The Saga of the People of Laxardal and Bolli Bollason's Tale (Penguin Classics)

Like most of the sagas, this one begin with a few pages of genealogy. Don't get bogged down, just forge on and get to the main story. The translation is superb; it's easy to follow and genuinely enjoyable to read. The style reminds you that this was once told by a story-teller, it has little asides ("after that nothing more is heard about him" ). It also has a lovely mix of the heroic and the trivial. Icelanders in all their finery meet the king of Norway and are showered with gifts, and a few chapters later, needing to build a wall to keep the lambs in is a good enough reason for not attending the althing. This isn't my favorite saga, but it is the best saga translation I have ever come across.

Anyone who wants to understand how it felt to live in the age of the Vikings must read this and the other sagas . Real people emerge from these stories. This is Game of thrones without the fantasy. Read the saga of Egil Skallagrimson before this one, as it precedes it historically and two of Egil' s children feature in this one.

Not as bloodthirsty as some of the sagas but it's a major work of early Icelandic literature so if you're into that kind of thing you should read it.

Bought this after hearing it serialised on Radio 4. Fabulous story and an excellent translation

Got this to read whilst in Iceland.Enjoyed reading it and relating the story to my location.The saga is beautifully written and gives an amazing insight to times gone by.

If you want to better understand the psyche of Icelanders this would be a good introduction. If you want a good read, ditto.