The Sagas and Shit: Icelandic Literature Crudely Abridged

by Grayson Del Faro, Elín Elísabet Einarsdóttir (Illustrator)

The sagas may seem old and boring af but the real talk is that they also have assloads of the same sex, violence, comedy, and timeless lessons that fill our brains and TV screens today.

This book retells the most famous masterpieces of Icelandic literature alongside some of the weird¬est, most fucked-up sagas and skips straight to the good shit.

Loaded with vulgarity, slang, and pop culture, this modern take on the sagas will either have you shaking with laughter or shaking your head in dis¬taste. Or both, whatever.

Illustrated by Elín Elísabet Einarsdóttir.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mythology, Humor, Folklore, Classics, Anthologies, History

160 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2019

Reviews

[Isaac Montgomery · Rating 2 out of 5]

Arguably the only funny part is that I'm reading this in the house of my aunt who is a professor of medieval literature. She's literally read all of these stories. So I would read her snippets like "the story begins with a Russian princess named Ingigerdur. This damsel finds herself knee-deep in a fresh, steaming pile of distress when the king Eiríkur of the violent, evil, troll-like sea people (more specifically identified as the Swedish) kills her father and takes over the kingdom." She would just sigh and roll her eyes.

[Kevin Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having just visited Iceland in March I wanted to pick up a book to bring home. The first choice was an anthology of The Sagas, but upon lifting it it was apparent that my already crammed luggage was not going to allow it. Plus, some locals I met were happy to inform me that the sagas can be very long and very dry. So perhaps something a bit lighter was in order.

Decision made! I opted for this brief read and am glad I did. It was one of the funniest books I have read, and the author has clearly done his homework to put this together. The illustrations complemented the text well and I finished it thinking that if I were to want to read one of the original sagas in the future, this would be a good starting point to choose one. And I have.

If you can find this book it is well worth the 2,890 kr.

[Wildfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a fun little book but the sagas are summarized really short. I would mostly recommend this to find out if there are sagas you want to read. Or have a giggle if you know certain sagas well and like the way they are described in this book.

[Valgerdur Benediktsdottir · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the funniest books I've read!

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

If more historical stories were written like this, I'd read a LOT more of them! 😂 I learned a lot, and I laughed a lot it deserves all the 🌟's!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining! 🤩

[Psylocke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Icelandic sagas tell the stories of Iceland in the old days, myths and folklore. To read sagas you get a glimpse of the background of the Icelandics. The sagas are extremely long and portray extended familylines in great detail. They sound a huge ordeal.

On my trip to Iceland I stumbled onto "The Sagas and shit" and found the solution to get to know something about sagas and in a fun way.

I laughed all the time reading this. On a plane and a train I was certain, that people considered me being little cuckoo listening the sound effects I made reading this.

Want to know something about sagas without readind hundreds and hundreds of pages involving very many people...this is the solution.

[Rissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so I bought this book in Iceland based on the cashier's recommendation and I am so glad that I did. I loved:

1. It was actually very funny and I definitely enjoyed the humor to be found in this book. The author made each story amusing in its own way. I was never bored while reading this book.

2. I loved how this was still educational and I felt like I had read a quick wrap of each saga. And the author actually has a degree so they know what they're talking about.

Overall, a short entertaining book that covers many Icelandic sagas.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

While in Iceland, I was searching for a book to read so that I could bring a little of Iceland home with me. I picked this hilarious book up in the gift shop while visiting Seljalandsfoss and am so glad I did. Everywhere in Iceland is the word saga and I wanted to know more. This book tells the stories in a laugh-out-loud way. You won’t regret reading it.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was absolutely hilarious and I really appreciated the truncations, but I struggled to finish it. After so many they all kind of ran together in my head. I think being better acquainted with some of the actual long-form sagas might have made this more fun to read.

