T. H. White (1906–1964)

Until I re-read it recently, I had forgotten what a terribly, terribly sad book this is - how un-Disney, un-Broadway musical its re-telling of the Arthur and Camelot saga is. I'd also forgotten about White's philosophical digressions on the nature of man and society, and the monstrousness of aggression and war. Until I read a contemporary memoir in which the author becomes obsessed with White, I didn't know what a deeply unhappy person he was. All his terrible pathologies are here, barely show more coded, in his characters and situations, and yet he made something quite brilliant of his tortured thoughts, a tale for the ages - but not a comforting one, not at all. show less

The second page introduces a character named "Sir Grummore Grummursum," so it was immediately a 5 star book.
But on a more serious note, I've been wanting to read a proper King Arthur retelling for ages, and this seemed like a good one to start on. I honestly don't know if I'll read any other retellings, other than Tennyson or Malory (and Malory will be an endeavor), because I feel like White did SUCH a good job with it. Obviously the book is dense and there were some parts where it got a tad show more tedious, but the moral and philosophical question he brings up with Arthur trying to 'fix' man and the world are very interesting. I am also obsessed with tragedy and its inevitability, and what's better than a centuries old story that has been told over and over again so many times. And I guess it's not even really a tragedy in the way that Greek tragedies are, but it does have the inevitability of tragedy, specifically with Arthur and Lancelot and Guenever. I'm not really sure if their relationship is similar in other retellings, but the simple way that Lancelot and Guenever came together and Arthur's (ignorant) acceptance of it, as well as the friendship between Arthur and Lancelot and the love that Guenever still had for Arthur was all so good. I wrote down a quote that I feel like encapsulates their relationship across all retellings, not just White's, which comes after Lancelot and Arthur receive a letter that Guenever has been kidnapped:
"Lancelot, half-way through the story, was already shouting for his armor. By the time it was told Arthur was kneeling at his feet, strapping on the greaves."
It just such an utter complete understanding of the characters of the Knight, and the King, and the Queen and their relationships with each other. show less

A re-read which confirms this is a classic for a reason. What could have been an awkwardly cobbled-together pastiche of Arthurian legend, pacifist philosophizing, medievalist minutiae, and Waughsian (if that's the word I want) wittiness somehow comes together as an epic, grand whole. It has some of the most beautiful passages I've ever read in any book. Most importantly, for the first time, it really made me care about Lancelot, Guinevere, Arthur, and even poor Mordred. The characters are show more portrayed compassionately and realistically - and even humorously.
And it reminded me that everyone needs a Questing Beast to give their lives meaning. show less

For a long holiday road trip with my son, I thought he'd enjoy this introduction to Arthurian mythology. I did it with some hesitation, as The Once and Future King was one of my favorite books as a child and I feared it may not hold up to nostalgia. I'm pleased though that this first installment of the tetralogy is still an enjoyable, modernist spin on the story of King Arthur, filling in the story of Arthur's childhood. Of course, I always thought the The Sword in the Stone was the best of show more the four parts. One thing I didn't know is that White actually made major changes when he incorporated The Sword in the Stone into The Once and Future King, and while I can't really remember enough to recognize most of the changes I was surprised that Disney didn't actually make up the duel between Merlyn and Madame Mim. Another thing I didn't notice is a kid was just how blatant the anachronisms are, with Meryln living backwards in time making them a running gag. Knowing how much White loved hunting, I also noticed that he puts a lot of detail into his descriptions of hunts throughout the book, something I must have glazed over as a child. What remains the same is that the book contains a lot of humor, adventure, animal lore, a cameo by Robin Hood (er, Robin Wood), and surreptitious pacifist social satire. And my son, well he covered his ears a lot during the scary party, but insisted we keep listening to the story and that we move on to The Witch in the Wood next. show less