T. H. White: The Once and Future King review

I read this book for my dissertation but I have to say I also enjoyed it - part times at least.
White's novel isn't actually a novel but a four-part novel series telling the story of King Arthur.
The stories are called The Sword in the Stone (1938), The Queen of Air and Darkness (1939), The Ill-Made Knight (1940) and The Candle in the Wind (1958).
The first part which is most famous by Disney's animation, tells the story of young Arthur whom everyone used to cal Wart and how he met Merlyn, the great wizard. Merlyn became Arthur's tutor and eventually Arthur found the sword in the stone and by pulling it off became the rightful king of England.
The second part concentrates more on the Queen Morgause, Arthur's half-sister and the mother of the knights of the famous Orkney clan (Gawaine, Gaheris, Gareth, Agravaine and eventually Mordred).
The third part is about Lancelot and the famous triangle drama between him, Arthur and the Queen Guinevere.
Lastly, the final part describes how the knights of the round table one by one pass away leaving Arthur with his dreams of new England and the one knight who carries the biggest grudge against him.

All in all, White's book has its moments. I think the most interesting part is the first one about Arthur's childhood - mostly because of Merlyn who is one hilarious character. One reason is that he says he lives backwards so he refers to things that are yet to come in the future like he'd already lived through them.
The narration is vivid and we get to know a lot of characters by detail. The only problem is also the narration which at some point is so vivid and descriptive that a non-native English speaker like myself doesn't understand all the points.
Also, White gets lost into describing the atmosphere of that time so intensely at times that you just wish he'd go on with the actual story.

White often refers to Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur of which he got his inspiration from. Having not read the book I can't say what he's been composing himself and what taking from Malory. But the story (or the myth) as we know it is still there.

White's book is a classic and I recommend it to anyone interested in tales of King Arthur.

/ [Caterin S.]

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