Parzival and the Stone from Heaven | |||||
Lindsay Clarke | |||||
HarperCollins Voyager, 229 pages | |||||
A review by Cindy Lynn Speer
That son's name was Parzival.
Parzival will leave her, too, to learn about being a knight. He will have a chance to get the grail back for the world, and, remembering
the advice he was given to never, ever ask questions, Parzival keeps silent instead of asking the one question that will bring him
triumph. Mocked at King Arthur's court for his failure, he is determined to regain his honor by finding the grail once more. But how
can one find something that only appears to a person once, and never again?
Parzival and the Stone from Heaven is a retelling of Chrétien de Troyes's epic poem, most
especially Wolfram von Eschenbach's version. Lindsay Clarke admits to
streamlining the story in the hopes of interesting readers of all ages, and I think it was carried out very well. The story is told
perfectly. The cadence and read of it recalls all the best old Arthurian legends, a little bit more adult than Sidney Lanier's but
certainly a cleaner, clearer read for those of us not very familiar with (or willing to wade through) Middle English. The very essence
of the tale is there. The beauty and honor of the round table, the way that knights are supposed to live their lives. Here and there
are some clever (and even risqué) comments that I don't think I would have gotten if I read one of the older translations. The
reckless sexuality of Gawain is evident and becomes a part of a very valuable lesson that he must learn in order to
win at his own quest. Chivalry, honor and faith are also keystones to this story, and Parzival's loss of his naive faith, then
regaining a truer, richer one is very well done.
The main point of the story is that Parzival, while being a good person, has to learn to look outside of this grand life he attempted
to live and to learn to give compassion to those around him, not just feel it.
It is always fascinating to read a take on the Arthurian legends, especially those from the past, "closer" to the source of the
story. There are always tiny differences. Uther's still alive at one point and grumbling over the fact his son isn't there to
joust with everyone else, the grail is a stone of bright beauty, Merlin makes no appearance at all, his usual role taken over by
the often quite mean sorceress Cundrie.
Parzival and the Stone from Heaven is a well done tale keeps the spirit and the style of the story
while making it accessible to a contemporary audience. A wonderful job.
Cindy Lynn Speer loves books so much that she's designed most of her life around them, both as a librarian and a writer. Her books aren't due out anywhere soon, but she's trying. You can find her site at www.apenandfire.com. |
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