A straight, almost solemn retelling of the quest for the Grail: from the coming of Galahad and the knights' rushing off—"knowing well enough where the Grail was lodged," but knowing too that "they must cast themselves on fate, welcoming whichever way it took them"—to Galahad's successfully "coming into the heart of the mystery, where it is not possible for a mortal man to come, and yet remain mortal." Without a hint of divergent sensibility, Sutcliff takes us into a legendary climate where voices sound forth with guidance and direction, strange knights are slain for sport in chance encounters, false ladies pursue the pure young men with evil snares, a perfect maiden sacrifices herself for an unknown lady, Lancelot suffers searing agony in his struggle to choose between God and Guinevere, and the unquestioned supremity of the spiritual mission endows all the headlong adventure with nobility. Inevitably, Lancelot's struggle is the most moving; without the actual miracle of the embodied sacrament of Communion, Galahad remains paler and more strictly allegorical than ever. Before stumbling on a parody, reinterpretation, or contemporary reworking, young people should have some acquaintance with the material and viewpoint as set down by Malory. Sutcliff provides this with grace and an air of wholehearted feeling, for readers who might shy away from a more inclusive volume of Arthurian legends. (Her introduction asks us to remember as well the story's Celtic roots, but their spirit is less evident here.) Librarians should also remember, though, that equally readable but stronger versions exist in such staples as Keith Baines' rendition of Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur.
Pub Date: April 17, 1980
ISBN: 0140371508
Page Count: 148
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1980
An enticing, turbulent, and satisfying final voyage.
Adrian, the youngest of the Montague siblings, sails into tumultuous waters in search of answers about himself, the sudden death of his mother, and her mysterious, cracked spyglass.
On the summer solstice less than a year ago, Caroline Montague fell off a cliff in Aberdeen into the sea. When the Scottish hostel where she was staying sends a box of her left-behind belongings to London, Adrian—an anxious, White nobleman on the cusp of joining Parliament—discovers one of his mother’s most treasured possessions, an antique spyglass. She acquired it when she was the sole survivor of a shipwreck many years earlier. His mother always carried that spyglass with her, but on the day of her death, she had left it behind in her room. Although he never knew its full significance, Adrian is haunted by new questions and is certain the spyglass will lead him to the truth. Once again, Lee crafts an absorbing adventure with dangerous stakes, dynamic character growth, sharp social and political commentary, and a storm of emotion. Inseparable from his external search for answers about his mother, Adrian seeks a solution for himself, an end to his struggle with mental illness—a journey handled with hopeful, gentle honesty that validates the experiences of both good and bad days. Characters from the first two books play significant secondary roles, and the resolution ties up their loose ends. Humorous antics provide a well-measured balance with the heavier themes.
An enticing, turbulent, and satisfying final voyage. (Historical fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-291601-3
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
Heartbreaking, historical, and a little bit hopeful.
January 1945: as Russians advance through East Prussia, four teens’ lives converge in hopes of escape.
Returning to the successful formula of her highly lauded debut, Between Shades of Gray (2011), Sepetys combines research (described in extensive backmatter) with well-crafted fiction to bring to life another little-known story: the sinking (from Soviet torpedoes) of the German ship Wilhelm Gustloff. Told in four alternating voices—Lithuanian nurse Joana, Polish Emilia, Prussian forger Florian, and German soldier Alfred—with often contemporary cadences, this stints on neither history nor fiction. The three sympathetic refugees and their motley companions (especially an orphaned boy and an elderly shoemaker) make it clear that while the Gustloff was a German ship full of German civilians and soldiers during World War II, its sinking was still a tragedy. Only Alfred, stationed on the Gustloff, lacks sympathy; almost a caricature, he is self-delusional, unlikable, a Hitler worshiper. As a vehicle for exposition, however, and a reminder of Germany’s role in the war, he serves an invaluable purpose that almost makes up for the mustache-twirling quality of his petty villainy. The inevitability of the ending (including the loss of several characters) doesn’t change its poignancy, and the short chapters and slowly revealed back stories for each character guarantee the pages keep turning.
Heartbreaking, historical, and a little bit hopeful. (author’s note, research and sources, maps) (Historical fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-16030-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2015
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