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A review by meganac
Guinevere by Sharan Newman
4.0
"The sacrifice was desecrated," the voice hissed. "She will not pay, but Britain will. And you. The child was mine. She was destined for me and no other fate. Now all who have her will reap only grief from her. She will come to wish she had gone with me this night."
4.5 stars. I don't know if it's just me, but all King Arthur retellings seem to have a similar, ethereal quality - there's just so much unexplained, so much mystery and symbolism. Guinevere was a good read for me, as it is written in beautiful, old-fashioned narration, and the characters are as shrouded in mystery as they are in The Seeing Stone, or in any of Rosemary Sutcliff's works. Written in the 80s, this book follows Guinevere through her childhood, unwrapping the early years of this young and beautiful queen who destroyed so much of her husband's kingdom without even trying to. It is steeped in Celtic lore and mythology, even bringing Epona in and validating the pagan rituals. It is written as though Celtic mythology was actually real.
It's also greatly accurate in a historical sense. We see in this book the struggle of the Brits to hold their land from the Saxons and the Irish raiders, we see the struggle of the new religion against the old, the tax of war upon innocents, the bent of humanity's heart towards evil. It is realistic and painful, and because of this, it is beautiful.
This book, like any other Arthurian retelling, contains all the immorality of Camelot, though no great detail is used. I would consider it above the level of middle-graders, but teens who aren't shy of deep books would enjoy it.
4.5 stars. I don't know if it's just me, but all King Arthur retellings seem to have a similar, ethereal quality - there's just so much unexplained, so much mystery and symbolism. Guinevere was a good read for me, as it is written in beautiful, old-fashioned narration, and the characters are as shrouded in mystery as they are in The Seeing Stone, or in any of Rosemary Sutcliff's works. Written in the 80s, this book follows Guinevere through her childhood, unwrapping the early years of this young and beautiful queen who destroyed so much of her husband's kingdom without even trying to. It is steeped in Celtic lore and mythology, even bringing Epona in and validating the pagan rituals. It is written as though Celtic mythology was actually real.
It's also greatly accurate in a historical sense. We see in this book the struggle of the Brits to hold their land from the Saxons and the Irish raiders, we see the struggle of the new religion against the old, the tax of war upon innocents, the bent of humanity's heart towards evil. It is realistic and painful, and because of this, it is beautiful.
This book, like any other Arthurian retelling, contains all the immorality of Camelot, though no great detail is used. I would consider it above the level of middle-graders, but teens who aren't shy of deep books would enjoy it.