linnylionheart's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Rape, Child abuse, Grief, Incest, Suicide, War, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Animal cruelty, Gore, and Infidelity
Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content, Xenophobia, Racism, and Confinement
abomine's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book is a tough one to rate, let alone talk about. The parts of this book that are good are nothing short of spectacular, and the parts that are bad are bad enough, for me, to dock whole stars.
A majority of the male characters are superbly written, but T.H. White's depiction of Lancelot in particular is spot-on. Every version of Lancelot I ever read or see after this is going to be judged against this one. Also, White's decision to make The Ill-Made Knight literally ill-made (he has a facial deformity) is an interesting one that I have not seen in any Arthurian retelling before or since.
If the male characters are well-written, the female characters, unfortunately, are not. Rather than <i>showing</i> how characters like Morgause and Guinevere feel via meaningful dialogue or actions, White <i>tells</i> how they feel with long paragraphs of exposition. The male characters get some exposition dumps too, but those are balanced out with good character interactions, which the female characters don't have unless they're interacting with a male character. There is great potential for development, but often it seems more like White just threw up his hands and went "Shit, I don't know how to write women."
Also, there's the racism. While not as horrendous as it could have been for a book written by a white guy in 1940s England, it is still worth a warning. It is especially incongruous with one of the book's overarching themes about the desperate struggle for unity and peace, about how humans are more alike than they are different, and that borders are meaningless. But then White will make an offhand comment about "heathen natives" and the Gaelic "racial grudge" and make all of that 'peace and love' stuff feel inauthentic. There's also a brief appearance by Sir Palomides, a Muslim knight from what's now Saudi Arabia. While he does get some good lines and has some hilarious adventures with Pellinore and Friends, he sadly doesn't amount to much more than The Token Brown Character.
And all of this stuff is a shame, because in spite of all of it, I really enjoyed many parts of this book. I laughed out loud a couple times, and I was almost moved to tears once or twice. The Once and Future King has certainly reignited my interest in Arthurian mythology, and it's definitely a book that I won't forget.
A majority of the male characters are superbly written, but T.H. White's depiction of Lancelot in particular is spot-on. Every version of Lancelot I ever read or see after this is going to be judged against this one. Also, White's decision to make The Ill-Made Knight literally ill-made (he has a facial deformity) is an interesting one that I have not seen in any Arthurian retelling before or since.
If the male characters are well-written, the female characters, unfortunately, are not. Rather than <i>showing</i> how characters like Morgause and Guinevere feel via meaningful dialogue or actions, White <i>tells</i> how they feel with long paragraphs of exposition. The male characters get some exposition dumps too, but those are balanced out with good character interactions, which the female characters don't have unless they're interacting with a male character. There is great potential for development, but often it seems more like White just threw up his hands and went "Shit, I don't know how to write women."
Also, there's the racism. While not as horrendous as it could have been for a book written by a white guy in 1940s England, it is still worth a warning. It is especially incongruous with one of the book's overarching themes about the desperate struggle for unity and peace, about how humans are more alike than they are different, and that borders are meaningless. But then White will make an offhand comment about "heathen natives" and the Gaelic "racial grudge" and make all of that 'peace and love' stuff feel inauthentic. There's also a brief appearance by Sir Palomides, a Muslim knight from what's now Saudi Arabia. While he does get some good lines and has some hilarious adventures with Pellinore and Friends, he sadly doesn't amount to much more than The Token Brown Character.
And all of this stuff is a shame, because in spite of all of it, I really enjoyed many parts of this book. I laughed out loud a couple times, and I was almost moved to tears once or twice. The Once and Future King has certainly reignited my interest in Arthurian mythology, and it's definitely a book that I won't forget.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Murder, and Sexual assault
atlascore's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“In the castle of Benwick, the French boy was looking at his face in the polished surface of a kettle-hat. It flashed in the sunlight with the stubborn gleam of metal. It was practically the same as the steel helmet which soldiers still wear, and it did not make a good mirror, but it was the best he could get. He turned the hat in various directions, hoping to get an average idea of his face from the different distoritons which the bulges made. He was trying to find out what he was, and he was afraid of what he would find.
The boy thought that there was something wrong with him. All through his life--even when he was a great man with the world at his feet--he was to feel this gap: something at the bottom of his heart of which he was aware, and ashamed, but which he did not understand. There is no need for us to try to understand it. We do not have to dabble in a place which he preferred to keep secret.”
this book fucked me UP. 4 stars for yearning queer Lancelot & his trauma, .5 stars for being an engaging retelling of the Arthur mythos + having fascinating commentary on mythmaking and history and so on. #priorities
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Self harm
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Racism
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