Saturday, November 8, 2008

I Am Mordred--Nancy Springer

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Year Published: 2002
Pages: 192
Rating: 4/5

I really, really liked this book. Granted, I love the Arthurian mythology, and it is hard for me to not enjoy ANY retelling of that story. But I think what I really enjoyed about this book was the deeper theme of predestination--is it possible for us to avoid what we are meant to become?

In this novel, no. Destiny wins in the end, despite all of Mordred's better efforts. The reader is privy to his feelings of love and hate for Arthur, the father whom he is destined to destroy. We watch as he tries to let goodness overcome fate. We see Arthur's struggle as well, for he too knows that the son he loves but cannot acknowledge as his own will one day kill him. And in the end, it comes down to an effort between the two to save poor Mordred's soul.

The story is sad and captivating, simple and complex, and I recommend it to anyone, especially those with an interest in Arthurian retellings.

P.S. Does anyone else have an odd feeling that that is Brad Pitt under the helmet on the cover?

Book-a-week # 50
Challenge/s: Young Adult, Arthurian, Naming Conventions

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I just ordered a copy of this after reading Nymeth's review. Looks like just my kind of thing.