Parzival: The Quest of the Grail Knight

by Katherine Paterson

A prose retelling of the thirteenth-century epic poem by Wolfram von Eschenback follows Parzival's journey from wilderness to mountain in search of the Holy Grail, until he asks the right question and is crowned the Grail King.

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Arthurian, Medieval, Childrens, Young Adult, Fiction

127 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1998

About the author

Katherine Womeldorf Paterson is an American writer best known for children's novels, including Bridge to Terabithia. For four different books published 1975–1980, she won two Newbery Medals and two National Book Awards. She is one of four people to win the two major international awards; for "lasting contribution to children's literature" she won the biennial Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing in 1998 and for her career contribution to "children's and young adult literature in the broadest sense" she won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award from the Swedish Arts Council in 2006, the biggest monetary prize in children's literature. Also for her body of work she was awarded the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature in 2007 and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal from the American Library Association in 2013. She was the second US National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, serving 2010 and 2011.

Reviews

[dianne b. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perhaps the intention was to be spot on with the "facts" (names, spouses, kingdoms, begetting and begatting, the like) but this legend is in this form for young'uns and i am fairly sure any child i know would ask for a different story after about 4 pages.

i recently came into possession of a marble bust of a medieval knight. At the bottom, scratched in so you have to really look for it is: "PARSIFAL". So now, of course, we need to know the legend. It actually is an engaging plot, but this version was shot, slapped on the back of the pickup, disemboweled and hung to dry til it reached its desiccated current form, sort of legend jerky. And the author unfortunately gave it a Christian spin as she used as her basis the first major Christianized version (Wolfram circa 1300).

i'll be looking for a different, juicier version hopefully based on the original pre-Christian story. Any suggestions?

[Michael McGrath · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I am a keen admirer of Paterson's heartfelt "Bridge to Terabithia," I was a bit disappointed in this almost by the numbers "summa" of Wolfram Von Eschenbach's "Parzival." I've read enough Arthurian novels and poems to be able to breeze past a few plot points, family trees, and characters without getting too muddled. After all, the Arthurian legend is a vast tapestry in its own right. My disappointment lies not so much in the brevity of the book, but in how dense it is for the audience towards which it is aimed.

Some colleges actually have this book on a syllabus, perhaps as a quick means in getting familiar with the Parzival legend while exposing students to juvenile fiction. While the book does succeed to a certain degree in summarizing vast chunks of Wolfram's work while excising other adventures such as those concerning Gawain, it fails in one very important aspect. It does not breathe life or garner interest for young and not-so-young readers who may find themselves bored with so many names thrown at them in so few pages. There were times where my kindle slipped out of my hand in reading the confusing backdrop of Parzival's family history.

Still, the book does succeed in another aspect in that it has pointed me right back to my original Parzival by Wolfram in Mustard's translation. Something, I simply must tackle in this lifetime to complete my Arthurian endeavors. In short, this not a bad book and I've read much worse in the onslaught of contemporary Arthurian revamping that now plague the reader. As I said in the beginning, I know Paterson to be capable of delivering better as she did with her Terabithia, and expected a bit more soul into a story that has all the potential to rend the heart and hold the reader—just think of what could have been done with a young Parzival leaving his heartbroken mother in search of becoming the very thing she protected him against.

Would recommend this more as a refresher on the Parzival legend for older readers, and would recommend younger readers to seek out some of the young audience classics that collect a similar
or simpler Parzival (or rather Perceval) story along with the rest of the Arthurian cycle, such as those volumes by Roger Lancelyn Green (still in print) or better yet, Barbara Leonie Picard (harder to find, but well worth it).

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parzival The Quest of the Grail Knight is a really good book.Like the other books I have read, I think it is a really good to me and everyone else.This book is a really good because it starts of a boy in childhood named parzival learning how to be a knight in adulthood.Parzival from childhood to adulthood had to learn the skills of being a knight by other knights of King Arthur's court and then Parzival became a knight of King Arthur and Queen Quinevere and to the Knights like Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, Sir Galahad, Sir Tristan,and the other knights of the Round Table. And maybe a lot of people would like to read this book like I have read and it was a really good book and I hope someday you will get a chance to read this book too. It has a lot of adventures and action and a lot of heart pounding adventures of the knights of the Round Table.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoy this book. Thought of the one by AVI, Lois Lowery and several others that I have read.
Didn't realize that the story is linked to a real epic poem.
Wanting to read the poem.
This young man was focused in what he wanted to do in life.

[Josiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Credit to Katherine Paterson for the variety of subject matter in her children’s books. Parzival: The Quest of the Grail Knight adapts an epic poem from the 1200s A.D., introducing numerous characters common to Arthurian legend. Son of a deceased king, Parzival is raised far from mainstream society, but grows up with obviously regal bearing. A happenstance meeting sends him to King Arthur's court to become a knight; Parzival’s mother sabotages the effort, but a heart as noble and innocent as his is not easily diverted from destiny.

Whatever Parzival puts his hand to has a way of turning golden. He marries Queen Condwiramurs and falls in love with her; he stumbles upon the magic castle at Wild Mountain, not perceiving that here exists a once in a lifetime chance to break the curse of perpetually suffering King Anfortas. Alas, out of politeness Parzival refrains from asking the ultimate question of Anfortas. Parzival is rejected by all as a foolish, evil person who deserves a curse of his own. Separated from any love or comfort, he wanders earth in the fading hope that the enchanted passage to Wild Mountain castle will reopen so he may have a second chance, but is a happy ending in the stars for Parzival?

I appreciate Katherine Paterson's desire to entertain kids using legends of yore, but Parzival: The Quest of the Grail Knight is a mess. Parzival is a strange character with hardly any personality. He's skilled in all combat types without any prior investment of blood, sweat, or tears, and the only serious hardship he encounters—the fallout from not asking the question—isn't his fault. The narrative skims along without immersive language or story elements to make us care about Parzival. Katherine Paterson is one of my favorite authors—I'll forever be in awe of Bridge to Terabithia and The Great Gilly Hopkins—but I can't rate this book better than one and a half stars.

[Rex Libris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parsifal is originally a 25,000 line epic poem from a German author. In this book we get a good prose translation of the story told by that poem. If you want to get a good understanding of the story before jumping into the actual text, this book is a really good place to start.

[Kathie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story should be an epic adventure. Sadly, it was told in a monotone voice that put me to sleep. I can't imagine that kids would be interested in it.

[Ava · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parzival and his mom had been living away from other people since Parzival's dad died. Parzival himself did not know his name, when people asked him for his name he would reply "You may call me Yung Master, or whatever you like." Parzival did not know many things. One day three knights rode by Parzival house. A day previous his mom had told him about Hevin, Hell, and God. At the sight of three shiny men Parzival thought they might be God so he kneeled down in front of the horses the knights rode on and said, "Are you god?" The three men stared at him, why did he think they of all people were God? The one of the men said they were knights and they were headed to Author. Of course Parzival wanted to go wherever they were going. Parzival went to his mom and told her what he had seen. After Parzival was done telling her what he had seen she was furious he had seen a knight and she scolded the people who were supposed to keep her son safe. She did not know how to say no to her son so she made him a new set of clothes. She had made the clothes as hideous as posiel thinking people would laugh at him and he would come running home crying. But Parzival did not come running home, he kept on going. Then Parzival was sent on a quest, and only after did he return to his mom.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I would have loved this book as a kid. As a child, Parzival grew up in the forest in ignorance and knew nothing of his heritage. One day, he met some knights, and that changed everything. He wanted to become a knight, himself. His mother admitted that he was of noble birth and reluctantly sent him to King Arthur's court. Parzival made many blunders and mistakes. Eventually, he found the Grail he spent years searching. The discovery turned him into the knight he was supposed to be. In other legends, Parzival is also known as Galahad.

[Shaleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an easy to digest & accurate interpretation of a very complex 13th century writing. It’s a simple way for young readers to be introduced to the complex & fascinating tales of fictional knights & the holy grail. The author did an excellent job compressing the story into one of just enough details & adventures

[DilanAc · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is supposed to be a re-telling of the Parsifal legend from the Middle Ages in Germany, and as that it succeeds but I can't imagine that the intended audience (younger children) would be interested in this book. It just goes on and on with more and more obscure names and no development of who they are. Even the battles are boring. It did spark my interest in the original legend though and may be something I will investigate more.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I told my kid who is interested in castles and knights that they lived by this weird code called chivalry that made no sense but they wrote a lot of stories about it.

Here's one of them! Imagine you go to a nice party and everything is going well but the next day you find yourself on the America's Most Wanted List and nobody will tell you why!

