Red Orm and the Long Ships

The Long Ships, by Frans Gunnar Bengtsson

This may be the most enjoyable and compellingly readable book that I’ve ever read. It’s not the best book I’ve ever read, but it’s certainly close to the most fun. Michael Chabon wrote the introduction to the New York Review Books Classics edition, and I like how he begins his essay:

“In my career as a reader I have encountered only three people who knew The Long Ships, and all of them, like me, loved it immoderately. Four for four: from this tiny but irrefutable sample I dare to extrapolate that this novel, first published in Sweden during the Second World War, stands ready, given the chance, to bring lasting pleasure to every single human being on the face of the earth.”

It’s now five for five, because I love this book immoderately, too. I first read it about 10 years ago, and read it again this summer; the second reading might have been even more enjoyable than the first one. Particularly for men who struggle to read fiction, this is the first book I’d prescribe. Among other qualities, the novel is remarkably funny in a dry, understated way.

The Long Ships tells the story of a Viking named Red Orm and his adventures in the years AD 980-1010. He travels widely over Europe and lives at a time when Christianity and the pagan religions are in conflict in Scandinavia. Orm is a hypochondriac, brave as a lion, widely-traveled, and, most of all, remarkably lucky.

As is anyone who get to read his story.

(I dare you not to make it six for six.)

Highly recommended.

★★★★

The Long Ships, by Frans Gunnar Bengtsson

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Note on My Rating System

I use a 5 star system in my ratings to signify the following:

★★★★★  life-changing and unforgettable
★★★★  excellent
★★★  worth reading
★★  read other things first
★   not recommended