Book Review: The Long Ships - Published by New York Review Books Classics

 In the medieval world, a group of people plundered and pillaged unopposed, for almost 300 years. They were masters at sailing in the deep waters, explorers of uncharted worlds and ferocious in battles, their songs of ancient heroes echoed in the vastness of the open sea. Their enemies, trembled at the sights of their approaching dragon ships, they were warrior poets. They were, the Vikings.

Have you ever wondered, what it is like to be a Viking? Sailing the seven seas, singing songs of ancient heroes, gulping ales, where fighting, blood feuds, counting booty, plunder and pillage is the way to make a living? Well, Frans G Bengtsson's adventure/historical novel "The long ships" will tell you a thing or two about the stories of Vikings, in the way these ferocious Norsemen would have like to be told; epic, poetic, heroic, action packed with adventures at every corner, and (probably) most importantly, filled with dry humor. More over, this book also tells a very interesting history, of the conversion of Scandinavia to Christianity in 10th century AD. Is this the kind of yarn that you tickles your fancy? Read on!

I have not met many people who have heard of this book, and this is rather baffling, because of the people who have read this book (such as on goodreads), almost everyone liked it! The Long Ships, is one of the most read books in Sweden. This is originally a Swedish novel, and New York Review Book Classics has wisely incorporated this book into their list of publications.

Written in 1943 by Swedish author Frans G Bengtsson, The Long Ships is a historical fiction centering around a character called Red Orm. Orm is the protagonist in this novel, his is well known for his red hair, red hot temper, and his legendary adventures. The story of Red Orm took place in the late 900AD to early 1000AD, during the late Viking age, in the middle of Christianization of Scandinavia. The story developed around the historical, political and cultural conflicts of the time. Even more interestingly, the story also depicted the contrast between the pragmatic views in the Nordic pagan religion, against the spread of Christianity and Islam.

Synopsis:

The book is divided into 4 parts. Each part recounts the story of Orm at different stages of his life, in chronological order. The first part of the book told the story of Orm as a young man, who was born and lived in Skania, he was captured and joined a Viking ship through a twist of fate. On this voyage, Orm made some good friends. Their ship encountered a Danish ship along the coast of the Frankish empire, and they collected an escaped prisoner, Solomon the Jew. Solomon vowed revenge against the one who betrayed him, and took the Norsemen to plunder the castle of the Castillian Margrave. The Norsemen derived rich booty from this venture. On the voyage home, Orm and his men were attacked by an Andalusian fleet. After being defeated, Orm and the surviving Norsemen were captured by the Andalusians and forced to become galley slaves. Through another twist of fate, Orm and his fellow Norsemen were rescued by Solomon the Jew and entered into the service as bodyguards for Al-Mansur. They were forced to (partially) convert to Islam and partook in the campaign of Marca Hispanica. In this campaign, Orm and his men captured the bell of St. James, and they came upon a chance to exact the revenge against their former slave masters at the galley. Orm and his men escaped from Al-Mansur with the bell of St. James and returned to the north, where they seek the service under King Harald (Harald Bluetooth), who have recently converted to Christianity. Upon presenting the bell to the king, Harald invited them to celebrate the Yule with him. From there, Orm's luck changed, many high adventures followed, and told in this book that recounts the story of Red Orm..

What do I think about the book:

I enjoyed reading The Long Ships. This is an old-school style adventure yarn, but it is also a very interesting historical/adventure novel. Retelling the history of Christianization of Scandinavia. The essence of the book, is essentially a story of a barbaric culture progressing to a more civilized society. The style of writing in this book, is very different to the writing style in contemporary literature. It has a saga feel to it, and is very fitting for the story-telling of an adventure tale of this category. Besides all the adventures and actions, this book is also full of dry humor. I pretty much read the entire book with big smiles on my face (and sometimes, bursts of laughter). The characters in this book are impressionable and likable, and I really appreciated Frans G Bengtsson's depiction, of the contrast of Norse pagan religion, against Christianity and Islam. For example, in the story, Orm is pretty much a pragmatist. When he was a bodyguard in the service of Al-Mansur, he followed the tradition of Islam to please his master. When he left the service of Al-Mansur and once again put to the open sea as a Viking, Orm reverted back to the old Norse pagan tradition, sacrificing a goat, to exchange for a peaceful sea voyage. Eventually, Orm converted to Christianity, so he can marry a princess who is a baptized Christian, and he stayed a Christian because he believed that God has blessed him with good "luck" and prosperity in all of his endeavors. Similarly, several characters (Norsemen, and Viking Chieftains) in this book, converted to Christianity because they were promised gifts if they agreed to be baptized, while most of the Nordic folks in the book converted to Christianity because they were assured of God's blessings, and were promised of "good lucks" if they agreed to be baptized. This makes me wonder, if the medieval church strategy of converting Scandinavia was based on "prosperity Gospel"? (actually, some historical records seem suggest this as well). But more importantly, I think this is a good call for people who identify themselves as "Christians" to reflect and remember, just exactly is it that their faith should be centred on.

In this book, the Christian monks are just as likable as the main protagonist himself. The monks are portrayed realistically as noble and zealous for their belief, but at times can be hypocritical (and self righteous). For example, one of the characters in this book, is a monk who, despite his very strong sexual desires for women, yet insisted to remain unmarried to follow apostle Paul's example, because he believed that he can glorify God better by doing more work if he is unmarried. This monk, however noble he tried to be, was unable to obstinate himself from his desires, and landed up having adulterous affairs in secrecy, which eventually lead to his departure from Christianity all together.

The funniest moment in the book, occurred when the Vikings invaded England and demanded the king to pay compensations. The Christian monks were sent by the king to negotiate the bargain. When the monks failed to persuade the Vikings to lessen their demand, they judged the Vikings as, unable to enter the kingdom of heaven due to their reluctance to let go of the riches. Upon hearing this, the Vikings replied that surely, if what the monks said about the kingdom of heaven, the eyes of the needle and gold were true, then they are actually helping the king to enter heaven, by relieving him of his burden of "being too rich". Obviously, the monks/king refused to yield to the demands of the Vikings, this event demonstrated the hypocrisy of the Christian monks in the book.

 Personally, I really appreciated the way Frans G Bengtsson portrayed the Christians in this book. Because after spending 6 years at churches as a Christian, I have personally seen people who are similar to the Christian monks portrayed in this book. I think this is a very realistic portrayal and should make every Christian reflect on what they "should/should not" say to other people. Equally as important, the story of the monks should remind us the fact that, God does not value us according to how much work we can do for Him, instead, God loves us, and He has already done the most important work for us as Jesus. Religion sets up standards and measure your performance accordingly, but true faith is all about trusting in God and know that He loves us.

The Long Ships, is a very entertaining read. This is an action packed high adventure filled with dry humor, with intriguing political situations, conflicts of cultures and religions, and has some very likable characters. I think most people have probably never heard of this book, which is very well known in Sweden, but not as well known in the English speaking world. Seriously, go to the library now and barrow this book, or buy this book online, do whatever you can to get hold of this book. This is a classic not to be missed!