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g1rlwhol1ved's review against another edition
3.0
i love the whole knights in armor/adventuring thing, and im a big fan of king arthur stuff but this dragged in places
piperkitty81's review against another edition
3.0
Glad I read it and it’s interesting to see where all the tales came from. My practical side felt that they could have all avoided a lot of trouble if they talked before challenging and fighting.
jaskovivich's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
aprater's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting classic and I can see why so many tales have spun from it but several passages are slow and leave the mind to wander to other things.
jeszornel's review against another edition
3.0
Honestly, these knights bring dishonour upon themselves. Wherever they go they fight first, and ask questions later...most of this book a knight comes upon another knight and they do battle. And then they realize they know eachtother...and then they show their respect for each other and stop battling. I mean come on. Most of the battles ended this way, it's so stupid. Knights! Am I right? There was this one part where two Knights were fighting in favour of a lady (of course one of them was stupid Knight Tristram), then they realized they knew each other, and stepped away from battle (in respect of course of each other *eyes rolling*) and then proceeded to allow the lady to chose which Knight to run to -- like a dog (of course she did not choose Tristtram because he sucks**). Honestly, this books portrayal of women was disappointing and very insulting.
For example, Lady Guinevere is supposed to be King Arthur's Queen, equal in position and respect. However, overall I found her to be very dramatic for no reason (to be fair everyone was overly dramatic-- lots of swooning Knights in this book lol). Also, I didn't understand how every time she did something/ or was suspected of doing something they led her to be burnt at the stake (~3 occurrences). That seems to be a little extreme.
One final note: The word 'Anon' took up approximately 90% of all the words in the novel. While that figure is not based on facts, that is what it felt like. How hard would it have been to pick up a thesaurus and use it? Impossible it seems. Unimaginable it seems.
**Don't get me started on Knight Tristram...he was the worst. First of all, when he is "in disguise" in front of some Kings' family (he killed the King), he calls himself 'Tramtrist' -- wow, you totally fooled us all.
For example, Lady Guinevere is supposed to be King Arthur's Queen, equal in position and respect. However, overall I found her to be very dramatic for no reason (to be fair everyone was overly dramatic-- lots of swooning Knights in this book lol). Also, I didn't understand how every time she did something/ or was suspected of doing something they led her to be burnt at the stake (~3 occurrences). That seems to be a little extreme.
One final note: The word 'Anon' took up approximately 90% of all the words in the novel. While that figure is not based on facts, that is what it felt like. How hard would it have been to pick up a thesaurus and use it? Impossible it seems. Unimaginable it seems.
**Don't get me started on Knight Tristram...he was the worst. First of all, when he is "in disguise" in front of some Kings' family (he killed the King), he calls himself 'Tramtrist' -- wow, you totally fooled us all.
thesydda's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
readerturnedwriter's review against another edition
2.0
Having watched Merlin, reading the originals was something I was really interested in. Overall, it was a little interesting, though mostly disappointing.
I found the writing itself to be easy to understand and read. The stories were a mixed bag, some were fairly interesting and others were very boring to me (knights killing other knights for no good reason, etc). The end was depressing but not surprising (it's pretty famous and I knew what to expect).
The main problem I had with the book was that it was very obviously written in a different time and culture. Looking at it from our modern time, the motivations fall short, the way women and relationships are portrayed are inappropriate, and the medieval take on Christianity can be hard to read. The other main problem is that the book focused on things I didn't care about (like the actual fights between knights) but the parts I would have found interesting (like a long lost son being reunited with a father) were given one to two lines and the nuances of the situations downplayed. We rarely got to know characters past their actions and a vague, unbelievable motivation. This caused me to read more for discovering the plot rather than being immersed in the world and getting to know the characters.
I am glad to have read the originals and I look forward to reading adaptations in the future.
I found the writing itself to be easy to understand and read. The stories were a mixed bag, some were fairly interesting and others were very boring to me (knights killing other knights for no good reason, etc). The end was depressing but not surprising (it's pretty famous and I knew what to expect).
The main problem I had with the book was that it was very obviously written in a different time and culture. Looking at it from our modern time, the motivations fall short, the way women and relationships are portrayed are inappropriate, and the medieval take on Christianity can be hard to read. The other main problem is that the book focused on things I didn't care about (like the actual fights between knights) but the parts I would have found interesting (like a long lost son being reunited with a father) were given one to two lines and the nuances of the situations downplayed. We rarely got to know characters past their actions and a vague, unbelievable motivation. This caused me to read more for discovering the plot rather than being immersed in the world and getting to know the characters.
I am glad to have read the originals and I look forward to reading adaptations in the future.
ashleyozery's review against another edition
2.0
This version differed slightly from the one I had as a child. I had forgotten how much Christianity was in these tales, and also how often Knowles used the word "smote"...