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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1763391.The_Summer_Tree?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Summer Tree" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1214686950m/1763391.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1763391.The_Summer_Tree?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">The Summer Tree</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/60177.Guy_Gavriel_Kay">Guy Gavriel Kay</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19970388?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 5 of 5 stars Not to enter into the great Tolkien-invented-modern-heroic-fantasy-and-everyone-else-is-just-an-imitator debate but I've loved this book for a long time and it pains me to see it dismissed as a cheap copy of <a href="/search/search?q=+The+Lord+of+the+Rings&t=title"> The Lord of the Rings</a>. <a href="/search/search?q=+J.R.R.+Tolkien&t=author"> J.R.R. Tolkien</a> based middle earth on his research, and while a wonderful creation (I don't mean to belittle it at all), it isn't unique in all literature everywhere. Much of it was creative retelling or incorporation of existing legends and stories and events from real early British and Germanic civilizations. That someone else might also do this doesn't mean he was ripping off Tolkien. Ever read <a href="/search/search?q=+Marie-Louise+Sjoestedt&t=author"> Marie-Louise Sjoestedt</a>'s <a href="/search/search?q=+Gods+and+Heroes+of+the+Celts&t=title"> Gods and Heroes of the Celts</a>? You won't just recognize some of Tolkien but <a href="/search/search?q=+J.K.+Rowling&t=author"> J.K. Rowling</a> as well. 
 
 <a href="/search/search?q=+Guy+Gavriel+Kay&t=author"> Guy Gavriel Kay</a> knows his gods, heroes, and legends and creates something that in the very best tradition of modern fantasy manages to spin a very old tale, or better yet, several of them into a complex and beautiful tapestry. He doesn't invent every thread but draws on so many different ones that he creates something new. I would not want to discount the contribution Tolkien played but also want to recognize Malory, Spenser, Tennyson, and the anonymous scribes and poets who recorded Norse sagas, Celtic hero tales, and the Mabinogion. (Don't know what I'm talking about? Stop playing Dungeons and Dragons for a second and read some real books).
 
 Kay does something beyond all this too. He manages to create real characters that you care about and relate to. There are no stern warrior kings that never show emotion. The ice princess has very real issues with the choices she's made in life. The sacrifice is --
 
 Well, the sacrifice is the heart of the book. <a href="/search/search?q=+The+Summer+Tree&t=title"> The Summer Tree</a> is more than symbolic and Kay deftly foreshadows its many meanings. What we try to hide from ourselves affects our choices, all of our choices, and only those that are willing to look into themselves and understand; well, they are the ones who will have power in the world because they can control themselves, so they learn control over others.
 
 I really do love this book. Kay became one of my favorite writers when I first read it, twenty years ago. This work did influence me to read all those other authors and stories that I've been talking about here. I have read it ten times or more, and it always makes me cry. Really. Real tears. I hurt for these characters. I can see myself in them, in some ways, and I certainly see men I have known. But not women. If there is a real flaw in this work, it is Kay's women (and I'm happy to acknowledge an imitation of Tolkien there). I would say that this is a man writing about how he thinks women think. And they suffer more than the male characters, in ways that I can only describe as unfair. There is some brutal stuff at the end of this book and while I know how critical it is to the plot, I feel like he could have handled it a different way. I'm struggling to explain it. It's always bothered me and since I don't want to flag this review with a spoiler alert, I'll just have to leave you, dear goodreader, with this ambiguity.
 
 My last comment is a warning. If you are not completely swept up in this story in the beginning (or near the beginning), you may find the language jarring. When you're reading at speed because it's late, later than you should be up, and you can't put the book down, the language is lyrical. But if you're bored and reading slowly, you'll notice every choice to prioritize the flow of a line of dialogue instead of what a real person would actually say. Someone does say "hear ye the will of the Goddess" at one point. Acknowledge that the sound of the story is more important and allow the flow to continue, don't start counting how many times he writes "Oh" and "Lady" (something that after ten readings one does begin to notice). It is better to ride this book like a boat in a fast current than pick a slow path along the shore.
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/629344?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Elizabeth's review
rating:

bookshelves: arthurian, earlier, fantasy, favorite-books, favorite-writers, twentieth-century-late
status: Read in October, 2008, read count: 10
updates: view all 2 updates

