|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fascinating New Perspective on Galahad!, 29 Jun 2003
This is the tale of Galahad, son of Lancelot. In the beginning, Galahad, poisoned iin mind against Lancelot, learns to hate his father. His mother Elaine, with the help from a "priest," Aidan, work together successfully to turn Galahad against him. While Elaine has her own reasons, some of them her own fault, for hating Lancelot, she enlists Aidan in her plans to shame him, not knowing that he has his own reasons for revenge.From all of this, Galahad has learned to despise his father and desires to avenge himself on Lancelot for the perceived cruelness imposed on his mother over the years. He finally breaks free to go to Camelot to serve Arthur, the High King, but peace eludes him there also. Eventually, he learns that all he was taught by his mother and Aidan was false and he then turns his mind against women, judging them all to be liars and the weaker of the sexes. He also continues to hate his father but after awhile of gradual maturing comes to understand Lancelot but finds it difficult to forgive him until he himself commits the same mistakes as his father. He goes on a quest for Arthur to find the treasures that will heal Britain and once again make her invincible to invaders. For awhile, he travels with his cousin Percival who worships him as a hero figure. Galahad's pompous, aloof behavior changes when he meets Dane, the twin sister of Percival. Things then begin to change his preconceived ideas and he learns to eventually love and to quest for something more tangible and earthly to bring him peace of mind. The novel switches back and forth between Galahad's past and present life and shows how he matures in mind and body over the years. This is a real page turning yarn that will delight and enthrall any follower of Arthurian Literature. I thought this would be a boring saga of the saintly character Galahad, but was pleasantly surprised to find it anything but. Galahad is portrayed as a man struggling with what he has always been taught to believe is right and what the true reality really is. A totally believable human being is showcased here with faults of his own that he must learn to conquer in order to find true happiness. Read it, you will not be disappointed!
|