Beowulf vs Grendel: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Beowulf, Epic poetry, Monsters, Adaptations, Dragons
vs
Grendel
“The old ram stands looking down over rockslides, stupidly triumphant.”
The first and most terrifying monster in English literature, from the great early epic Beowulf, tells his own side of the story in this frequently banned book. This classic and much lauded retelling of Beowulf follows…
1 film adaptation
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Beowulf is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 3 for Grendel.
- Beowulf has the widest readership — 355618 ratings behind its score.
- Grendel runs the darker storyline; Beowulf stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Beowulf | Grendel | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.5 (355618) | 3.7 (43436) |
| Hardcover | — | 3.8 (112) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.0 (196) |
Reception
| Beowulf | Grendel | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 355618 | 43436 |
| Editions | 10 | 35 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 30654 |
| Reading it now | — | 1081 |
| Written reviews | — | 3323 |
| Wikipedia attention | 91973 | 3053 |
| Pages | 47 | 174 |