The Once and Future King (Paperback) by T.H. White - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

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Jun 16, 2008

Heather rated it:

(review of isbn 0441627404)

bookshelves: awe-inspiring--monumental-books

Seriously, how do you review the pinnacle of all fantasy? You can argue with me, but that, in my opinion, is what The Once and Future King is. Sure, the evil enchantresses are stout and grumpy, the magical castles are made out of food, the lily maids are fat and of a certain age, and the knights in shining armor refer to one another as ‘old chap’s. Oh and did I mention that King Arthur’s nickname is ‘the Wart’?
Somehow, T.H. White takes the legend, undresses it, and gives it a ne...more

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Jun 03, 2008

Corinne rated it:

(review of isbn 0441003834)

bookshelves: ward-book-club

Read in June, 2008

This book terrified me, on many levels. It's 667 pages long, to begin with. It's been a while since I read a serious chunkster like that (besides Harry Potter, which somehow in my mind doesn't really count...).

Besides that, I am just not a fan of "Authur" stories, despite my deep love of the Disney movie The Sword and the Stone, of course. Ever since I saw the musical "Camelot" in the theater when I was in high school, the story just didn't appeal to me. Then my b...more This book terrified me, on many levels. It's 667 pages long, to begin with. It's been a while since I read a serious chunkster like that (besides Harry Potter, which somehow in my mind doesn't really count...).

Besides that, I am just not a fan of "Authur" stories, despite my deep love of the Disney movie The Sword and the Stone, of course. Ever since I saw the musical "Camelot" in the theater when I was in high school, the story just didn't appeal to me. Then my book club chose this as our monthly selection and I finally decided it was time to tackle this monster.

Was it worth reading? Absolutely. This book is so much more than just Arthur and Camelot. The first section of the book is essentially the Disney movie, and that part does grab you and you love Wart so much that you keep reading just to find out how it ends for him (although, it got harder and harder to keep reading for a while there, in the middle - it got a bit slow).

White, our beloved author, is a genius, really. He's like your friend or fellow book club member, who just happened to be there, in the middle ages, and he's telling you the story with his own language and always using references to modern day concerns and people. He sometimes appears to mock them and their ways (oh, especially those blundering old knights...), other times he pities them, but mostly, I felt as though he was trying to understand them and why they made the choices they did.

The book is, to me, chiefly three different things.

First, it is a the "historical" study of England at the time, which is interesting and confusing at the same time, with many Lords and Kings and battles etc. Obviously this is a fantasy book and it's based on legend, but either way, we read a lot of political and historical stuff.

Second, much of the book is devoted to a character study of Arthur and Guinevere and Lancelot. Arthur, the imperfect, naive, thoughtful and above all, forgiving king. Guinevere, the stubborn and difficult to understand queen/mistress - White often just tells us straight out that he doesn't know why she made the choices she did. And Lancelot - the ill-made knight, the self-loathing hero of the round table who made a lot of mistakes and yet always tried his best to be moral (except where Guinevere was concerned, of course).

Thirdly, I felt like this was a very moral and philosophical book. White asks difficult questions, usually through Arthur, trying to figure out questions like: Is man inherently good? Why do we have wars and what causes them? Which do we owe more loyalty to, our family (clan) or our country? Is it better to get revenge or to forgive? How do we best create peace: through worship, through wars or through civil justice?

This book is truly a work of art. I must admit however, that as soon as the "Sword in the Stone" section of the book is over, the story was completely depressing, in every way imaginable. Nearly everyone is either deceived, deceitful, or unhappy. Bad things are constantly happening to good people and even the good people seem to be constantly making bad choices. I must also admit that it was still insanely interesting and worthwhile - and, even amid the depressing things, I found myself laughing out loud. Often I found myself pondering the idea of actions and consequences and how often our actions can lead to things in our future that we never could've imagined. My heart ached for Arthur, for what he had and for what he lost.

But, you should read it. Read it for Arthur and Sir Pellinore and for White's use of the word "chuckle-head." I'd be surprised if you regret it.(less)

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Jan 17, 2008

Jeremy rated it:

(review of isbn 0441627404)

Read in January, 2008

recommends it for: anyone who enjoys adventure, romance, history, or fantasy

I read this book about every two years. It is one of my absolute favorites. The stories and the characters are so well-crafted that I can read it over-and-over time and again with just as much pleasure as the first time.
This novel is actually divided into four 'books' within itself, and while you can read the four books out of order, it really is meant to be read from front to back.
The first book, "The Sword In The Stone", is much like the Disney animated movie that was a...more I read this book about every two years. It is one of my absolute favorites. The stories and the characters are so well-crafted that I can read it over-and-over time and again with just as much pleasure as the first time.
This novel is actually divided into four 'books' within itself, and while you can read the four books out of order, it really is meant to be read from front to back.
The first book, "The Sword In The Stone", is much like the Disney animated movie that was adapted from it. There are a few scenes in the movie which are not in the book, and quite a bit in the book which is not in the movie, but the overall flavor is the same, and the essence of the story is there. The main thing lacking from the movie, which is quite important in the novel, is that Merlin is teaching Arthur (Wart) about the ways of humanity, civilization, and society, so that when he becomes the King he will not just continue with things as they have been, but learn to reason and think for himself, to try his best to make the world a better place. These lessons are referred to again and again later in the novel. This first book has far more magic and fairy-tale qualities than any of the rest of the book.
The second book is called "The Queen of Air and Darkness", and primarily has to do with Arthur's nephews from his half-sister, Morgause, and ends with Morgause, not knowing that Arthur is her half-brother, bewitching him and seducing him to give her a child. This child, Mordred, is the essence of fate of Arthur and what makes this novel such a tragedy. White reveals this information as well, and knowing it here does not spoil the remainder of the book in anyway. This second book is one of the shortest of the four.
The third book is easily my favorite and is called "The Ill-Made Knight". It is the story of Sir Lancelot. This portion of the novel (and many smaller pieces of it) are where a great many Hollywood movies pull their King Arthur and Lancelot material from, only they usually get it all wrong. Lancelot, in this book, is the greatest knight in the world, though he is quite ugly - not the sexy and charming knight as is always portrayed in the movies. His face is often compared to a gargoyle. I believe this is quite important. It helps the reader to better understand his relationship with Queen Guenevere ("Jenny") and to understand that the Queen does not have this lifelong affair with her husband's best friend simply because he is charming and handsome and the best knight in the world. The character of Lancelot (as are Arthur and Guenevere) is so richly charactered. His struggles with his faith and humanity, and how those play against his love for his best friend's wife, are his lifelong struggles. Lancelot is shown to be an honest person, of the truest sense, even though he lives this lifelong struggle of adultery with his best friend's wife. The love triangle between Lancelot, Guenevere, and Arthur (and Qudrangle with God, as White often represents it) is the heart of this book, though the book really focuses on Lancelot's internal struggles. This book also serves to explore Arthur's attempts at removing the "Might Is Right" mentality of the Middle Ages, and gives us the Quest for the Holy Grail stories. This book, along with the first book, represents the bulk of this novel's content.
The last book, "A Candle In The Wind", brings together all the elements of Arthur's tragedy. The irony in this book is how Arthur's own new system of "justice" is used against him bring to light (publicly) the affair between Lancelot and Guenever.
This novel is a wonderful exploration of humanity, society, and civilization, and a beautiful fairy tale tragedy.(less)

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Mar 24, 2008

Andrew rated it:

(review of isbn 0441627404)

Read in June, 2008

It is easy to forget that the fantasy genre does have other giants besides Tolkien. T.H. White is such a person. If you want a literary step up from the popcorn fantasy out there give this book a try.

This book is divided into four books. They all go together but they are also all different in focus and have a growing change in mood. White is using Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur as the outline for his story. He writes in a very anachronistic and witty manner. He also vaguely ...more

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Aug 05, 2008

Jamie rated it:

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Read in May, 2007

I really didn't get what I expected out of this book, which I always thought was a serious retelling of the King Arthur legend. I mean, it is that. Eventually. But it's strangely paced and the work's tone follows this odd arc across its four books that put me off.

