In the Old English epic Beowulf the hero of the title slays Grendel, the half-human monster that nightly came to assault the citadel of the Danish king. When Grendel’s even more formidable mother comes to avenge him, Beowulf chases her back to her lair and dispatches her, as well. In 1971 American novelist John Gardner achieved deserved celebrity for retelling these above events from Grendel’s point of view. And now George Guidall masterfully impersonates the grumbling momma’s boy with deliciously sly humor and mock-tragic grandeur. Without ever striking a false note, he maintains throughout such a perfect balance of crudity and poetry that we laugh, cringe and weep all at once. His is an anti-villain par excellence. Y.R. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine