The Once and Future King by T. H. White
Many people read this book as children or teenagers, and often they subsequently describe it as their favorite book of all time. I did not read it when I was young, although I do think that would be the best time to read it. Reading it now, much later in life, I would not call it my favorite book of all time, although it is certainly a good book.
It is, as I suppose everyone knows, a retelling of the legends of King Arthur and his round table, but the "retelling" might better be called "reinventing." White inserts a lot of his own material, interprets the characters in his own way, and, especially toward the end of the book (but to some extent throughout), introduces moral complexities that so far as I know do not figure in the traditional Arthurian myths at all. I did not take to the The Once and Future King when I first started reading. I found it self-consciously "cute," I was annoyed by the frequent anachronistic comments and comparisons, and some of the transformations that the central character undergoes were tiresome (though they later turn out to be more important than they seem). However, once I got through the first book (the novel is divided into four books) I found it more interesting, and in the end I enjoyed it. In my local library The Once and Future King is shelved in the "Young Adult" section, which is the appropriate place for it. I fear, however, that few teenagers today will turn off their cell phones long enough to read it, which is a pity. Their loss, of course.
It is, as I suppose everyone knows, a retelling of the legends of King Arthur and his round table, but the "retelling" might better be called "reinventing." White inserts a lot of his own material, interprets the characters in his own way, and, especially toward the end of the book (but to some extent throughout), introduces moral complexities that so far as I know do not figure in the traditional Arthurian myths at all. I did not take to the The Once and Future King when I first started reading. I found it self-consciously "cute," I was annoyed by the frequent anachronistic comments and comparisons, and some of the transformations that the central character undergoes were tiresome (though they later turn out to be more important than they seem). However, once I got through the first book (the novel is divided into four books) I found it more interesting, and in the end I enjoyed it. In my local library The Once and Future King is shelved in the "Young Adult" section, which is the appropriate place for it. I fear, however, that few teenagers today will turn off their cell phones long enough to read it, which is a pity. Their loss, of course.