The Mists of Avalon is a 1983 historical fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, in which the author relates the Arthurian legends from the perspective of the female characters. The book follows the trajectory of Morgaine (Morgan le Fay), a priestess fighting to save her Celtic religion in a country where Christianity threatens to destroy the pagan way of life. The epic is focused on the lives of Morgaine, Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere), Viviane, Morgause, Igraine and other women of the Arthurian legend.
The Mists of Avalon is in stark contrast to most other retellings of the Arthurian tales, which consistently cast Morgan le Fay as a distant, one-dimensional evil sorceress, with little or no explanation given for her antagonism to the Round Table. In this case, Morgaine is presented as a woman with unique gifts and responsibilities at a time of enormous political and spiritual upheaval who is called …
The Mists of Avalon is a 1983 historical fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, in which the author relates the Arthurian legends from the perspective of the female characters. The book follows the trajectory of Morgaine (Morgan le Fay), a priestess fighting to save her Celtic religion in a country where Christianity threatens to destroy the pagan way of life. The epic is focused on the lives of Morgaine, Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere), Viviane, Morgause, Igraine and other women of the Arthurian legend.
The Mists of Avalon is in stark contrast to most other retellings of the Arthurian tales, which consistently cast Morgan le Fay as a distant, one-dimensional evil sorceress, with little or no explanation given for her antagonism to the Round Table. In this case, Morgaine is presented as a woman with unique gifts and responsibilities at a time of enormous political and spiritual upheaval who is called upon to defend her indigenous heritage against impossible odds.
The story is told in four large parts: "Book One: Mistress of Magic", "Book Two: The High Queen", "Book Three: The King Stag", and "Book Four: The Prisoner in the Oak". The novel was a best-seller upon its publication and remains popular to this day. Bradley and Diana L. Paxson later expanded the book into the Avalon series.
This was my father's book. He said his mother read King Arthur stories to him as a child, I wish I knew which ones. For me the most interesting connection to my world is the idea that our collective and even individual beliefs shape our shared reality. The religious and political dimension of the story is a battle for mindshare where power flows toward the most influential zealots and extremists, remaking the world. There were a lot of other dimensions too, making it a more thought provoking read than I expected.
A very detailed retelling of the legend of King Arthur, viewed entirely through the eyes of the women in the legends. Puts an interesting spin on the story reading it from the opposite than normal perspective; reminded me a bit of Atwood's Penelopiad in that way.
Bradley has clearly done a staggering amount of research, because whether or not you like her new story version, you can't create a detailed revision like that without first knowing the source material inside and out.
Notes for the reader: The first hundred pages has a plot. The other 500 hundred are sex scenes smeared with talk of sex and no remaining plot. By page 250, every paragraph is about sex. The plot is lost. It destroys any beauty in ancient myths and legends. If you enjoyed King Author's myths and histories, don't read this! At least she changed the names a bit, so maybe people can re-read the King Author stories without the taste of bile in their mouths. Just because it's popular to write mixed gender porn, doesn't mean it's necessary. It would have been nice to read a novel from the females of the time's point of view. They thought about far more than sex!
What ages would I recommend it too? Only those who are comfortable reading about sex, rape, and incest.
Length? Many days.
Characters? Memorable, several characters.
Setting? Fantasy.
Written …
Notes for the reader: The first hundred pages has a plot. The other 500 hundred are sex scenes smeared with talk of sex and no remaining plot. By page 250, every paragraph is about sex. The plot is lost. It destroys any beauty in ancient myths and legends. If you enjoyed King Author's myths and histories, don't read this! At least she changed the names a bit, so maybe people can re-read the King Author stories without the taste of bile in their mouths. Just because it's popular to write mixed gender porn, doesn't mean it's necessary. It would have been nice to read a novel from the females of the time's point of view. They thought about far more than sex!
What ages would I recommend it too? Only those who are comfortable reading about sex, rape, and incest.
Length? Many days.
Characters? Memorable, several characters.
Setting? Fantasy.
Written approximately? 1982.
Does the story leave questions in the readers mind? This book return to the used books store.
Any issues the author (or a more recent publisher) should cover? Find the plot. Reduce the sex scenes to the minimum necessary. Allow the characters to be believable.
Short storyline: Females in King Author's life and their porn tales.
I'd forgotten a lot of this story, so this time through was like reading it for the first time. This book remains one of my favorites. Not because of the writing, or the plot/pace (it flounders a bit towards the end) but because it tells a story that endures at the heart of my inner life and truth.
I enjoyed this telling of the "Arthurian Legend" more than the others that I have read (Once and Future King, White; and Story of King Arthur and His Knights, Pyle). Boring tales of knights fighting for their king, winning over beautiful maidens, and questing have left me tired of the genre....
This telling is dark, real, and touching. I felt the despair of the characters, especially Morgaine. Refreshing, actually.
I think this translation was a bit over my head. I couldn't get caught up in the story due to constantly having to lookup french words that I didn't know. So, I've decided to table it, and try a book that was written in French originally instead.
