The Mists of Avalon "The Prisoner in the Oak"
Talk What Are You Reading Now?
Join LibraryThing to post.
This topic is currently marked as "dormant"—the last message is more than 90 days old. You can revive it by posting a reply.
1richardderus
Discuss at will the fourth book of The Mists of Avalon, and don't spare the spoilers. Anyone threading ahead deserves it!
2Elee
**Spoilers only in the last paragraph**
OK, well I finished the book a few days ago but I'm still trying to organise my thoughts.
First of all - I thought this was a great book! I was surprised because it's not normally the type of book I would read, but it sounded interesting and came highly recommended so I thought I'd give it a go. I'm very glad I did, because I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really found myself getting lost in the worlds of Avalon and Camelot, and I can see this book being a comfort read for times when you need to try and forget your own life for awhile.
I thought Morgaine and Morgause were by far the most interesting characters, and Gwenhyfar was a little boring. The shifting perspectives kept me on my toes and gave me something to look forward to because I knew that a favourite character would be back before long narrating the story again.
There were really only two things that I didn't particularly like about the story. The first was the constant references about female characters not eating very much. That was one of the reasons I particularly liked Morgause because at least she had a healthy appetite. After awhile the not eating thing started to annoy me and I kept wanting to yell at Morgaine "You'd probably feel a bit better if you'd just eat something already!" I don't necessarily mean meat because I myself am a vegetarian, but Morgaine only ever "picked at her bread", etc.
**Spoilers below**
The second thing I didn't particularly like was the sudden influx of magic in the last book - particularly dreams that ended up leaking into reality. Some of those parts just seemed kind of confusing and awkward to me, especially the last 100 pages or so with the search for the Holy Grail.
Finally, loved the twist with Morgause turning out to be so evil!
OK, well I finished the book a few days ago but I'm still trying to organise my thoughts.
First of all - I thought this was a great book! I was surprised because it's not normally the type of book I would read, but it sounded interesting and came highly recommended so I thought I'd give it a go. I'm very glad I did, because I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really found myself getting lost in the worlds of Avalon and Camelot, and I can see this book being a comfort read for times when you need to try and forget your own life for awhile.
I thought Morgaine and Morgause were by far the most interesting characters, and Gwenhyfar was a little boring. The shifting perspectives kept me on my toes and gave me something to look forward to because I knew that a favourite character would be back before long narrating the story again.
There were really only two things that I didn't particularly like about the story. The first was the constant references about female characters not eating very much. That was one of the reasons I particularly liked Morgause because at least she had a healthy appetite. After awhile the not eating thing started to annoy me and I kept wanting to yell at Morgaine "You'd probably feel a bit better if you'd just eat something already!" I don't necessarily mean meat because I myself am a vegetarian, but Morgaine only ever "picked at her bread", etc.
**Spoilers below**
The second thing I didn't particularly like was the sudden influx of magic in the last book - particularly dreams that ended up leaking into reality. Some of those parts just seemed kind of confusing and awkward to me, especially the last 100 pages or so with the search for the Holy Grail.
Finally, loved the twist with Morgause turning out to be so evil!
3dchaikin
Is this the post-book discussion? Where did everyone go?
I finally finished. The length wore me out, but the last 200 pages or so I found very refreshing, and the ending wonderful. So, I guess my main thought is what's with the 700-page build-up? Of course, that's just my own perception. I didn't mind those first 700 pages, but they weren't able to carry me away like I had hoped, and which I think they were supposed to do. So, instead of losing myself in the book, I had to kind of force feed myself.
What changed it for me? Well, we got away from Gwynhefar, and the book stayed with Morgaine, and we had real and exceptional villain in Mordred. But, the most powerful change for me was the how MZB handled the Holy Grail, and how it did in Arthur by giving everyone individually something wonderful. I just thought that was brilliantly done, and filled the book with so much power. And it made Lancelet come alive in a new and special way. Was that MZB's own creation?
Some small complaints (because I spent too much time thinking about them):
- Gwynhefar made my stomach turn.
- The Druid/Christian comparison just wasn't fair. The Druid's had real supernatural powers, especially the Sight. Where as the Christians weren't given anything.
- At times I found Avalon a bit creepy
- Why did every character with Sight consider, with each Sight, that maybe it had just been a dream, when they never actually had dreams that compared to the Sight? Couldn't they have figured that out after awhile?
-Morgaine, while brilliant, was inconsistent. At times she was infused with natural common sense knowledge, and at other times she was just...strangely dumb.
Two things about Morgaine I didn't understand.
First - Why did she never think about Mordred until she actually saw him again as a grown man? She would think, I really should go see him, and then get distracted by something really mundane, like preparing for dinner. Was she under a spell? Maybe Morgause's doing?
Second - Why did Morgaine suddenly start going postal, killing or working to kill quite a few people. Before killing Accolon, her character would never done this, IMO. It's interesting to me that this killing spree started after her first post-Viviane visit to Avalon and after meeting Mordred for the first time. She left that meeting with Mordred and Niniane saying she would not kill... but that's not what happened.
Hope everyone enjoyed.
I finally finished. The length wore me out, but the last 200 pages or so I found very refreshing, and the ending wonderful. So, I guess my main thought is what's with the 700-page build-up? Of course, that's just my own perception. I didn't mind those first 700 pages, but they weren't able to carry me away like I had hoped, and which I think they were supposed to do. So, instead of losing myself in the book, I had to kind of force feed myself.
What changed it for me? Well, we got away from Gwynhefar, and the book stayed with Morgaine, and we had real and exceptional villain in Mordred. But, the most powerful change for me was the how MZB handled the Holy Grail, and how it did in Arthur by giving everyone individually something wonderful. I just thought that was brilliantly done, and filled the book with so much power. And it made Lancelet come alive in a new and special way. Was that MZB's own creation?
Some small complaints (because I spent too much time thinking about them):
- Gwynhefar made my stomach turn.
- The Druid/Christian comparison just wasn't fair. The Druid's had real supernatural powers, especially the Sight. Where as the Christians weren't given anything.
- At times I found Avalon a bit creepy
- Why did every character with Sight consider, with each Sight, that maybe it had just been a dream, when they never actually had dreams that compared to the Sight? Couldn't they have figured that out after awhile?
-Morgaine, while brilliant, was inconsistent. At times she was infused with natural common sense knowledge, and at other times she was just...strangely dumb.
Two things about Morgaine I didn't understand.
First - Why did she never think about Mordred until she actually saw him again as a grown man? She would think, I really should go see him, and then get distracted by something really mundane, like preparing for dinner. Was she under a spell? Maybe Morgause's doing?
Second - Why did Morgaine suddenly start going postal, killing or working to kill quite a few people. Before killing Accolon, her character would never done this, IMO. It's interesting to me that this killing spree started after her first post-Viviane visit to Avalon and after meeting Mordred for the first time. She left that meeting with Mordred and Niniane saying she would not kill... but that's not what happened.
Hope everyone enjoyed.
4dchaikin
Elee - that a funny observation with the eating thing. I also think it's funny how we've flipped the book, I actually preferred that last hundred pages to the rest of the book. I agree with you about Morgaine and Morgause. I was fascinated, but also a little disappointed in how Morgause turned out. Viviane gets credit for her foresight - Morguase was a great queen, and would have been a very macabre Lady of the Lake.
