Man, lemme tell you about the issues I have with Mists of Avalon. I will not discount the fact that it's a great book, but a lot of things that are "great" I personally don't ever want to read again for different reasons. First reason is that it's a very frustrating book due to all of the drama that goes on in it. And not like, good drama that keeps you interested. It's the facepalming, headdesking, hair tearing kind of drama that is totally unnecessary because you can SEE SO EASILY how shit will hit the fan and just how much more shit will make it more fucked up without hope of repair. I couldn't read that book without wishing that I had a double shot of STFU for almost everyone in there causing some ish due to some stupid ass mistake mostly led by egotism supposedly backed by the divine. And by the time people maybe found out how much they fucked up, it was way too late and everything fucked up past fucked up. Aggravating. As. Hell. I hated the whole "your God/my god" argument because it just reeked of superiority and the
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Having now finished the book, your comment makes me laugh a lot. Granted, a big focus of this book is humanizing and historic-izing the characters, which means they have to be able to make mistakes, but this is kind of ridiculous and beyond the pale.
I didn't like the book because of the massive bullshit pile of drama, but because it was the first place in which I found myself connecting to the Priestess hood that my soul called home. The first place in which I had ever heard of it, and the first place in which I could understand that part of myself entirely. Not because of what they did, but because of the back points of it. The process of pledging one's self to the Gods and their bidding. The way of living life FOR the Gods, and stepping aside of one's self to do this. While the book takes it and fucks it up because Viviane is FAR too worried about losing Avalon's foothold in the mortal realms and starts a whole string of actions that are idiotic and drama-llama causing. Outside of the misjudgment of people, I think the concept is solid, it just needs to be settled in a much better manner
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Actually, while I was reading, a lot of the passages that dealt with the daily life and system of Avalon itself reminded me of you. I found it very interesting, though it is very different from the version of Avalon I myself have internalized from other stories and from how I feel. But I don't think that invalidates either perspective, right? It was really interesting to read Bradley's and see, well, a lot of you in it.
I think reading any epic tragedy (which is what the Arthurian saga ultimately is) is always frustrating, because it's essentially always human error that screws things over that epically. Watching it unfold while knowing the end (i.e. mass death) tends to reduce me to yelling at the books, sighing loudly, and tearing out my hair.
There are very few books, from what I've noticed, that deal with the 'system' that Avalon itself had. A lot of people just focus on the magic or the hierarchy and touch upon very little else. I wouldn't say it invalidates your feelings on the isle or it's generally accepted functions, but I would say that all possibilities will and do need to be there. They'll still need a kitchen with a chef, they'll still need cleaning hours where everyone from the highest to lowest ranking Priestess picks up a rag with some elbow grease, and they'll still need all the necessities of what it's like to be human. This is the only book I've read so far that takes such a thing directly into account without romanticizing it to the nth degree. Yes, the magic is romanticized, the drama is inflated, and the relationships are questionable at best, but the core of Avalon, the work that is put into being a part of it's ranks, is illuminated in a manner that I greatly appreciate
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I think you're dead right about Mists dealing more with the day-to-day functioning of Avalon itself, rather than emphasizing Avalon's role in the "outside" world. I freely admit that's most of what I've read - stories told from the 'other' perspective - and I think Bradley's goal here was noteworthy and admirable. It's important to consider that side of things, the practicality and the way that the magic and otherworldliness are born out in daily life. I'm sure that's a big reason why this Avalon felt so unfamiliar to me: because no other book really goes
I think that sense of ... hm, how to phrase it... centeredness is what reminded me of you. Morgaine and the other Priestesses have a quality about them that I can't describe very well, something like confidence in their place, something like serenity... I don't know the word :(
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I think reading any epic tragedy (which is what the Arthurian saga ultimately is) is always frustrating, because it's essentially always human error that screws things over that epically. Watching it unfold while knowing the end (i.e. mass death) tends to reduce me to yelling at the books, sighing loudly, and tearing out my hair.
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I think that sense of ... hm, how to phrase it... centeredness is what reminded me of you. Morgaine and the other Priestesses have a quality about them that I can't describe very well, something like confidence in their place, something like serenity... I don't know the word :(
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