Not to enter into the great Tolkien-invented-modern-heroic-fantasy-and-everyone-else-is-just-an-imitator debate but I've loved this book for a long time and it pains me to see it dismissed as a cheap copy of The Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien based middle earth on his research, and while a wonderful creation (I don't mean to belittle it at all), it isn't unique in all literature everywhere. Much of it was creative retelling or incorporation of existing legends and stories and events from real early British and Germanic civilizations. That someone else might also do this doesn't mean he was ripping off Tolkien. Ever read Marie-Louise Sjoestedt's Gods and Heroes of the Celts? You won't just recognize some of Tolkien bu...more Not to enter into the great Tolkien-invented-modern-heroic-fantasy-and-everyone-else-is-just-an-imitator debate but I've loved this book for a long time and it pains me to see it dismissed as a cheap copy of The Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien based middle earth on his research, and while a wonderful creation (I don't mean to belittle it at all), it isn't unique in all literature everywhere. Much of it was creative retelling or incorporation of existing legends and stories and events from real early British and Germanic civilizations. That someone else might also do this doesn't mean he was ripping off Tolkien. Ever read Marie-Louise Sjoestedt's Gods and Heroes of the Celts? You won't just recognize some of Tolkien but J.K. Rowling as well.

Guy Gavriel Kay knows his gods, heroes, and legends and creates something that in the very best tradition of modern fantasy manages to spin a very old tale, or better yet, several of them into a complex and beautiful tapestry. He doesn't invent every thread but draws on so many different ones that he creates something new. I would not want to discount the contribution Tolkien played but also want to recognize Malory, Spenser, Tennyson, and the anonymous scribes and poets who recorded Norse sagas, Celtic hero tales, and the Mabinogion. (Don't know what I'm talking about? Stop playing Dungeons and Dragons for a second and read some real books).

Kay does something beyond all this too. He manages to create real characters that you care about and relate to. There are no stern warrior kings that never show emotion. The ice princess has very real issues with the choices she's made in life. The sacrifice is --

Well, the sacrifice is the heart of the book. The Summer Tree is more than symbolic and Kay deftly foreshadows its many meanings. What we try to hide from ourselves affects our choices, all of our choices, and only those that are willing to look into themselves and understand; well, they are the ones who will have power in the world because they can control themselves, so they learn control over others.

I really do love this book. Kay became one of my favorite writers when I first read it, twenty years ago. This work did influence me to read all those other authors and stories that I've been talking about here. I have read it ten times or more, and it always makes me cry. Really. Real tears. I hurt for these characters. I can see myself in them, in some ways, and I certainly see men I have known. But not women. If there is a real flaw in this work, it is Kay's women (and I'm happy to acknowledge an imitation of Tolkien there). I would say that this is a man writing about how he thinks women think. And they suffer more than the male characters, in ways that I can only describe as unfair. There is some brutal stuff at the end of this book and while I know how critical it is to the plot, I feel like he could have handled it a different way. I'm struggling to explain it. It's always bothered me and since I don't want to flag this review with a spoiler alert, I'll just have to leave you, dear goodreader, with this ambiguity.

My last comment is a warning. If you are not completely swept up in this story in the beginning (or near the beginning), you may find the language jarring. When you're reading at speed because it's late, later than you should be up, and you can't put the book down, the language is lyrical. But if you're bored and reading slowly, you'll notice every choice to prioritize the flow of a line of dialogue instead of what a real person would actually say. Someone does say "hear ye the will of the Goddess" at one point. Acknowledge that the sound of the story is more important and allow the flow to continue, don't start counting how many times he writes "Oh" and "Lady" (something that after ten readings one does begin to notice). It is better to ride this book like a boat in a fast current than pick a slow path along the shore....less

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message 1: by Jeanne

10/16/2008 02:35PM

This, and all of his books, are on my "to-read" shelf because he is so highly recommended by Jacqueline Carey, a writer I simply adore. In fact after reading Tigana, I can see his influences on her. Where I thought Tigana was just okay, I've been told by more than one reader that was not the place to start reading his work. I hope to return to reading his work soon.