A Challenge Completed

I've wrapped up the Once Upon a Time II Challenge and just in the nick of time. Originally I only committed to The Journey which involved reading one book. After a while I decided to read one book from each of the four categories. Here is my completed list with brief thoughts:

The Princess Bride by William Goldman - I'm considering this fantasy since it includes a giant, a pirate and an evil king. It was just as fun as the movie.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight trans. by J.R.R. Tolkien - a folktale in connection with King Arthur. This poetic epic was my favorite.
The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White - another folktale about King Arthur that I adored.
A Wonder Book by Nathaniel Hawthorne - a book of reworked mythology I enjoyed with my children.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall edit. by Kate Bernheimer - a compilation of essay from famous women writers about the fairy tales they love and hate.

I still plan to read A Midsummer Night's Dream but not in time to count for this challenge. I want to refresh my heart of its magic before seeing it performed in celebration of my 15th wedding anniversary next month. Yes, I am one lucky lady.

P.S. Thanks Carl once again for a fun and enlightening challenge.

Review: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Women Writers Explore Their Favorite Fairy Tales
Edited by Kate Bernheimer

This compilation of essays by some of today's most talented women writers has something for anyone who loves or hates fairy tales. There is critical academia, poetry and a lot of autobiography. Some of the essays are long and some are quite short. Most are written from a feminist prespective. What I liked most about it was the last essay. While Terri Windling's writing presents her abusive background, she spins it into a positive and empowering example of making a happily ever after from where ever you come from. It was a good book to finish up the Once Upon a Time II Challenge with.

Review:The Sword in the Stone

The Sword in the Stone
by T.H. White

If ever a book was destined to made into a Disney movie this book is it. It was funny and corny in the same way that the Disney version is. I haven't seen the movie in a long time but there are scenes that popped into my head as I read them and made me smile. All the humor and fun were a pleasure to read. It starts to feel sluggish about 200 pages in but in the end it is all brought back together beautifully.

More than telling a story about the beginnings of King Arthur, I think this book was a treatise about the importance of learning. The Wart could not have become King Arthur without all that he had learned from Merlyn, no matter how silly or boring the reader may find it. Here is a quote that I think encapsulates this message perfectly:

"The best thing for disturbances of the spirit," replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love and lose you moneys to a monster, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honor trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then-to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the poor mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing for you."

I happen to agree with that. And I offer my recommendation of this book to anyone 10 and older.

Review: A Wonder Book

A Wonder Book
by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne is best known for The Scarlet Letter but he also wrote a few children's storybooks, A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls being one of them, followed shortly afterward by the more popularly known Tanglewood Tales.

A Wonder Book is the story of a young man and the stories he recreates for the group of children in his charge. But really it is about the Greek myths that he uses his vivid imagination on. Each of the 6 myths are sandwiched between descriptions of when and where Eustace Bright is tell them, on the porch at Tanglewood, near Shadow Brook, on a mountaintop, etc. Hawthorne can give some very charming descriptions such as this one:

The Little brook ran along over its pathway of gold, here pausing to form a
pool, in which minnows were darting to and fro; and then it hurried onward at a
swifter pace as if in haste to reach the lake; and, forgetting to look whither
it went, it tumbled over the root of a tree, which stretched quite across its
current. You would have laughed to hear how noisily it babbled about this
accident. And even after it had run onward, the brook still kept smitten,
I suppose, at finding its dark dell so illuminated, and at hearing the prattle
and merriment of so many children. So it stole away as quickly as it
could, and hid itself in the lake.

Not all of the descriptions are this much fun; in fact, most are pretty verbose, but then he hints at his great admiration of Washington Irving. If you have ever read Rip Van Winkle then you know just what I am talking about.

While I did not find this the best book of mythology for reading aloud to my children I will say that it is a great source of vocabulary. My kindergartner did not understand every word but he certainly wanted more each day. I found it charming and will be seeking out Tanglewood Tales for summer reading.

Review: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
translated by J.R.R. Tolkien

If you will listen to this lay bit a little while now,
I will tell it at once as in town I have heard it told,
as it is fixed and fettered
in story brave and bold,
this linked and truly lettered,
as was loved in this land of old.

Every time I read poetry I fall in love yet again. So it is truly a wonder that I don't read it more often. I must do something about that. You can be sure, though, that I will reread this one with some frequency. In fact, I plan to make this a read-aloud in our homeschool next year as we will be hitting this era in history. My daughter is a lover of poetry and my young son craves adventure.

The story begins in the courts of King Arthur who is celebrating the New Year with dainty food and hearty games, when a strange site rises before his eyes: a huge, emerald green knight atop a huge, emerald green steed. The Green Knight challenges the Round Table to a test of bravery; he and one brave knight will exchange one blow each with his mighty ax. Arthur's knight will strike that night but then he must find the Green Knight on the following New Year's day to receive his due. Strange sights are seen and a quest is started. There is seduction and a little magic. Will Sir Gawain be triumphant or will his worst fears be realized?

More than the storyline, which I took great pleasure in, what I loved the most was the alliterative poetic form. Look at this verse and watch how many times a particular sound repeats in each line:

Then was Gawain delighted, and in gladness he laughed:
'Now I thank you a thousand times for this beyond all!
Now my quest is accomplished, as you crave it, I will
dwell a few days here, and else do what you order.'

Notice the DLDL sound in the first line, the Th in the second, the Ck sound in the third, and the D sound in the last. Though I tried to pay close attention to the tale, I kept looking for the new sound that each line followed. I am in awe of the amount of work that goes into translating in this manner. Tolkien nails it beautifully. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a poem that should not be missed.

Though I've read this for the Arthurian Challenge I am thinking it would suit well as a folktale for the Once Upon a Time II Challenge as well. I may be stretching it a bit but I think anything related to King Arthur is so clearly cut from English cloth, that it tells us much about the people of that time and place, their beliefs and their longing for a hero.

Review: The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride
by William Goldman

I could not find a cover graphic like the one on my book which is a shame because I really like it. I also really liked the book.

For those of you that have been living in a cave for the last 20 years, The Princess Bride is a fairy tale story about lovers who must overcome many obstacles to be together, including the marriage of one and the death of the other. But these obstacles are nothing for the power of their love. It is very "70's Jewish humor" along the lines of Mel Brooks in perfect doses. It is also a story told within a story. In the movie it is a story being read by Columbo to his grandson, Fred Savage. This is in fact a device used in the book but altered a bit. The first 30 pages, not to mention all the introductions, are written by the author explaining how he came to "adapting" the book originally written by S. Morgenstern, a native of Florin, the main location of the book. All of this is bogus of course because there is no such country as Florin but for brief moments one actually believes maybe there really is. There is a lot of criticism of this technique but I enjoyed it. Reading the book, with all it's little interruptions was like talking with your old Uncle Lou who maybe embellishes stories sometimes and maybe he's had a little too much to drink, but you love listening to his stories none the less.

If you are at all worried about the book not living up to the movie's character, fear not. There are differences, certainly, like getting to learn the histories of Inego and Fezzik, but the book has exactly the same flavor as the movie but with a little more detail. It you love the movie, I would highly recommend you read the book too.

I can't say it was a great choice for a book discussion group, even with the questions at the back of the book, but it was just right for the Once Upon a Time II Challenge. If you are participating, consider adding this one to the list. And if you're not participating, you don't know what you're missing.

Two More

While cleaning up my library wish list I came across a couple of titles I had made note of that will work beautifully for the Once Upon a Time II Challenge(to be forever known as OUT2).

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall: Women Writers Explore their Favorite Fairy Tales - a compilation of essays by such authors as Francine Prose and Margeret Atwood.

Victorian Fairy Tales: the Revolt of the Fairies and Elves by Jack Zipes

So, one day in and my list has doubled already. I am also considering adding a couple of Shannon Hale titles and possibly Lud-in-the-mist.

Once Upon a Time....

I have finally returned from an internet-free, Spring Break road trip to Texas which I will tell you all about in a day or two, when I have recovered a bit. But first things first...

The Once Upon a Time II Challenge has begun!

I am trying hard not to commit to too many challenges this year but I left room in my plans for this one. I had so much fun last year delving into the fantasy genre, exploring authors such as Peter S. Beagle, the Brothers Grimm, Neil Gaiman and Shakespeare. It was like discovering a secret door in my soul. Unicorns, fairies, ogres and witches; like Anne of Green Gables, I am in love with the romance of it all.

The challenge runs from March 21st to June 22nd. Visit Carl to get all the low down. Of the 4 challenge options to choose from I am going for the easiest, The Journey, which is to read at least one book. I hope to read more but at the moment I am down for the count with a nasty Texas flu which has left my brain looking like oatmeal and my energy level at a -30. Fortunate for me, there are 2 titles from my march reading that never got read that will fit the bill perfectly. I have to read The Princess Bride for my IRL Book Group. And Bulfinches Age of Fable is a beautifully written book of mythology, a subject we happen to be learning about in our homeschool this year. I'll add to my list when I can.