Viking defeat of the army of the king of England and returns home an off-the-cuff Christian and a very rich man, though back on his native turf new trials and tribulations will test his cunning and determination. Packed with pitched battles and blood feuds and told throughout with wit and high spirits, Bengtsson’s book is a splendid adventure that features one of the most unexpectedly winning heroes in modern fiction.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781590174166
  • Publisher: New York Review Books
  • Publication date: 12/15/2010
  • Series: New York Review Books Classics Series
  • Sold by: Barnes & Noble
  • Format: eBook
  • Pages: 528
  • Sales rank: 61,095
  • File size: 2 MB

Meet the Author

Frans G. Bengtsson (1894–1954) was born and raised in the southern Swedish province of Skåne, the son of an estate manager. His early writings, including a doctoral thesis on Geoffrey Chaucer and two volumes of poetry written in what were considered antiquated verse forms, revealed a career-long interest in historical literary modes and themes. Bengtsson was a prolific translator (of Paradise Lost, The Song of Roland, and Walden), essayist (he published five collections of his writings, mostly on literary and military topics), and biographer (his two-volume biography of Charles XII won the Swedish Academy’s annual prize in 1938). In 1941 he published Roede Orm, sjoefarare i vaesterled (Red Orm at Home and on the Western Way), followed, in 1945, by Roede Orm, hemma i oesterled (Red Orm at Home and on the Eastern Way). The two books were published in a single volume in the United States and England in 1955 as The Long Ships. During the Second World War, Bengtsson was outspoken in his opposition to the Nazis, refusing to allow for a Norwegian translation of The Long Ships while the country was still under German occupation. He died in 1954 after a long illness.

Michael Meyer (1921–2000) was a translator, novelist, biographer, and playwright, best known for his translations of the works of Ibsen and Strindberg. His biography of Ibsen won the Whitbread Prize for Biography in 1971.

Michael Chabon is the author of ten books, including The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, The Wonder Boys, The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Klay, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, and Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son. He lives in Berkeley, California.
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 20 )
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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 17, 2010

    Finally, a new edition.

    This is truly my favorite book of all time, and I am looking forward to reading it again. Unfortunately I loaned my tattered old copy to a "friend" fifteen years ago and that was the last I ever saw of it. Orm is a character like no other in modern fiction, and I hope Chabon makes note of that in his introduction. I have tried many times over the years to explain to people why I love this book so much, but it seems to escape me. Even now I am torn about writing this review: should I share this great book with you or is it something that is so personal that it is beyond words? This book is a rare treasure in 20th century publishing; buy it and read it, again and again!

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted August 3, 2010

    A superior book

    I first read The Long Ships 20 years ago, after it was recommended by a European friend of mine. It was largely unavailable, and I ended up having to order it from England. It is an epic tale of a young viking boy grown up to a man, told in a humorous, delightful, and remarkable fashion. It is simply one of the finest pieces of literature ever produced.

    I have an extensive library, yet this is the ONLY book that I reserve a special tradition for. I read it every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas, as a treat to myself. I am very happy that it is in publication again, so that a broader audience may finally access this masterpiece.

    Now if they'd only make it for the Nook so that I can keep my rare copies from becoming even more tattered!

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 23, 2009

    The GREATEST book you never heard of!

    I was given a copy in English translation (originally Swedish) by my Swedish grandfather for my 12th birthday. Like Treasure Island, it is as enjoyable now as it was those 25 years ago - and not because it has revealed new meaning or taken on a greater metaphorical significance as I approach it now from a more sophisticated perspective. Just the opposite in fact. It is a monolithic piece of writing which tells THE tale of viking adventure with a type of patient intensity that is seldom chosen by modern writers. Part saga, part thriller, the story will seem familiar. Not because it plays to stereotypes or because it is the progenitor of a Hollywood viking archetype, but because it communes on an almost primal level with the yearning for adventure and discovery in all of us. Can I recommend it? I would actually go as far as to say that any reader is somehow incomplete without it. It really may be the greatest book you have never heard of.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted September 16, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    What a great read! Like Silverlock or The Hobbit...

    I bought this upon recommendation by one of B&N critics and what a page turner it was. Bengtsson describes a fantastic yet matter-of-fact world of murderers, thieves, rapists, and slavers, AKA the Vikings, where such people are those who prosper and strangely enough it seems like the natural order of things. I am not quite how to best say this, but the characters in the story weren't 20th or 21st century American minds in the bodies of characters living a 1,000 years ago, but rather those people translated for me. Wonderful workmanship.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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