The first book, "The Sword in the Stone," follows Arthur's childhood, and it's dippy, whimsical, and laden with fantasy. It is, in fact, not too far from the Disney cartoon adaptation of the same name. Arthur has a...more I really didn't get what I expected out of this book, which I always thought was a serious retelling of the King Arthur legend. I mean, it is that. Eventually. But it's strangely paced and the work's tone follows this odd arc across its four books that put me off.

The first book, "The Sword in the Stone," follows Arthur's childhood, and it's dippy, whimsical, and laden with fantasy. It is, in fact, not too far from the Disney cartoon adaptation of the same name. Arthur has all kinds of adventures when his tutor Merlin turns him into different kinds of animals so that he can commune (literally) with nature. There's also legendary figures like Robin Hood and mythical creatures like griffins. The whole thing was chock full of anachronisms and modern humor, which was pretty distracting. It's probably good stuff for young adults, but I found it pretty silly and almost quit reading.

The weird thing is that beginning in the next book and continuing on through the last two, things start to get more serious. The second book still has some humor and silliness in it, such as when two knights create an elaborate costume to impersonate the mythical Questing Beast, only to have a real Questing Beast fall in love with them and pursue them across the countryside. But it's more melancholy, too. The third book turns its focus to Sir Lancelot's rise to prominence, and by the fourth book there is no humor at all and the tone is utterly tragic as it recounts the star-crossed love triangle between King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, and Queen Guenever. It ends quite sadly and is a far cry from a young boy who turns into a talking fish and has grand adventures in the Sherwood Forest.

I actually enjoyed the parts dealing with Arthur, Lancelot, and Guenever. It's a powerful story about love, loyalty, honor, justice, and pride. Those are the kind of powerful concepts that I think of when somebody mentions the Arthurian legends, and it works here. What didn't work quite as well is how the whole novel jumps around from focus to focus and lurches along the time line without any concern for pacing. This is a story that should have felt more epic in places, and it didn't. I also didn't like how the first book about Arthur's childhood had a tone that was so discordant with the rest of things. It's not even like they're part of the same story or world.

Still, it was more entertaining and enjoyable than not, especially the tragedy revolving around a king, his queen, and his most loyal (sorta) and upstanding (kinda) knight. And it's all pretty clean with just a little violence, so I think a lot of young adults would like it, especially if they're into the setting.(less)

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Jul 16, 2008

Travis French rated it:

(review of isbn 0441627404)

Read in May, 2007

recommended to Travis by: Xavier & Magneto
recommends it for: All

Just last week I finished one of the greatest books I have ever read. The Once & Future King by T.H. White.

I had never heard of the book until it was mentioned in Bryan Singer's X-Men movies. Xavier talks about it with his students and Magneto can be seen reading it while in his plastic prison. Because all great works of art are connected I had to read the book. I didn't even know it was about King Arthur and his knights until I found it on Amazon.com.

Like most people...more Just last week I finished one of the greatest books I have ever read. The Once & Future King by T.H. White.

I had never heard of the book until it was mentioned in Bryan Singer's X-Men movies. Xavier talks about it with his students and Magneto can be seen reading it while in his plastic prison. Because all great works of art are connected I had to read the book. I didn't even know it was about King Arthur and his knights until I found it on Amazon.com.

Like most people I was familiar with the characters and parts of the plot. What surprised me is how much of the story is a tragedy. The story couldn't really unfold any other way.

It all starts quite simply. Arthur is a young boy called Wart. Wart lives a sequestered life in feudal England training to be a knight. One morning Wart is searching the forest for a lost falcon and stumbles upon Merlyn's cottage. It is here that the story really starts. Merlyn becomes Wart's tutor and teaches by turning the boy into all manner of animals.

Disney adapted this section, titled The Sword in the Stone, into one of its early animated features with a fair amount of accuracy. Disney's only noticeable changes are addition of musical numbers and the absence of Robin Hood.

