The Long Ships

Being a swede, if I were to recommend just one swedish novel, it would be 'The Longs Ships' by Frans G. Bengtsson. From what I've heard the english translation is very good and faithful to the original's style. That is no mean feat, this is not an easy book to translate.


Following the adventures of the young viking Orm, the world of the vikings comes alive. This is easily one of the funniest books I've had the pleasure to read. Very dry, matter-of-fact humour, typical of old nordic literature. Orm is kidnapped at the age of 17 and commences his journeys throughout west and east Europe. He serves in a Mohammedan army, raids England and also travels to Russia(which the vikings founded!), to name a few of his adventures. Not only is it a hilariously funny book, it's historically accurate and you will learn a lot.


This book is HARD to find, it can be obtained from Amazon.co.uk.