Book of Merlyn
by T.H. White
Book of Merlyn
T.H. White |
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 357)
Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
White completists
I happened upon this book some time after reading The Once and Future King and always intended to reread the trilogy and then read this, so the events of the preceding books would be fresher in my mind. However, time has gone on, and I don't realistically envisage reading The Sword in the Stone and its fellows any time in the near future. So I decided to...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in August, 2007
A favorite quote:
They discovered that he was furiously angry...
"I would not have minded," he burst out, "if they had been wicked--if they had wanted to be wicked. I would not have minded if they had chosen to be wicked for some reason, or for fun. But they did not know, they had not chosen. They--they--they did not exist!...
"The horrible creatures! It was like talking to minerals which could move, like talking to statues or to machines. If you said something which was not suitable to the mechanism, then it worked: if not, it did not work, it stood still, it was blank, it had no expression. Oh, Merlyn, how hideous! They were the walking dead. When did they die? Did they ever have any feelings? They have none now. They were like that door in the fairy story, which opened when you said Sesame. I believe that they only knew about a dozen words, or collections of words. A man with those in his mind oculd have made them do all the things they could do, and then...Then you would have had to start again! Again and again and again! It was like being in Hell. Except that none of them knew they were there. None of them knew anything. Is there anything more terrible than perpetual motion, than doing and doing and doing, without a reason, without a consciousness, without a change, without an end?" ...more
They discovered that he was furiously angry...
"I would not have minded," he burst out, "if they had been wicked--if they had wanted to be wicked. I would not have minded if they had chosen to be wicked for some reason, or for fun. But they did not know, they had not chosen. They--they--they did not exist!...
"The horrible creatures! It was like talking to minerals which could move, like talking to statues or to machines. If you said something which was not suitable to the mechanism, then it worked: if not, it did not work, it stood still, it was blank, it had no expression. Oh, Merlyn, how hideous! They were the walking dead. When did they die? Did they ever have any feelings? They have none now. They were like that door in the fairy story, which opened when you said Sesame. I believe that they only knew about a dozen words, or collections of words. A man with those in his mind oculd have made them do all the things they could do, and then...Then you would have had to start again! Again and again and again! It was like being in Hell. Except that none of them knew they were there. None of them knew anything. Is there anything more terrible than perpetual motion, than doing and doing and doing, without a reason, without a consciousness, without a change, without an end?" ...more
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Don't expect this to be just another book, or chapter of THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING. It is a treatise on its own, of the resolution of a man's hard life, full of beauty, images and lessons that give something different with every reading. Reading the first four books of the story makes no difference to this.
A colleague of my father's had a quote at his desk, I saw it at about age 10, and it got me thinking, really for the first time about contradiction, and life... Posted above the Ant's doma...more
A colleague of my father's had a quote at his desk, I saw it at about age 10, and it got me thinking, really for the first time about contradiction, and life... Posted above the Ant's doma...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
magicians, philosophers
The conclusion to The Once and Future King. It's the fifth of five volumes, and illustrates one last encounter between Arthur and Merlyn. If you've read The Once and Future King, you should read this for unity, but it can also be read as a stand-alone text. Some parts were taken from The Book of Merlyn and re-shaped into the first volume when the novel was published with only four. It works better as five, if only for the philosophical musings of this last (and short) book. Merlyn teaches A...more
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Read in July, 2007
It was a wise choice to leave this book out of the Once and Future King. White leaves behind the analysis and summation of Malory that made The Illmade Knight and The Candle in the Wind so wonderful. Instead he takes Arthur underground to be taught once again about the horrors of humanity by Merlin's animal friends. Pedantic and tedious retreads of Sword in the Stone with extra adult dread. A few good chapters in which Arthur contemplates the English countryside at night and then returns t...more
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Is this a sequel to The Once and Future King? Or is it the missing or deleted chapters? It doesn't really matter, it's a great companion/conclusion to the original classic work. It's Arthur's last night, the eve of his confrontation with Mordred, and he's getting one final lesson from Merlyn and his animal mentors. Listening to Merlyn's lectures, we learn a great deal about human nature and our warlike attitudes. I found this to be a logical and satisfying addition to White's Arthur legen...more
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Read in January, 2008
The Once and Future King is the version of the matter of Britain that I grew up on. It was the basis for both the Sword in the Stone and the musical Camelot. So I was elated to see that there was a little more to the story. In this book, Arthur returns to the animals with Merlyn the night before his final battle to learn something about war and humanity. And geese. A little preachy, but otherwise good.
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Read in April, 2008
It is quite clear from reading T.H. White that he didn't much care for women, or foreigners otherwise called savages. His examination of the human condition gets bogged down with Merlyn going off on long rants. I was left disappointed that White hadn't explored the implications of Merlyn existence. White certainly writes as a product of his time and sex and places these traits in Merlyn's character. Pity.
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Read in January, 1980
Largely enjoyed reading this, some playful writing. Not sure just what to make of it, though; it's largely light, but it's a playfully (that word again) self-conscious adaptation of Mythic High Tragedy. Nor do I feel it were justice to the author, to think overmuch on its Meaning. There's a feet-in-boots, head-in-clouds feel to it.
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Read in August, 2008
An interesting conclusion to one of my favorite books--but also easy to see why it was not originally published. The book oozes White's disgust with humanity and Merlyn's (White's?) arguments are often thin and easily argued. Worth reading for fans of The Once and Future King, but not as interesting as the first four books.
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Read in August, 2008
Just happened upon this book, printed in the early 1980s, I believe and sort of crackly. A short book, and a real delight. Merlyn is as wise and muddled and ever. Arthur, at first a beaten old man, but becomes, from his own inner strenth, once again the Once and Future King.
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The conclusion to The Once and Future King - Merlyn comes to visit Arthur on the night before his battle with Mordred. Arthur and Merlyn speak with Merlyn's animal friends to learn more about man, and perhaps glean some wisdom. A bit of a dark book.
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Very long winded, and kinda annoying conclusion to the once and future king. i gave it a 3 because i've been dying to read for so long. and i love The Once and Future King
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Now that I've read The Once and Future King I really want to read this, but my reading schedule is somewhat busy at the moment, so I'm not sure when I'll get to it.
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recommends it for:
anyone with a brain
The end of The Once And Future King the way TH White wanted it to be in the first place.
Check it out. It adds a whole new level of depth to the first four parts.
Check it out. It adds a whole new level of depth to the first four parts.
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Final chapter of T.H. White's "Once and Future King." Devolves into blatant philosophical discourse. Good thing this wasn't included in the original book.
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The most profoundly anti-war book you may ever read. Absolutely necessary conclusion to the Once and Future King.
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Read in March, 2008
It's good this ended up being left out of The Once and Future King. There's far too much ranting for its own good.
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The "Unpublished Conclusion" to a book I wasn't thrilled with. Big fucking whoop. Obviously, not impressed.
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Read in February, 2008
An old kingdom teaching of politics and human nature. Very insightful when you least expect it.
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