The next two sections, titled The Queen of Air & Darkness and The Ill Made Knight, serve to introduce more of the principle characters. It is in these two sections that we meet Queen Morguase, mother of the Orkney clan, as well as Lancelot and Guenever. It is all of these characters, including Arthur himself, who ultimately bring about the downfall of Camelot.

The final section, titled The Candle in the Wind, brings everything to its inevitable conclusion. Lancelot, by rescuing Guenever from the stake, forces Arthur to leave Camelot in the care of a wretched little prick named Mordred.

In the face of all this tragedy some hope survives. Arthur remembers his idea of a just and peaceful civilization, his candle in the wind, and passes it along to a young page named Thomas Mallory. Mallory goes on to write Le Morte de Arthur, perhaps the earliest version of the Arthurian legend.

What makes the book so great is the level of realism White brings to what would otherwise be a fairy tale. A professional journalist turned novelist White cares about the world he creates. He knows what details would add to the plot and what might take away from it. The characters are well rounded human beings; motivated by both their strengths and weaknesses. They live in a real place and coexist with all manner of fantastic beasts. Magic is a natural part of life; no more extraordinary than a jousting match.

Like any great work of art I was sorry I had to finish.

(less)

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May 08, 2008

Allison Sillers rated it:

(review of isbn 0441627404)

Read in January, 1987

i read this when i was a little kid, and have kept rereading it for years. i just love this book. each section is written in prose that suits the time of life of arthur. the sword and the stone is filled with fun and magic and little adventures, perfectly suited to the life of the child. the middle section is a love story with big grand plot twists and that sort of thing, when arthur is a relatively young man. the end, as well as the book of merlyn, is the part of the story that is probabl...more

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Jan 08, 2008

Beth rated it:

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bookshelves: favorites

I carried a quote from this book around in my purse for decades. In my original version of the book, it is on page 111 and begins, "The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or kno...more

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Feb 17, 2009

Lainie rated it:

(review of isbn 0441627404)

Read in January, 1989

This is my favorite novel of all time. It's a great fantasy and the character development is wonderful. I love how the story starts with a young Arthur and is a more childish fun story, but it ages with Arthur himself and becomes more bittersweet.

Best of all is that I have had this book for ages and it has that wonderful smell of having sat on my own bookshelves for ages. This smell is nostalgic of the way books smelled in our house growing up. My mom has always had loads of books h...more

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Aug 10, 2009

Megan Larson rated it:

(review of isbn 0441627404)

bookshelves: fantasy-mythology, favorite-books-ever, medieval-to-early-rennaisance, modern-to-contemporary

Read in September, 2009

recommended to Megan by: Professor X, Jessie Wise, Susan Wise Bauer
recommends it for: Everyone

I feel a bit inadequate to treat this book as a thoroughly knowledgeable reviewer, and so I know that I will come back and edit my comments as I spend more time in medieval literature and history, especially Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur. That said, I wanted to have a record of my inital impressions, however ignorant they may be.
That White's novel is as much a commentary on medieval England and the order of knighthood in those days as a retelling of the Arthurian legend is wholly ...more I feel a bit inadequate to treat this book as a thoroughly knowledgeable reviewer, and so I know that I will come back and edit my comments as I spend more time in medieval literature and history, especially Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur. That said, I wanted to have a record of my inital impressions, however ignorant they may be.
That White's novel is as much a commentary on medieval England and the order of knighthood in those days as a retelling of the Arthurian legend is wholly evident. His magnum opus is evidence of his own thorough study of medieval history and literature, and of his attempt to understand it both by its own merits and, ultimately, by his own beliefs.
The Once and Future King IS a magnum opus, to be sure. White teaches the reader to interact with Arthur's tale on every level--as a beautiful story of humanity, as a foundational piece of literature, and as a commentary on its time. His own interpretation is quite different than Malory's must have been, since he treats war as unpardonable barbarism, knightly quests and tournaments as foppish and pointless, and the ultimate salvation of mankind in a "live and let live" mentality (as long as no one hurts anyone else). White's Arthur is great because of his political innovation and his devotion to right over might, whereas I am sure Malory's Arthur didn't mind conquest quite so much. As for the affair between Guenever and Lancelot, White's Arthur loved his two friends so much that he took every pain not to think about their treachery, and didn't seem to be emotionally hurt by it at all (although in the end it was the source of many evils he had to endure). Perhaps he, like White himself, was not particularly interested in women?
But, aside from the elements that make it blatantly modern, White brought tremendous care and compassion to his telling. The reader truly pities each character as his doom grows nearer, and somehow the terrible errors each major character makes do not wholly define him--he is human. Also, White was funny--truly witty and winsome. I laughed aloud more times than I can count, and appreciated his voice as much as that of any other in the story.
I truly enjoyed this book, even though I do not share all of White's worldview. It deserved the highest rating and I heartily recommend it to everyone. (less)

