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A review by micksland
Greenwode by J. Tullos Hennig
5.0
5 stars
2020-2021 Book Bingo: Book with a Color in the title (hard mode: not black, gray, white, or red)
First, this beautiful retelling of “Robin Hood” should immediately go on the reading list for any Anglophile. Second, this book ripped my heart out and fed it to the wood chipper, à la “Fargo”. It’s one of the best fairy tale retellings I’ve ever read.
The entire novel oozes a love for Celtic mythology and a desire to pay respectful homage to the original legends while modernizing them. In this version, Robyn of Loxley and his sister Marion are born to be the incarnations of the Celtic Gods Cernunnos (The Hunter) and the Maiden. Their culture is slowly being stomped out by sociopolitical forces beyond their control, and their lives are upended by the arrival of young Lord Gamelyn. Gamelyn, a Good Catholic (TM), is torn between his loyalty to his church and family on one hand, and a burgeoning love for Robyn and his clan on the other. This leads to a very heart-wrenching dilemma that is especially poignant for LGBT readers, but can apply to anyone who has ever felt torn between two conflicting loyalties. The author painted an exceptionally beautiful portrait of psychological turmoil and couched in the contrast between the cold stones of a medieval castle and the wild, dark beauty of the pagan woods. I cannot say enough good things about the beauty of the writing.
This is not a happy story. It is not a story that I could have read it one sitting; it is dense and sometimes traumatizing. It is beautifully written and well-crafted, and it left me in tears in my hotel room tonight. I’ll definitely read the sequels, but I may need a few months to recover emotionally first.
2020-2021 Book Bingo: Book with a Color in the title (hard mode: not black, gray, white, or red)
First, this beautiful retelling of “Robin Hood” should immediately go on the reading list for any Anglophile. Second, this book ripped my heart out and fed it to the wood chipper, à la “Fargo”. It’s one of the best fairy tale retellings I’ve ever read.
The entire novel oozes a love for Celtic mythology and a desire to pay respectful homage to the original legends while modernizing them. In this version, Robyn of Loxley and his sister Marion are born to be the incarnations of the Celtic Gods Cernunnos (The Hunter) and the Maiden. Their culture is slowly being stomped out by sociopolitical forces beyond their control, and their lives are upended by the arrival of young Lord Gamelyn. Gamelyn, a Good Catholic (TM), is torn between his loyalty to his church and family on one hand, and a burgeoning love for Robyn and his clan on the other. This leads to a very heart-wrenching dilemma that is especially poignant for LGBT readers, but can apply to anyone who has ever felt torn between two conflicting loyalties. The author painted an exceptionally beautiful portrait of psychological turmoil and couched in the contrast between the cold stones of a medieval castle and the wild, dark beauty of the pagan woods. I cannot say enough good things about the beauty of the writing.
This is not a happy story. It is not a story that I could have read it one sitting; it is dense and sometimes traumatizing. It is beautifully written and well-crafted, and it left me in tears in my hotel room tonight. I’ll definitely read the sequels, but I may need a few months to recover emotionally first.