A Book a Day: The Mists of Avalon

 Every day I'm posting an image of a book I like. PROBLEMATIC FAVE ALERT. I've reread the book twice since the revelations of Bradley's sex abuses were uncovered a few years ago. It affects the text in as much it reiterates how very much Bradley saw herself as a kind of Vivian--important, and relinquishing the responsibilities of her bad decisions on others.

 

That aside, this is a book that rewards rereadings in spades. When I first read it over twenty years ago (yikes) I could only read it through a pagan-good/Christianity-bad dichotomy (and a Morgaine-good/Gwenhwyfar-bad dichotomy). Rereadings show the shades of grey throughout, and that dogma vs. empathy is the real issue at the heart of many of the book's debates. It's also always a book I reread hoping that somehow it will change, that characters will make better decisions and have better outcomes, except of course they never do.

 

This book is extra amazing once you've actually read Le Morte d'Arthur, which I did only in recent years. The novel is an incredible transformative text of Malory, consciously playing on/against his texts--which turns out have a surprising number of ladies of Avalon just running around.