The Mists of Avalon
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Fear not, blog readers, for though I have been absent my reading time has been well spent. This book is anything but a quick, light read but it is thoroughly enjoyable and worth the time and effort it asks. The Mists of Avalon is nothing less than a complete and compelling revision of traditional Arthurian legends and manages to add an entirely new edge to the stories we all know so well. Bradley is nothing if not thorough, and addresses most of the crucial junctions in the Arthur story: the dubious conception of Arthur, his coronation and the bestowing of Excalibur, the rise of Lancelet and the seeds and fruit of his betrayal, the banishment of the Saxons from Britain, and the treachery of Mordred are all covered. Even the Holy Grail makes an appearance, though its significance in the pagan context of the book is somewhat confused and ill-explained. Readers familiar with the general gist of the Arthur tales will find their expectations thoroughly met; the only major exception I could think of was Gawaine's altercation with the Green Knight, which would have been entirely irrelevant (as with the unfortunate inclusion of Gareth's expedition to the Red Lawns). Bradley brilliantly weaves the traditional plot lines into her own story of the end of the age of magic and Fairy.
The book is a splendidly imagined tale that recasts Arthur's reign as the last critical juncture in the conflict between pagan traditions and the rising tide of Christianity. The book is hardly friendly to the new religion at first, making some excellent jabs at Roman religion that speak to the heart of its problems today, but softens as the pagan lands are themselves won over. The initial illusion of ultimate right and wrong is properly blasted by the end of the book, and if this makes the last page somewhat confusing (which it does), it speaks to the complexity of the novel and the excellence of this book in assuming the form. The book itself faces subtle changes and forces the reader to reconsider formerly held notions initially supported by the book itself. In fact, the greatest strength of the book is to take an incredibly well-established collection of legends, throw some feminist and anti-Christian spin on them, and come out with something that everyone can benefit from. Whatever dogma lies behind the book is not immediately visible, and while the characters in the book express their opinions quite forcefully, they refrain from being overly preachy at the reader.
Here we get Morgaine (Morgana le Fay) and her story, not the Arthur-centric tales of macho heroism and damsels in distress. Morgaine and the Lady of the Lake are the ones truly in power, which is a refreshing take on the sometimes clichéd man-rescues-woman motif. The world of Arthur is far more complex than previously suspected, and the book only expands on the potential of Arthurian lore. Though the fantasy elements strewn throughout the book can sometimes serve to distract the reader with their improbability (they are interacting with a work that strives mainly to present a sort of truth behind the legends), many are well-received in turn and generally make sense, even within the realm of Christianity. Bradley pushes these elements a little far at times, but once the reader is acclimated to the new world where magic meets history the fantastic often becomes a pivotal part in the tale.
The book is easy to read and flows well outside of the occasional (and thankfully infrequent) slips into the first-person perspective of Morgaine. These slips, particularly that at the end of the main plot, only confuse the reader and muddle what otherwise was clear. While Bradley's work may benefit from some doubt (and indeed I'm sure that some was intended), important plot elements are obscured and confusing when presented this way. What Bradley has done is to take a familiar story and recast it as the collision and resulting conflict between paganism and Christianity, presenting the E! True Hollywood Story of Morgaine, the real power behind Arthur's throne. Never preachy or boring, The Mists of Avalon is a must-read for those interested in diving into the deep and enchanting world of Arthurian legend.
Grade: A
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Fear not, blog readers, for though I have been absent my reading time has been well spent. This book is anything but a quick, light read but it is thoroughly enjoyable and worth the time and effort it asks. The Mists of Avalon is nothing less than a complete and compelling revision of traditional Arthurian legends and manages to add an entirely new edge to the stories we all know so well. Bradley is nothing if not thorough, and addresses most of the crucial junctions in the Arthur story: the dubious conception of Arthur, his coronation and the bestowing of Excalibur, the rise of Lancelet and the seeds and fruit of his betrayal, the banishment of the Saxons from Britain, and the treachery of Mordred are all covered. Even the Holy Grail makes an appearance, though its significance in the pagan context of the book is somewhat confused and ill-explained. Readers familiar with the general gist of the Arthur tales will find their expectations thoroughly met; the only major exception I could think of was Gawaine's altercation with the Green Knight, which would have been entirely irrelevant (as with the unfortunate inclusion of Gareth's expedition to the Red Lawns). Bradley brilliantly weaves the traditional plot lines into her own story of the end of the age of magic and Fairy.
The book is a splendidly imagined tale that recasts Arthur's reign as the last critical juncture in the conflict between pagan traditions and the rising tide of Christianity. The book is hardly friendly to the new religion at first, making some excellent jabs at Roman religion that speak to the heart of its problems today, but softens as the pagan lands are themselves won over. The initial illusion of ultimate right and wrong is properly blasted by the end of the book, and if this makes the last page somewhat confusing (which it does), it speaks to the complexity of the novel and the excellence of this book in assuming the form. The book itself faces subtle changes and forces the reader to reconsider formerly held notions initially supported by the book itself. In fact, the greatest strength of the book is to take an incredibly well-established collection of legends, throw some feminist and anti-Christian spin on them, and come out with something that everyone can benefit from. Whatever dogma lies behind the book is not immediately visible, and while the characters in the book express their opinions quite forcefully, they refrain from being overly preachy at the reader.
Here we get Morgaine (Morgana le Fay) and her story, not the Arthur-centric tales of macho heroism and damsels in distress. Morgaine and the Lady of the Lake are the ones truly in power, which is a refreshing take on the sometimes clichéd man-rescues-woman motif. The world of Arthur is far more complex than previously suspected, and the book only expands on the potential of Arthurian lore. Though the fantasy elements strewn throughout the book can sometimes serve to distract the reader with their improbability (they are interacting with a work that strives mainly to present a sort of truth behind the legends), many are well-received in turn and generally make sense, even within the realm of Christianity. Bradley pushes these elements a little far at times, but once the reader is acclimated to the new world where magic meets history the fantastic often becomes a pivotal part in the tale.
The book is easy to read and flows well outside of the occasional (and thankfully infrequent) slips into the first-person perspective of Morgaine. These slips, particularly that at the end of the main plot, only confuse the reader and muddle what otherwise was clear. While Bradley's work may benefit from some doubt (and indeed I'm sure that some was intended), important plot elements are obscured and confusing when presented this way. What Bradley has done is to take a familiar story and recast it as the collision and resulting conflict between paganism and Christianity, presenting the E! True Hollywood Story of Morgaine, the real power behind Arthur's throne. Never preachy or boring, The Mists of Avalon is a must-read for those interested in diving into the deep and enchanting world of Arthurian legend.
Grade: A
No comments:
Post a Comment