Finished reading this some time ago. It was recommended by a historian friend with a special interest in Arthur.
This is an interesting read if you’re curious about the reality of King Arthur. The book discuesses the historical figure[s] and events that form the basis for the legend of King Arthur. There’s a ton of historical and archeological references and a good deal of something that feels like historical detective-work, showing that King Arthur, his knights of the round table and even Merlin are more than just fictional characters.
In the past few years somehow we were bombarded by similarly themed young adult novels of exploding popularity that were of course also divoured by Hollywood and made into a whole lot of cheesy movies.
Honestly I’m not very happy about how Lois Lowry’s “The Giver” quartet also got shuffled in, as yet another one of these. I read the series a couple of years back, and there are certain aspect of it that I still think about from time to time. I find the quartet especially well written, and the stories deep and meaningful, probably a lot more than they’re being given credit for, especially thanks to the rather ridiculous movie.
So if you’ve just seen the movie and ran the other direction, I do ask you to please give the books a chance. It’s possible you’ll find something entirely different in there.
I have no idea how many times I’ve watched the movie. The Green Mile is one of my all time favourites.. it’s one of those movies that I just randomly re-watch every once in a while just because. But up to very recently, it hadn’t even come to my attention that there even was a book! Perhaps partially because so far I haven’t been such a big fan of Stephen King’s writing, and I didn’t even know this was one of his.
Last month a friend of mine asked me what I thought of the book, and a couple of hours later I actually started reading it. I was a little worried that the book wouldn’t be that good, or that it would be too different. Fortunately as it turned out the usual rule applied here too and the book was in fact better.
Reading the book you get to know the characters much better. Their personalities, thoughts and circumstances of their lives have been much better described. And then there’s the mouse. In the movie you do fall in love with the mouse, but in the book you properly get to know the mouse. There is much more to him and his story, and he is perhaps the 2nd main character in the book. And I absolutely love that.
Paul Edgecombe’s story is also better told in the book. There is in fact quite a bit about him that doesn’t make it to the movie, including a very meaningful last chapter. That last chapter was hard for me to read…so very emotionally intense, and it gives you much to ponder about. Mind you it doesn’t really change the story or how it ends, but it does paint a move vivid picture of Paul Edgecombe.
