Book Review of #5 The Book of Merlyn by TH White
Author: TH White
ISBN: 0-425-03826-2
Publisher: Shaftesbury Publishing Company
Part of a Series: The Once and Future King
Type of book: Boring dialogue, King Arthur, Merlyn, Great Britain, animals, philosophy, man, Medieval Ages
Year it was published: 1977
Summary:
An evocative and exciting tale of wizardry and war, this magnificent fantasy of the last days of King Arthur, his faithful magician and his animal teachers, completes the tragedy and romance of T. H. White's masterpiece The Once and Future King.
Characters:
Its endless dialogue, literally. I think the only thing of note is that Arthur might have cheered up. Don't remember, sorry.
Theme:
I have no idea what the message should have been.
Plot:
Just endless talking between Merlyn and Arthur. From Merlyn's point of view. It's Arthur's last day of life, Merlyn finds him to cheer him up or to have him relive the scenes he relived as a child that of turning into an ant and goose and that's it. Animals were philosophizing and talking about purpose of man and whatnot.
Author Information:
(from goodreads.com)
born
May 29, 1906 in Bombay, India
died
January 17, 1964
gender
male
genre
Literature & Fiction, Children's Books, Historical Fiction
influences
Thomas Malory
About this author
Born in Bombay to English parents, Terence Hanbury White was educated at Cambridge and taught for some time at Stowe before deciding to write full-time. White moved to Ireland in 1939 as a conscientious objector to WWII, and lived out his years there.
Opinion:
Maybe I'm not of age to appreciate the books, but for me they were boring. I have already read the animal scenes in the first book, that of the ant and the goose, so why go through them again? This is nothing but endless government talk, although there is some ending in there, I think. Overall a frustrating and boring read.
1 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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