T. H. White (1906–1964)

This book is a mess, but kind of a glorious, interesting mess. It is a retelling of the Arthurian legend, based on Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur. As originally published, it consisted of four books. After the author's death a fifth book (The Book of Merlyn) was published, and the edition of The Once and Future King I read included that too.

Let's talk about each of the books:

1) The Sword in the Stone: this is about Arthur's childhood, and about how the wizard Merlyn mentored him to prepare him to become the king of England who would put an end to the abuses of the often brutal feudal lords and redirect the energies of those warriors towards the defense of what is right. It is a children's book, told in a very whimsical way, with magic adventures, blundering and comical knights, Arthur being turned into different animals to learn lessons from them... White tells the story in a very conversational tone, on purpose using many anachronisms that contribute to the whimsical atmosphere of the story. However, there are also some serious themes underlying it all. White introduces a strong pacifist message in the story.

2) The Queen of Air and Darkness: this book is mostly about Queen Morgause and her children (Gawain, Agravain, Gaheris and Gareth... Mordred would come later). It tells how their mother's pernicious brand of love influenced and, to a certain extent, warped those children. It also tells how Mordred was conceived. At the same time, it tells about the first part of Arthur's reign and the wars he fought against the lords who were not ready to accept his vision. Although some whimsical elements remain (like King Pellinore's eternal persecution of the Questing Beast), the tone is much more serious. It is particularly interesting for the complex psychological portrayal of Gawain and his brothers.

3) The Ill-Made Knight: this book is mainly about Lancelot, and about his ill-fated love affair with Queen Guinevere. In White's hands, Lancelot is a truly complex and fascinating character. This is the longest book and and the one that develops the central themes of the story.

4) The Candle in the Wind: this book tells the end of Arthur's tale, and it shows how his kingdom and the Round Table fall apart, consumed by resentments and tragic sins.

5) The Book of Merlyn: this one was included in the edition I read, but in many other editions it is not included. It is set during Arthur's last night, when Merlyn appears again and they revisit many of the lessons he had as a boy, and spend too much time on lengthy political and philosophical lectures. I frankly did not see the point. I mean, I think Arthur's story is very well-suited for the pacifist message White includes, but sometimes the more a message is hammered the less effective it becomes. At this point in the narrative, these lectures are really out of place. They should have remained unpublished. If your edition has it, unless you are a completist, my advice would be to read only the last chapter of this book, which is a nice epilogue to Arthur's story.

All in all, the book is a bit disorganized. Sometimes an important event that we had not read about is mentioned in passing, and later it is actually told, thus causing some confusion. Sometimes White is given to digressions that contribute little to the story. However, it is also a huge, fascinating story, at times beautifully told. The interpretation of the characters is excellent. White makes them complex and conflicted, in a way that makes them seem real people.… (altro)

My target is to have this read by 2020-09-26, for a book club zoom meeting that day. The zoom book club meeting came and went. The discussion was interesting even though I hadn’t finished the book.

This book expounds the idea that we do not have choice, that there is a course of life set for us that we cannot alter. I don’t believe that. I believe that we do have choice, and our choices make a difference in the direction of our lives and our resultant happiness.

Life is complicated in that most of the time our understanding is imperfect. Missteps were made by main characters because of their misunderstanding of who really cared for them, and who was plotting to betray them.

I like the ending. It did not wrap everything up and put a pretty bow around it.… (altro)