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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
Marvellous reinterpretation of the Arthurian legends. I’d forgotten how the narrative connects the original story together in a way that seems entirely authentic; the old religions of Britain giving way to Christianity, youth giving way to old age.
The text lets itself down occasionally by too much repetition, the effect of which is distracting.
The narrative contains many twists and surprises along its, in the audio version, 50 hours of telling.
The text lets itself down occasionally by too much repetition, the effect of which is distracting.
The narrative contains many twists and surprises along its, in the audio version, 50 hours of telling.
Read [a:Persia Woolley|308775|Persia Woolley|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1221411663p2/308775.jpg]'s Guinevere trilogy (starting with [b:Child of the Northern Spring|641705|Child of the Northern Spring|Persia Woolley|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51sgHaMmrfL._SL75_.jpg|627909]) instead. I like Marion Zimmer Bradley but her Guinevere was weak, whiny, & needy. Ick.
I had tried to read this book in High School and couldn't get into it. 10 years later and I couldn't put it down. The book has a variety of themes, from the King Arthur Myth to the rise of Christianity and subsequent fall of "pagan" religions. This book became a touchstone for my own spiritual beliefs
I was loving this book until I learned about the controversy with the author. Makes all the incest in the novel a lot harder to gloss over and I can't recommend this to anyone.
FINALLY. After like a year of both reading/listening to this book I am finally done. I highly suggest listening to it vs reading, as the narrator Davina Porter (for the one I listened to) was amazing. She annunciated every sentence much better than reading it. Old English is hard at times to breathe life into (especially when just reading it). I have so much and so little to say about this book. First, when I was young reading tales of quests for Camelot I loved the story of Gwenivere and Lancelot. When I got to the second part of this book and the character of Gwenivere was introduced, I got very excited. However, as soon as she started to play a more major part I was sick of her. She was poison to the whole book. Though I think that was the point, for her to be a foil to so many other characters, I still thought she was the worst. I would that the book probably could have been 50 pages shorter just by cutting some of her banter out. I felt as though several situations involving her and a few others were rehashed so many times that it was like the author typed the same paragraph every chapter. The other part that stood out though was how complete this book was. The timeline for the book was very extensive and ranged about 70 + years with many many main characters. The organization and separation of chapters and parts were skillfully done and the writing was woven into a complete and very complex plot that spanned several theologies and large themes. I have so much to say about this (almost) 900 page book, but it’s too much for a review. All in all a very solid historical fiction novel that possessed themes about the differing of religion and the faults of people that still ring true to the 21st century. 4⭐️/5
Wonderfully imagined and written but full of so much sadness and no happy ending - of course. I am glad I read it but I am also glad I am done.
I'm reading this for the second time, this time because it's kind of my version of trashy summer beach reading. However, I'm not sure if I'll read it again - at least not in the next 5-10 years. Some of the characters are just so freaking annoying (I'm looking at you, Gwenhwyfar), and it's riddled with inconsistencies and loads of repetition. Still, it can be a fun read, even if it's a pain to lug around at 850+ pages.
Fun retelling of King Arthur legend- told from the perspective of the ladies! Didn’t realize it was a series - will look at reading the next three over the year.
Gwenhwyfar's homophobia, religious inflexibility, and general hypocrisy. I don't know which chapter or page it was, but her lashing out at Arthur and suggesting he was the one with feelings for her lover.
Lekker wegdromen in mistige en mystieke hooglanden vol ridders en jonkvrouwen.