Quickie Book Review 3

Eaters of the Dead - Michael Crichton

"According to Crichton's afterword, this book was written in answer to the assertion by an English professor friend of his that there was no way to teach Beowulf and make it interesting."

I checked this book out on recommendation by Bruce Bethke but I've been wanting to read it ever since I saw the movie, The 13th Warrior.

This movie is wonderful. If you've never seen it, it's a must. And it's much better than the book but Crichton deserves kudos in a couple of areas. First, I think he brilliantly adapted the story of Beowulf into something that's interesting and exciting. I think all students should read the two together. Second, I like the way he developed the character of Ahmed, an exiled Arab courtier and basically the narrator of the Beowulf story. You can follow his arrogant conviction in the beginning to brotherly respect in the end. He grows as a man and as a human.

Crichton wrote the book as if it were an ancient memoir written by Ahmed. This is an interesting idea but I don't think it adds to the affect of the book. If it did, I would not have noticed how halting the story was. All the footnotes were interesting but I felt like I was doing research and couldn't keep a rhythm to the story. The movie made Crichton's work powerful and beautiful.