Name: Caitlin
Grade: 12+
Book: The Mists of Avalon
Author: Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Mists of Avalon is a 900 page epic novel- and it's not 900 pages with big font, either. We're talking 900 pages of size 10 font; needless to say, this book took me a while to read. In fact, it took me most of the summer to get through it. Even for it's wordy and intimidating size, this book is a beautifully crafted, in-depth story of King Arthur. What makes it so unique is that it isn't told from the point of view of Arthur, but rather the women that shaped him.
The book has several main characters, ranging from a druidic High Priestess (The Lady of the Lake), her daughter forced into marriage(Igraine), to the daughter of Igraine (Morgaine), to Arthur's wife, and his aunt, Morgause. The book follows all of these characters at different intervals through the years, but if I had to pick which character was most focused on, it would have to be Morgaine.
Morgaine is the daughter of Igraine and Uther Pendragon, raised as a priestess for the Goddess (part of the oldest religion in Britain at the time)and is the most followed voice throughout the story. She faces many hardships throughout her life, like that of becoming a priestess and suffering through the loss of her own faith. To describe to you Morgaine is a difficult task. Bradley has given all of her characters such depth and character that I feel like trying to re-state it would be an insult to the character; still, at the very least, Morgaine is a solemn, intelligent and devoted woman. She is closest to my heart in this story because her voice is followed from the moment she is born until the moment she is no more.
Trying to explain what The Mists of Avalon is about is an almost impossible task because it truly tells the life story of so many characters. One of the main focuses is religion; Christianity versus the worship of the Goddess. This issue is brought to focus time and time again through both Morgaine, a devoted follower of the goddess, and Gwenefwyar, a pious Christian and wife to Arthur. Their faiths clash against each other constantly, creating a lot of tension and drama for everyone. The book also focuses on how women were expected to behave in that time, as well as how women who don't act that way are viewed by the public. These two main conflicts within the book make the story rich and fascinating in ways that are hard to describe to people who haven't read it.
Seeing as this book is so terribly long, I feel that I can't do it justice by writing a review about it that isn't a book in itself. The story is bold and rich and beautiful. The characters are vibrant and I found myself cheering (or in Gwen's case, booing) them on through every page. I gasped out loud with them as something dramatic or tragic happened, I laughed with them and I went with them on their journeys as they became great women who guide King Arthur and helped make him such a wonderful king. I feel that everyone should read this book. It is a gorgeously woven tapestry of colors and the lives of the people in King Arthur's court. I was so intimidated by it's length before, but I am more than happy that I read it. It's one of the best books I have ever read in my entire life, if not the best book period.
Why I picked up this book: Everyone gave it very high recommendations and I love storied about Merlin and King Arthur and all that.
Why I finished it: Though I did put it down for sometimes a week at a time, I never really tired of it and in the end I had to know what was going to happen to all the characters I had grown to love.
I'd give this book to: Anyone who is looking for a really brilliant book; as long as they're willing to start such a long novel :P
My Rating for this book: ******* --That is 7 stars.
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