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Aug 01, 2008

Erik Graff rated it:

(review of isbn 0399105972)

bookshelves: literature

Read in January, 1965

recommended to Erik by: Einar Graff
recommends it for: everyone

Bored with school books, I asked Dad which of his books he'd recommend. Looking up at his shelves above the desk in a living room nook, he listed Robert Graves' novels, Charles Beard's histories and T. H. White's The Once and Future King. Beard was college reading for him, the kind of book his own father might have recommended. Graves and White were books he had enjoyed during long, boring cruises through the Atlantic and Pacific during WWII.

Although I much enjoyed Graves' novels ...more

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Jul 28, 2008

Octavia Clark rated it:

(review of isbn 0441627404)

Pretty good, but somehow it almost completely robbed all the romance from the story. Also, I noticed a lot of things happened differently in this story than I remember happening.

Here are some passages that stood out to me:

"For her, hoever, as for all women, the dreads were in advance of the male horizon. Men often accuse women of driving them to unfaithfulness by senseless jealousy, before there ahs been any thought of unfaithfulness on their part. Yet the thought w...more

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Jun 18, 2008

Jules rated it:

(review of isbn 0441003834)

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

It's an astonishing book, really. White seamlessly connects the 20th century with the Middle Ages; the anachronisms are surprising in his use of them, but they don't break the fabric of the narrative. It does of course have slow patches, but even the slow patches had their brilliance. My reading slowed down a lot in Book 2, but it picked up in book 3 because I like Lancelot. You fall in love with his guilt, his sense of purity and honor, his love of both Arthur and Guenever... he's such a phenom...more

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Mar 22, 2008

Werner rated it:

(review of isbn 0441627404)

bookshelves: fantasy

Read in January, 1984

recommends it for: Fantasy fans (especially of Arthurian fantasy)

As the above description notes, this collection (it includes The Sword in the Stone, The Witch in the Wood, and The Ill-Made Knight, plus, I believe, some additional material) is "different" in it's approach to the Arthurian legend; but whether it represents "the modern" view of Arthur is dubious --White's view is pretty much unique. (If there is such a thing as a "modern" view of Arthur, it would probably be the historical view that tries to place him the actual h...more

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Mar 05, 2008

Mark rated it:

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Read in May, 2008

I’ve never given King Arthur much thought. He and his Round Table never struck much interest in me. Always seemed like kids’ stories and folklore in the vein of John Henry, Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan.

But this is genuinely a fantastic piece of work. It’s well written, sure, but T.H. White had something to say. Published in 1952, just seven years after World War II, in the midst of American congressmen performing a vehement witch hunt for communists and a Cold War, many people h...more

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Jan 08, 2008

Megan rated it:

