Take a photo of a barcode or cover
robussc 's review for:
The Mists of Avalon
by Marion Zimmer Bradley
First read this when I was a teenager and after a few book disappointments, decided to give it another spin to see if it held up. Short answer: yes, absolutely.
Long answer: it's a long book which slowly tells the story of Arthur from the perspective of the women that surround him, primarily focusing on Morgaine & Gwenhwyfar. What makes the book work, in my opinion, is the humanity the author brings to the characters. They seem real and have real emotions and desires. The story moves between periods of relative calm to moments of absolute drama that upend the status quo and thrust things in new directions.
I'm aware that the author is problematic in her real life, but despite that she managed to write a masterpiece in this work.
Long answer: it's a long book which slowly tells the story of Arthur from the perspective of the women that surround him, primarily focusing on Morgaine & Gwenhwyfar. What makes the book work, in my opinion, is the humanity the author brings to the characters. They seem real and have real emotions and desires. The story moves between periods of relative calm to moments of absolute drama that upend the status quo and thrust things in new directions.
I'm aware that the author is problematic in her real life, but despite that she managed to write a masterpiece in this work.