My son chose the DK book about knights instead. I can't really blame him.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good fictional adaptation of the German Grail story

[Gabrielle Jarrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read about Parzival for the next novel I am writing, so choose this shorted version. It was well done for my purposes, especially being in the low knowledge range of the Arthurian legends!

[Desmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was good. I enjoyed

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really just an overview of the epic poem, which I now really want to read.

[Katie]

Read aloud with L&C

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly beautiful story. I needed a legend, something with hope and honor and goodness in it. This was satisfying.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a relatively traditional retelling of the Parzival legend. My children and I quite enjoyed it.

[Rachel]

S read aloud to me

[Justin Ferguson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parzival is a young naive boy who is brought up by his mother as far away from knighthood and chivalry as she can control. Until he runs into three knights on the road and decided he too wants to become a knight. We learn that his mother recognizes the dangers of chivalry and how violent it is. Interestingly enough, chivalry is what brings Parzival to near ruin. He's too polite and doesn't ask an important question. I think there are other, better, medieval lays out there. "Parzival" doesn't relate a very smooth cohesive plot. Many things happen randomly or very coincidentally.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a straightforward retelling of the Parzival story, at middle-grade level. Having read the author's note about the various Parzival/Percival stories, and specifically that she was directly retelling one person's version, I just don't see why this book was really necessary. And what's more, I feel like it shouldn't be just this author's name on the cover. I guess it's a good, simply written version for a younger kid.

Anyway, the Parzival story in general is interesting. He's an example of how even in total innocence, people can still do wrong; but he redeems himself because as he learns more of the ways of the world, he still chooses morality and sticks to it, and he is rewarded for this in the end, after some twists and turns.

Reading this version makes me want to re-read some of the other versions and read up on it a bit more.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parzival is a young naive boy who is brought up by his mother as far away from knighthood and chivalry as she can control. Until he runs into three knights on the road and decided he too wants to become a knight. We learn that his mother recognizes the dangers of chivalry and how violent it is. Interestingly enough, chivalry is what brings Parzival to near ruin. He's too polite and doesn't ask an important question. I think there are other, better, medieval lays out there. "Parzival" doesn't relate a very smooth cohesive plot. Many things happen randomly or very coincidentally.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read that was a fun retelling of the epic by Wolfram von Eschenbach. Probably decent for as young as 9 or 10 even. I decided to check it out after reading Ready Player One and was not disappointed.

[Janice · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was an awful adaptation of a knight's tale. Can't imagine ever having kids read this. It could have been more exciting. Just not. And it was confusing. Maybe the author needed to focus on a smaller portion of this knight's life and not tried to cram so much in. Just too much in this. Too many names. Not enough fleshing out of the characters. And the time jumps were HUGE. One minute he's a boy, the next he's getting married.

Just say no!!

[Lila Cyclist · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so attracted to The Puppet Master, and I expect that I would find as awesome as that book from this book. alas, it's so far different from what I expected. I thought I would find some different part of Arthurian legend here by making one of the knights as the main character. But, the author put too many details without really exploring it. Too many things in one slim book made me rush to swallow. Too many names Parzival encountered that made me ugh.... sorry, I have to end it here...

[Vida · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Waldorf circles this is a legendary tale. "Parzival is a boy raised in the wildeness, ignorant of chivalry and of the great Arthur. But in Wolfram's tale, he is so much more than that. He is the innocent fool who through trial, loss of faith, suffering, repentance and al last, redemption, becomes the Grail Knight he was destined to be."

I am not sure I "got this one".

[Bevan Mcguiness · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book. It's a good retelling of one of the more intriguing Arthurian myths. As I am currently writing a series based around this mythos, I found immersing myself in this story most valuable.
The language is a pleasing blend of the formal and adventure tale, bringing the richness of what lies at the heart of Arthurian myth for me.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought Parzival at a library book sale, intrigued by the lovely cover but not realizing it was a kid's book. Being a kid's book probably explains why I found it a little simple. That's a shame, though, because I've read kid's books that were complex and interesting. Although this book was all right, I think I'll stick to the more grown-up versions of the Arthur tales.

[Larena · Rating 4 out of 5]

C8:AGES 8+: No sex, nudity nor profanity, though it may have language considered socially offensive employed within the context of the story, and violence that is infrequent, discreet and of low intensity.

E:Easy: 3rd grade Vocabulary

Method: Physical Book

Location: Chautaugua-Cattaraugus Library System