The Professor stumbled upon this series at the library last year and loved the first book, The Squire's Tale {affiliate link}, but the second one, The Squire, His Knight and His Lady {affiliate link}, had some odd reviews so I previewed it for him a while back... when WWRW was just a twinkle in Jessica T's eye! One of the reviewers charged the author with being anti-Catholic. I read the second book and my first impressions were that Mr. Morris was trying to show the antagonism between the French and the English knights and maybe some of their customs as well (long standing rivalry there, you know). But then I read a little about the author and found out that he is also a Protestant minister.
That really did put his comments in a different light. I went back and re-read them. I even had Sean read them and he agreed. While the anti-Catholicism is not the overall theme of the whole book it's sufficient enough that it's noticeable. Was it problematic enough that I didn't feel comfortable letting The Professor read the second book? No. He's 15 and old enough to read and then talk with me about these things. His overall impression was, good book but "Bad form!" His favorite thing to do is to re-read books he loves but this one was only read once. We all felt that the anti-Catholic snideness was unnecessary. Especially his characters' comments on what is supposed to be a portrait of Our Lady, who I know most evangelical Protestants have no love for. Sad, because Christ certainly did. (If I had a copy of the book on hand I'd quote that passage here but I don't.)
Anyway, The Professor was content to just let the rest of the series go, but I decided to pick up the third book, The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf {affiliate link}, and see if the disparaging continued or maybe if the author got the snit all out of his system. I am pleased to say that the 3rd book had nothing in it that caused me pause. It's funny and intriguing especially if you know the story that it's retelling: a light and fluffy Arthurian adventure. The Professor has read it now too and he enjoyed it although not as much as that first one. He has asked me to preview the next one. I have a feeling I'll be reading the whole series since he's interested in the others now. But because of that second one I just don't feel like I can trust the author and so I don't feel comfortable handing him the books without reading them myself. So, I read, he reads and then we discuss. It's not necessarily a bad thing.
******************************************************
For very sensitive readers... there is one scene at the end of the book that implies an immodest intimacy between two of the unmarried characters. My son didn't even notice it when he read it because it was only a brief sentence, but when he'd finished the book and I said, "Let's talk about that one part." We had a good discussion about temptation, how these characters were flawed characters and who the most virtuous characters were. If you want more specifics, email me.
That's too bad about the anti-Catholicism. I'm so glad you reviewed it though, so I know what to look for. I would be taken in by that cover artwork alone! I still may read it for myself since it'll be a long while til my oldest is ready for this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the share - we had a similar disillusionment in this house with Riordan books last month.
ReplyDeleteIt is so wonderful to have reviews like this! Actually a true blessing. It can be treacherous trying to find books for teens to read, especially. But, more often than not they can open up great discussions. I have to admit some of our best literary discussions happened after reading the Twilight series. We discussed why Bella Swan was not a good protagonist, what things did she do that did not make her commendable, etc. We even discussed how Edward was a better protagonist than Bella at times!
ReplyDeleteI think it is so important that we share things like this. It is so hard for moms to read things for ourselves and then read everything our kids read too!
I enjoyed these books when I read them years ago--- and I think it would be tough to do Arthur without issues between unmarried people.... um... that's sort of where a lot of the conflict in the original legends comes from.
ReplyDeleteOTOH-- I don;t think I'd pull these out for my nine-year-old... I think they're more 'light fantasy for teens and adults who already have read quite a bit of Arthurian stuff' than 'kids' books.'
BTW-- Has your son read "The Once and Future King" before? Again, there is the issue of adultery, but I read it for the first time when I was around his age, and loved it. (And the nice thing about Arthur-- those legends don't make adultery pretty-- instead it's all about how a sin that's 'just between two people' can totally destroy a nation!)
I came over from Melissa's Bonny Glen. I enjoyed your review/thoughts on a series I've never heard of. But I must comment quickly on your assessment that evangelicals have no love for Mary. I am one of those evangelicals. Our annual ladies retreat last year was all on the topic of Mary and what a role model she is for our lives. So don't assume that we evangelicals all feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, for Arthurian themes in young adult/adult fiction, you might try Stephen Lawhead. He writes mostly about Celtic (Catholic) Christianity in Britain and Ireland.
I came over from Melissa's Bonny Glen. I enjoyed your review/thoughts on a series I've never heard of. But I must comment quickly on your assessment that evangelicals have no love for Mary. I am one of those evangelicals. Our annual ladies retreat last year was all on the topic of Mary and what a role model she is for our lives. So don't assume that we evangelicals all feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, for Arthurian themes in young adult/adult fiction, you might try Stephen Lawhead. He writes mostly about Celtic (Catholic) Christianity in Britain and Ireland.
Thank you for your comment. I hope you did notice that I said "most" evangelical Protestants, not all. I live in the Bible Belt area and one side of my family was raised hardcore Southern Baptist. My grandfather, a Baptist preacher early in his life, eventually came to understand the very special role that Mary played in our salvation, but his view was not the norm.
Delete