As part of Penguin Canada’s Bloggers and Books Network, I received Mercedes Lackey’s new book,Gwenhwyfar: The White Spirit. Released on October 6th, Gwenhwyfar provides a new look at King Arthur’s legendary queen Guinevere. In Gwen’s time, two paths exist for a woman: the path of the Blessing (or magic) and the path of the Warrior. Gwen chooses to give up the Blessing she is born with to follow her passion and become a warrior. As a King’s daughter, however, Gwen soon discovers that she is not completely free when she must bow to duty, give up her calling, and become Arthur’s queen.
Surprisingly, the well-known story of Guinevere’s love triangle is downplayed and almost completely overlooked in favour of an intricate and unique tale that offers so much more than a simple romance fantasy. Information from the original Arthur and Guinevere tale offers an enticing sense of realism, while branching off in just the right places to create something new. The result is a novel with intense character development and a captivating look at important issues of religion and gender.
Gwenhwyfar presents a world in which the “Old Ways” of pagan worship conflict with emergent “white Christ” beliefs. Religion is frequently mentioned and provides rich soil for exploration. It creates tension between various characters and accounts for much of the drama existing between Kings, Queens and followers. Unfortunately, both religious beliefs remain widely unexplained and a somewhat idealistic resolution of hoped-for unity and peace brushes the matter aside with an only cursory glance. Though the novel contains notable statements about peace, this issue’s lack of depth and exploration provides a shallow look at something that could have been better explored in this old-world tale.
Alternately, Gwenhwyfar excellently explores gender and duty conflicts. The novel offers strong portraits of women in transition and turmoil. Furthermore, Gwen’s conflict between duty and desire is well-paced, making the issue even more understandable and relatable as Gwen grows. Gwenhwyfar’s in-depth psychological and social exploration of desire and duty illustrates a woman’s heart-wrenching and life-changing dilemma between hope and reality. Whereas the novel’s investigation of religion is a bit lacklustre, its investigation of gender roles is notably insightful.
Lackey excels in setting and description. I most appreciate the fact that the Middle Ages are not glamorized in Gwenhwyfar. Whereas other Arthurian tales tend to focus solely on the romance and chivalry of times past, Lackey shares the nitty-gritty aspects of Arthur’s time. The drafty castles, the smelly halls and the lack of plumbing are only a few things that are described with such lingering and vivid attention that one really gets a sense of where, when and how Gwen lives. On the other hand, however, Lackey’s presentation of modern sensibilities in an olden-times book is a bit jarring, especially in the use of certain sayings or plot twists. It is a bit of a stretch, for example, to imagine that a King would support his daughter going to battle, but the novel centres completely on this action.Fortunately, the novel is so unified in its purpose and so successful in its overall execution that these observations became mere details in its reception. After all, risks must be taken to create something fresh and exciting – two adjectives that describe Lackey’s novel very well.
Ultimately, Gwenhwyfar is recommendable because it successfully provides a captivating take on an old tale. Rather than repeating an overused love story, Lackey offers a new storyline that grabs readers despite some of its faults. It successfully breaks from tradition and, as a result, is well worth the read.
