The Book of Merlyn (1977)

The Book of Merlyn is a bit of a disappointment in some ways. Parts of it, for a start, were cannibalised for The Sword in the Stone, in the collected edition, and so they've lost their freshness and originality when read again here. For another thing, the whole book is basically a philosophical treatise on the possibilities of the prevention of war. It goes on and on in a rather didactic fashion, and one could skip whole chunks of Merlyn's dialogue in particular without losing out on story.

Still, there are some beautiful moments of pathos, particularly for the aged Arthur, and Merlyn is at several points his good old amusing self. So it's still fun to read. ( )

The Book of Merlyn is a bit odd to read, particularly in the omnibus edition, because T.H. White cannibalised it for the version of the novels which were published together -- if I'm remembering the publishing history right, anyway. It's also not really much of a story: just an old Arthur reunited with Merlyn and the animals of his education, trying to puzzle out where things went wrong. It's all very political, with references to socialism, communism, capitalism, Karl Marx, anarchism, etc, and trying to relate them to the natural world.

There are still some beautiful parts, like the extended part where Arthur flies with the geese, so it is worth reading.

(But not for a dissertation on Sir Kay, who is not so much as mentioned. Still, I had to make sure.) ( )

There's no story; White just uses Merlyn to give a lecture. And it's a really bad lecture. He'd been smoking the Ayn Rand pipe. ( )

I found this to be a light hearted read. I did not enjoy it that much. ( )

A good sequal. ( )