Those wishing to avoid spoilers have been duly warned with this sentence as spoilers may follow.
A friend recommended this book to me as my complaints of basic female characters in the fantasy fiction I’ve been reading had gotten out of hand. The stock actions, and trite descriptors made me feel that the female characters where being underwritten and not given the attention or development that they deserved. Most of these underwritten descriptions provided a rash cattiness to the characters that seems standard in this genre.
Mists of Avalon is a reworking, retelling and re-imagining of the Arthur Pendragon saga. Told this time through the female characters. Except for the scrying on Galahad with the Holy Grail, the main focus is kept tight on the women of the myths. It comes across as odd to the casual Arthurian reader, as the stories were about the Knights of the Round Table and their quests. Even knowing the history of the saga, or watching the television series based on this book, didn’t keep me from being surprised in places and moved by the quality of both characters and story.
The main character of this story is clearly Morgaine, later Morgan la Fay, and her struggles to unite Britain with its pagan half as the weight of the Christian world force Avalon deeper into the realm of fairies. She comes across as weak and strong, driven and passive, at various points along the story. She was meant to help guide her half-brother Gwydion, later Arthur, to keep the promises made to the Priestesses of Avalon, which he betrayed for his queen Gwenhwyfar.
Told as it is, the story unfolds was wonderfully different then I expected for a tale of King Arthur. Having read some of Le Morte d’Arthur, and watching Excalibur, First Knight, Sword in the Stone, even TNT’s Mists of Avalon miniseries, I was surprised at the twists that Zimmer Bradley provided in her tale. The elaborate names and setting details pulled the story along and keep me interested in finishing the book.
The dualities that the story confronted was delightful to see unfold, even sad to see as the world of Avalon pass beyond the shores of Britain. The betrayal of trusts that each character made me feel that Arthur’s world was short on people that could truly meet their own goals and see their desires fulfilled. Gwenhwyrfar’s longing for Lancelet was an expected point that Zimmer Bradley covers quite beautifully as the story unfolds.
When Morgaine gives the queen a talisman to help get the queen’s most wished desire fulfilled—Gwenhwyfar thought that she wanted a child, when she truly desired Lancelet—the reader feels both the shame and the hypocrisy that the queen has, using magic while verbally against it, desiring another man while hoping to stay faithful to her husband, going as far as to blasphemy the word of God and making her husband swear by His name.
The book’s range of characters keeps interest high, and the pacing overall is good with a rich sense of detail. Though I disagree with the epilogue, I can understand why it’s placed in the story. We see the world becoming more Christianized and see the fading glories of Avalon.
I would like to say that this book is the best there is for everyone, but I can see several people disagreeing with the standpoint of the novel. Mists of Avalon covers both the pagan and Christian worlds, while leaning more to the pagan side, it strikes a fair balance of historical detail and fantastical storytelling that shouldn’t be passed up.
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