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135 reviews for:
The Book of Merlyn: The Unpublished Conclusion to the Once and Future King
T.H. White
3.56 AVERAGE
135 reviews for:
The Book of Merlyn: The Unpublished Conclusion to the Once and Future King
T.H. White
3.56 AVERAGE
I love this. It's a better ending that brings me a lot more hope than Candle in the Wind did. I love how meta it is, and silly again, but with all the years and no history lost of what Arthur went through. I love Merlin and the animals, and my heart aches for Arthur more than ever. This book has a lot of kindness and hope and finality in it, but still open-ended. Beautiful.
What is up with Meryln known so much about future knowledge in the book? What is up with is book being an antiwar book, just because T.H. White wrote this as a reflection of both of the World Wars.
A disappointing conclusion to a great story. I'd already read the best bits of "Merlyn", chopped up and spliced into the tale's first volume; White's publishers were right to let the unremarkable remainder die in the editing room.
This one does not serve so much to further the telling of the legend as it does to relate White's political views. Still, if you enjoyed the first bit, you will probably enjoy the last (especially since about a third of it was already told in an earlier book).
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Although I'm glad I read this posthumously published final book in T.H. White's extraordinary Arthurian cycles, I'm relieved that, due to wartime paper shortages, The Candle in the Wind ends the Once and Future King. The questions raised by White about the nature of humanity are interesting, but the conclusions appear simplistic. What White railed about in the Book of Merlyn is captured in other ways throughout the preceding four books, but in ways that are more subtle and, therefore, more thought-provoking. By spelling out his philosophy, White exposes its flaws.
The most powerful part of the Book for me was Arthur's reaction to the geese and his "friends" failure to understand or even empathize with him until they've put him through a great deal of suffering. I wish the Book had spent less time on naked philosophizing and more time on Arthur, his struggles, his pain, and, in the end, his acceptance of his life.
The most powerful part of the Book for me was Arthur's reaction to the geese and his "friends" failure to understand or even empathize with him until they've put him through a great deal of suffering. I wish the Book had spent less time on naked philosophizing and more time on Arthur, his struggles, his pain, and, in the end, his acceptance of his life.
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a quick read. It has flaws but I'm giving it 5 stars because it's clear how much the author loved this book and that's contagious.
You know what would be an exciting way to end the epic tale of king arthur? Re-runs of the first book and then a rather dry lecture on the ethics of war and various government structures.
This was originally supposed to be the fifth book in White's Once and Future King, but was published separately. Maybe I was more wide-eyed and apt to fall in love with White’s writing when I read Once and Future as a youngster; maybe Merlyn really isn’t as good. At any rate, I did not recall Once and Future being so darned preachy. I loved the hedgehog all the more in this volume just because he was quiet a good deal of the time. Still, the parts that had nothing to do with politics were genuinely moving and fit well into White’s Arthurian saga. Worth checking out if you’re a fan, possibly even if you’re not.