by Thomas Malory , translated by Gerald J. Davis ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2019
A new collection that intriguingly sheds light on a famous legend.
Awards & Accolades
Our Verdict
GET IT
An updated retelling of the tales of King Arthur and his knights.
As the uninitiated reader will learn from the preface to this extensive work, the tales of King Arthur, as modern audiences know them, were translated from the French and compiled by Englishman Sir Thomas Malory. A version of his work was set in print for wider consumption by William Caxton in 1485. Then, in 1934, a second Malory manuscript, which was arguably closer to his original intent, was discovered in Winchester, England. This latest rendition by translator Davis (The Canterbury Tales, 2016, etc.) is a lengthy amalgam of the Caxton and Winchester works, retelling what he felt were the “best” parts of each. In this way, the reader is launched into his version of a wild world of knights, chivalry, horses, and bloodshed, with details that may be unfamiliar to many. The work is broken up into individual books; Book Five, for example, sees King Arthur battling his way to Rome, and Book Thirteen details the famed quest for the Holy Grail. Many tales center on the desires of particular knights, and for the most part, those desires extend toward the realm of combat. As depicted here, knights—of which there are many—seem to love nothing more than to attack, preferably on horseback. Jousting is the most common activity, and the text vividly recounts knights being knocked off their perches. At one point, for instance, Sir Tristan deals such a blow to his opponent that the latter “fell upside-down from his horse, and the blood burst out from the vents of his helmet.” However, although these passages are full of action, such scenes eventually become tedious. If anyone ever stops to wonder whether the life of a “Fair Knight” holds any meaning outside of fighting, it is rarely expressed. Still, for those readers who may be expecting a straightforward quest narrative, Davis’ compilation contains a number of unexpected elements, including some highly specific religious detail. Book Two, “The Tale of Balin,” for instance, provides background on Joseph of Arimathea’s involvement with the Holy Grail, and the aforementioned Book Thirteen, about the quest for the artifact itself, also involves an explanation of the parable of Jesus and a fig tree, which appears in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew in the New Testament. Davis’ text can be repetitive in places, and the style of the retelling, as a whole, doesn’t ultimately read with the ease of a modern story. However, many readers will still find it illuminating to see how Davis presents all the parts of the legend of King Arthur that the popular culture has ignored since the days of Malory. Indeed, there are some truly odd moments here; at one point, for example, the great Sir Lancelot kills someone with his bare hands for not letting him ride in his cart, and at another, it’s pointed out that Sir Gawain “loved all kinds of fruit, especially apples and pears.”
A new collection that intriguingly sheds light on a famous legend.Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-79460-760-6
Page Count: 726
Publisher: Time Tunnel Media
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Share your opinion of this book
by Nora Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 13, 1995
Thoroughbreds and Virginia blue-bloods cavort, commit murder, and fall in love in Roberts's (Hidden Riches, 1994, etc.) latest romantic thriller — this one set in the world of championship horse racing. Rich, sheltered Kelsey Byden is recovering from a recent divorce when she receives a letter from her mother, Naomi, a woman she has believed dead for over 20 years. When Kelsey confronts her genteel English professor father, though, he sheepishly confesses that, no, her mother isn't dead; throughout Kelsey's childhood, she was doing time for the murder of her lover. Kelsey meets with Naomi and not only finds her quite charming, but the owner of Three Willows, one of the most splendid horse farms in Virginia. Kelsey is further intrigued when she meets Gabe Slater, a blue-eyed gambling man who owns a neighboring horse farm; when one of Gabe's horses is mated with Naomi's, nostrils flare, flanks quiver, and the romance is on. Since both Naomi and Gabe have horses entered in the Kentucky Derby, Kelsey is soon swept into the whirlwind of the Triple Crown, in spite of her family's objections to her reconciliation with the notorious Naomi. The rivalry between the two horse farms remains friendly, but other competitors — one of them is Gabe's father, a vicious alcoholic who resents his son's success — prove less scrupulous. Bodies, horse and human, start piling up, just as Kelsey decides to investigate the murky details of her mother's crime. Is it possible she was framed? The ground is thick with no-goods, including haughty patricians, disgruntled grooms, and jockeys with tragic pasts, but despite all the distractions, the identity of the true culprit behind the mayhem — past and present — remains fairly obvious. The plot lopes rather than races to the finish. Gambling metaphors abound, and sexual doings have a distinctly equine tone. But Roberts's style has a fresh, contemporary snap that gets the story past its own worst excesses.
Pub Date: June 13, 1995
ISBN: 0-399-14059-X
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1995
Share your opinion of this book
More by Nora Roberts
BOOK REVIEW
by Nora Roberts
BOOK REVIEW
by Nora Roberts
BOOK REVIEW
by Nora Roberts
by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2008
Dated sermonizing on career versus motherhood, and conflict driven by characters’ willed helplessness, sap this tale of...
Lifelong, conflicted friendship of two women is the premise of Hannah’s maudlin latest (Magic Hour, 2006, etc.), again set in Washington State.
Tallulah “Tully” Hart, father unknown, is the daughter of a hippie, Cloud, who makes only intermittent appearances in her life. Tully takes refuge with the family of her “best friend forever,” Kate Mularkey, who compares herself unfavorably with Tully, in regards to looks and charisma. In college, “TullyandKate” pledge the same sorority and major in communications. Tully has a life goal for them both: They will become network TV anchorwomen. Tully lands an internship at KCPO-TV in Seattle and finagles a producing job for Kate. Kate no longer wishes to follow Tully into broadcasting and is more drawn to fiction writing, but she hesitates to tell her overbearing friend. Meanwhile a love triangle blooms at KCPO: Hard-bitten, irresistibly handsome, former war correspondent Johnny is clearly smitten with Tully. Expecting rejection, Kate keeps her infatuation with Johnny secret. When Tully lands a reporting job with a Today-like show, her career shifts into hyperdrive. Johnny and Kate had started an affair once Tully moved to Manhattan, and when Kate gets pregnant with daughter Marah, they marry. Kate is content as a stay-at-home mom, but frets about being Johnny’s second choice and about her unrealized writing ambitions. Tully becomes Seattle’s answer to Oprah. She hires Johnny, which spells riches for him and Kate. But Kate’s buttons are fully depressed by pitched battles over slutwear and curfews with teenaged Marah, who idolizes her godmother Tully. In an improbable twist, Tully invites Kate and Marah to resolve their differences on her show, only to blindside Kate by accusing her, on live TV, of overprotecting Marah. The BFFs are sundered. Tully’s latest attempt to salvage Cloud fails: The incorrigible, now geriatric hippie absconds once more. Just as Kate develops a spine, she’s given some devastating news. Will the friends reconcile before it’s too late?
Dated sermonizing on career versus motherhood, and conflict driven by characters’ willed helplessness, sap this tale of poignancy.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-312-36408-3
Page Count: 496
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2007
Share your opinion of this book
More About This Book
BOOK TO SCREEN
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.