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erin_oriordan_is_reading_again 's review for:
Isis
by Douglas Clegg
I don't know much about the personal religious beliefs of Douglas Clegg, but if he's not a Pagan, he sure does a good impression of one. The last book I read by this author was [b:Mordred: Bastard Son|23854|Mordred Bastard Son|Douglas Clegg|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167462983s/23854.jpg|24791], and I was impressed by the poetic retelling of Arthurian legend. He breathes life and poetry into age-old Celtic legends.
Clegg revisits one of the old Arthurian stomping grounds, Cornwall, in more modern times in Isis. The novella centers on Iris, the daughter of an American actress/singer mother and a British father. Iris and her three brothers, including twins Spence and (Iris' favorite) Harvey, were raised on Long Island before their father moved them to Cornwall to be near his own aging father. Through groundskeeper Old Marsh, Iris learns the ancient legends of her seaside home. From her grandfather's library, she learns an ancient spell for bringing the dead back to life. She never thinks to use it until the thoughtlessness of Spence and an evil governess causes a terrible accident. Harvey falls from a window and is killed. At that moment, a "window" opens up inside Iris, and she is linked to the world of the dead. Clegg incorporates the ancient Egyptian myth of Isis, who resurrected her brother (and lover) Osiris from the dead after their other brother Set killed him. The most beautiful part of this eerie tale, though, is Clegg's description, via a resurrected Harvey, of what the Cornish call the Isle of Apples (Avalon), the land of the dead. But just as J.K. Rowling warned in "The Deathly Hallows" in [b:The Tales of Beedle the Bard|4020390|The Tales of Beedle the Bard|J.K. Rowling|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628345s/4020390.jpg|3007490], those brought from the land of the dead do not belong in this world. Iris should have listened to the old legends.
Clegg revisits one of the old Arthurian stomping grounds, Cornwall, in more modern times in Isis. The novella centers on Iris, the daughter of an American actress/singer mother and a British father. Iris and her three brothers, including twins Spence and (Iris' favorite) Harvey, were raised on Long Island before their father moved them to Cornwall to be near his own aging father. Through groundskeeper Old Marsh, Iris learns the ancient legends of her seaside home. From her grandfather's library, she learns an ancient spell for bringing the dead back to life. She never thinks to use it until the thoughtlessness of Spence and an evil governess causes a terrible accident. Harvey falls from a window and is killed. At that moment, a "window" opens up inside Iris, and she is linked to the world of the dead. Clegg incorporates the ancient Egyptian myth of Isis, who resurrected her brother (and lover) Osiris from the dead after their other brother Set killed him. The most beautiful part of this eerie tale, though, is Clegg's description, via a resurrected Harvey, of what the Cornish call the Isle of Apples (Avalon), the land of the dead. But just as J.K. Rowling warned in "The Deathly Hallows" in [b:The Tales of Beedle the Bard|4020390|The Tales of Beedle the Bard|J.K. Rowling|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628345s/4020390.jpg|3007490], those brought from the land of the dead do not belong in this world. Iris should have listened to the old legends.