(review of isbn 0441627404)

bookshelves: fantasy, political-theory, romance

Read in January, 2008

recommends it for: Angelo, Mara, Jeremy

This is an entertaining and accessible novelization about political theory, told through a rather extraordinary re-imagining of the beloved mythological characters of Arthurian legend. I found White's characterizations of Arthur, Lancelot, and Guenevere to be psychologically probing, nuanced, and fascinating, if a little overly tragic. His Merlyn however, was so doddering and wonderful it made me want to cry. If only Merlyn were in more of the book; he was by far my favorite. The Once and Future...more This is an entertaining and accessible novelization about political theory, told through a rather extraordinary re-imagining of the beloved mythological characters of Arthurian legend. I found White's characterizations of Arthur, Lancelot, and Guenevere to be psychologically probing, nuanced, and fascinating, if a little overly tragic. His Merlyn however, was so doddering and wonderful it made me want to cry. If only Merlyn were in more of the book; he was by far my favorite. The Once and Future King focuses mostly on the triangle between Arthur, Lancelot, and Guenevere, and has long portions on both Arthur's and Lancelot's childhoods, but not much about Merlyn's or Guenevere's background. Many famous tales of the knights of the Round Table are skimmed over or omitted in order to focus more on the story of Arthur's experimentations with political justice, but that's what makes this a novel, rather than a collection of myths and legends, and for this it has a coherence that other books about Arthurian Legend lack.

I had read this as a kid, and enjoyed it because I loved King Arthur, but I remember at the time being frustrated about the reality of the affair between Lancelot and Guenevere. I identified with Arthur so much it hurt to see him so... put aside, and by people who did actually care for him. Now as an adult I understand there's so much more to it than I had originally understood as a child, and I identify more with Lancelot than I did before, though I still feel horribly sad when I think of poor Arthur, and the two people he loves most not loving him enough to remain faithful to him, or at least to not recklessly cast all he had worked for into ruin for selfish pleasure. His character, though, as the book goes on becomes painfully thin - he turns the other cheek far too often with no seeming cause or without much thought; it's rather frustrating. I like to think of Arthur, despite his failings, as a powerful and wise king, not a sad sap to afraid to move for fear of upsetting something. It's hard to read about his downfall and watch accept his fate without much of a fight at all - though I guess why he does so is sort of modestly explained.

I wish I could read this a third time, when I am older, and identify with Guenevere, but the female characterizations in White's novel (partially perhaps not his fault as he didn't have much to work with from Malory, his greatest source) are woefully absent. The text just doesn't have much to explain Guenever or Elaine, at least not with the same depth and comlexity with which it explores Arthur and Lancelot.

I want to read The Book of Merlyn, because it was supposed to be the end of the cycle, and I was hoping it would have more to say about my favorite character. So there's hope yet that Merlyn's curious motivations might be explored someday, but the women of Arthurian legend will have to wait for another writer to take them up some other time.
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Nov 09, 2007

Muneeb rated it:

(review of isbn 0441003834)

Read in December, 2007

WOW! Those were murmured out of my mouth as I finished reading T.H White’s The Once and Future King. When I first started to read the story of Arthur I was excepting something like the Disney movie "The Sword in the Stone." As I began to engross myself into the book I was soon corrected.

The Once and Future King consists of four different books making up the story of King Arthur. The first book is probably the best known book because of Disney’s adaptation of it, The ...more

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Apr 03, 2009

Diana rated it:

(review of isbn 0399105972)

bookshelves: fantasy, historical

Read in January, 1964

This was my favorite book in fifth grade. Have always had a soft spot in my heart for anything Arthurian ever since.

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Mar 24, 2009

Kara rated it:

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I could easily make the argument that this is my favorite book. My god, this book slapped me across the face when I was in high school. It's as close to perfect as I think a book can be: mannered, clean, heart-rending, and sophisticated. This book woke me up to the fact that I was going to become an adult soon and gave me the lens to begin to look backward and forward in my life. White gets it, he's one of the few who can get down to the details of how it feels to be a human being with honesty a...more

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Feb 14, 2009

Jane rated it:

(review of isbn 0441627404)

recommends it for: people who like fantasy books or war books or both.

I read this book in high school, and I decided to re-read it, because I remember loving it. I had forgotten how difficult it is to get through the first part of the book, and I almost put it down entirely. In The Sword in the Stone, Arthur is a young boy being tutored by Merlyn. Merlyn turns him in to different sorts of animals as part of his "lessons." This is a really essential part of the book, because since each animal has a different societal structure, if you will, Arthur lea...more

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