Why Frans G. Bengtsson’s The Long Ships Is the Greatest Novel of All Time
We live in troubled times for authors, but things were not always so. There was once a time when people could simply write books without worrying about silly things like women’s rights or historical fact. So let us take a time machine to an era well before corporate wokeness — a time in which Vikings were still cool, and nobody worried about whether it was right or wrong to think so: the 1940s.
What Is The Long Ships?
It’s possible that I’ve already scared you with my intro, so let me set your mind at ease. The Long Ships isn’t some secret nationalist manifesto, nor is it a symbolically anti-woman work of literature. It was actually quite forward-thinking for the time, and much of what might be considered offensive was meant to be tongue-in-cheek even then. It’s a book still given as required reading in English (and Swedish) college classes the world over. And it may be the most enjoyable work of historical fiction ever written.
The book follows a man called Orm, a young farmer who finds himself captured and converted to the Viking way of pillaging and plundering the southern lands. The story follows Orm over many years, which include some great ones and some terrible ones. The whole thing is tied together with a cohesive narrative, but it meanders interestingly.
Just look at that cover…
What Makes The Long Ships So Great?
Sometimes, older novels tend to spend too much time in the same location or feature overlong conversations. This is absolutely not the case here. Frans G. Bengtsson’s work is the definition of epic, spanning Ireland to the plains of Eastern Europe. The cast of characters is colorful and memorable, and the pacing is exciting the whole way through.
There’s really nothing, modern or old, that can compare. In a single read you’ll get:
An incursion into early Medieval England
A fun interplay of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
Islamic raids in Moorish Spain
An Eastern European plundering journey
A romantic subplot
A colorization of the real Harald Bluetooth of Norway
By far the best thing about The Long Ships is its humor, which is translated excellently from the original Swedish. Most of the humor could be described as comedic understatement or dark humor. In most cases, the reader is given more information than the characters, and we’re treated to hilariously dry exposition, such as a segment in which the narrator describes a Viking’s conversion to Christianity as a financial negotiation.
Bengtsson takes no particular sides when it comes to religion or race. He pokes fun at Christians as much, if not more than Muslims. The Jewish character is decidedly heroic, and this is a direct finger from the author to Adolf Hitler.
Though the work is almost too broad to water down, the overarching message is that humans are emotional creatures. They feel first, then develop frameworks for understanding the world. In Orm’s case, he simply has the most “treasure-luck,” and “woman-luck” whenever he goes with Christianity, so he becomes a devout Christian. His conversion and that of his friends has absolutely nothing to do with the bible or Jesus’ ancient charisma.
The movie adaptation sadly doesn’t live up
But I Don’t Care About Action or Adventure — Will I Like It?
The Long Ships is a violent book, with plenty of action to speak of, but it isn’t just about that. The whole thing goes much deeper and wants to mull over the state of humanity as often as it wants to show Vikings beheading each other.
Maybe you’re an intellectual guy or girl, and you don’t read a bunch of meaningless killing and murdering. Maybe you think you’d prefer a self-indulgent, philosophical, Notes From the Underground read. You might be surprised at how much you find to think about on Orm’s journey.
While deliberately philosophical novels drone and muse about various truths and feelings, The Long Ships actually shows you what those truths and feelings are like. What’s the advice they always give to new authors? “Show, don’t tell,” isn’t it?
I should say that I would never recommend this book to a woman. Too often, the female characters being “stolen” are conveniently super happy about it, and I’ve had multiple women tell me that this is simply a “guy book.” My wife, who loves action-packed, nonsensical World of Warcraft adaptations, got bored of the audiobook version in under a single car trip.
There are certainly plenty of women out there who would enjoy a good old-fashioned Viking adventure, but those are probably the types to seek out this kind of thing on their own.
How Can I Find Modern Books Like The Long Ships?
They just don’t make books like they used to. Every publishing company seems to think only one or two simplistic styles are acceptable, and the self-publishing world can be a scrap heap to sift through.
So where can you find expansive, epic adventures grounded in historical fact? Here, of course. Kur, a Mesopotamian Odyssey, is a similarly epic novel inspired by Bengtsson’s masterpiece. It’s set on the fringes of the Assyrian Empire and follows Isho, a hapless young warrior. Check out Kur and its reviews on Amazon today!