[Ansgar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the cover and the design, when u read the first 2 pages with the words ,,..the word Viking is invented by proto Nazis ” continued with ,,all the sagas are boring as shit and this asshole did that and so on” u know what to expect. Why even bother writing a book when u think all of the sagas suck anyways ? I don’t understand the intention behind the author on even writing that book. It is probably a try to write a funny book about the sagas of Iceland but failed in that try. Getting a masters in old Norse (yes he did actually mentioned it 🙄), doesn’t make that book any better. it’s a writing style of a New York 4th semester Student who tryed to sound woke and overly into the game. Don’t bother buying it. Ps: The girl who did the drawings in the book did a very cool job, that’s why I give an extra star.

[Ying LU · Rating 3 out of 5]

Begins w/ 3 stars
Raise your interests in sagas more 'formally': +1 star
Cannot understand all 'joke' things and the lol-point due to my poor English, even though it seems real funny w/ many f-words: -1 star (yeah my fault but minus)
Luving comic illustrations and it feels like reading a scripts of a 3-min comic series: +.5 star
Really messing up w/ the names w/ 'Þor-','-ður' words...: -.5 star
So: 3 star
(might give 4 star if I'll read it twice w/ better English level)

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s very obviously a gimmick. But a very original one and I did enjoy it. The fast forward to the murky details of otherwise endlessly meandering sagas is a refreshing approach. Enjoyable if you take this for what it is. A satirical stance on the sagas. The cover is also very candid about it so don’t complain about being misled.

[C R · Rating 4 out of 5]

charming and definitely makes me laugh, quick and easy read. that said, i think although this provides a good overview of the sagas, they’re too abridged to get a lot out of them.

i still had fun with this, but recommend reading the ACTUAL sagas as well, even though they are, admittedly, an undertaking.

[Teresa Karagas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guy writes in a language I can understand, hilarious sarcastic irreverence. After reading this book and lolling to myself throughout, feel as though I understand the Icelandic Sagas... at least enough to look smart at a party.

[Euan Gepp]

Not going to give it a rating but if you’re mildly interested in Icelandic Sagas then you’ll enjoy the summaries which are actually quite funny. Maybe I’d enjoy it more if I’d read more of the stories but nonetheless it’s a nice easy-to-read intro to the Icelandic classics

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Bought this as a silly souvenir for myself in Iceland. If you're expecting it to be ridiculous and maybe(?) informative, then it definitely lives up to your expectations. It's exactly that, and it made me laugh.

[Holland Vande Krol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read about this little book in the Reykjavik Grapevine the day before departing Iceland...which led to a hurried visit to local bookstores before heading to the airport. Great introduction to the sagas.

[Sanji · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and enjoyable little book.
The author seems to think unrestricted migration is alright and that every husband molests his wife in real life. His opinion is of course no problem but I don't much like it in a small comedic book about old sagas. I don't think it belongs in here.

[Réka Diószegi · Rating 4 out of 5]

old and weird (!) literature told in the best possible way.
Morals of the story :
—> visit Iceland and bring home a copy of this beauty.
—> please be my literature teacher, thanks:)

[Sarah 1/2K · Rating 3 out of 5]

An (intentionally) crass yet entertaining introduction to the Sagas.

[Lori Forrester · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it but not as much as I hoped. Maybe because I'm not familiar with Icelandic history.

[Alexander Gradecki · Rating 4 out of 5]

All around a fun summary of the sagas, full of sex, violence and a little shout out to poetry.

[Joachim Coppens · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing style was a fun idea that quickly overstayed its welcome for me. Didn't get much out of this personally.

[Ian Hefele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really funny take on all of the sagas of a country I love.

[Lorna Stuber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious

[Tomas Serrien]

I think it is kind of impossible (and unfair) to review this if you don’t know the original stories. Funny brutal perspective, though.

[Nataxa Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and funny resume about Icelandic literature. I found it very enjoyable and many laughs slipped out. I recommend it if you want an easy walkthrough to the Sagas.

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Occasional guffaws ensue. So much fun.

[Emely Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Dora is the best
No one else is worthy
Of pulling back the foreskin
On Haraldurs dick" LOL