The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

I first read this book over 10 years ago, since it was given to me by the host of a B&B where Mike and I had stayed. She just didn't like it, but had been assured it was a good one, so I gladly brought it home with me, read it, and declared it a real favorite.

I've always been intrigued by the Arthurian legends, since my mother introduced me to the books of Mary Stewart, which were all based on Merlin and his magical powers. Mists of Avalon presented the story from the point of view of the Lady of the Lake, and emphasized the goddess philosophy, the struggle between Christianity and the religion of the goddess, within the story of Arthur, so I just lapped this up. I've since loaned the book to several other people, and all of them enjoyed it too.

Our last theme in Book Club is the Arthurian legend, so I decided to re-read Mists, and I enjoyed it once again, although not as deeply as the first reading. First of all, I've read several VERY long books this year, and I guess I'm just tired of them. The stories in the book are interesting, and Bradley presents a much different view , for example, of Morgaine, Arthur's sister,than the TV series on CBC earlier this year, but the in-between parts were just too tedious, and I found myself skipping sections or skimming, which of course resulted in a headache the next morning - my eyes just don't like skipping.

Anyway, that's all I have to say. about that - I'll save my viewpoints and such for Book Club this Saturday! Just out of interest, and also to put my head in place for the discussion, I'll be talking about the differences between this interpretation of the legend, and that of both Thomas Malory, who wrote La Morte d'Arthur - which I have on my Kindle - and the CBC production of Camelot, which refreshed it all in my mind this past summer. I'll also talk about how Guinevere is such a prig! And compare this legend to those of the Greeks and the Christians.