Avalon: A Novel | Anya Seton | Anya Seton - an historial fiction writing legend

Avalon: A Novel | Anya Seton | The only book I can read over and over again

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Avalon: A Novel

	Avalon: A Novel Anya Seton Chicago Review Press, 2006 - 448 pages average customer review:based on 32 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

This saga of yearning and mystery travels across oceans and continents to Iceland, Greenland, and North America during the time in history when Anglo-Saxons battled Vikings and the Norsemen discovered America. The marked contrasts between powerful royalty, landless peasants, Viking warriors and noble knights are expertly brought to life in this gripping tale of the French prince named Rumon. Shipwrecked off the Cornish coast on his quest to find King Arthur's legendary Avalon, Rumon meets a lonely girl named Merewyn and their lives soon become intertwined. Rumon brings Merewyn to England, but once there he is so dazzled by Queen Alrida's beauty that it makes him a virtual prisoner to her will. In this riveting romance, Anya Seton once again proves her mastery of historical detail and ability to craft a compelling tale that includes real and colorful personalities such as St. Dunstan and Eric the Red.

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Anya Seton - an historial fiction writing legend

This is an incredibly beautifull, well-researched and eloquently written romantic novel. The characters are three-dimentional and believable and, to tell the truth, I could only read a few pages at a time.....and all I can equate it to was taking an occassional bite of cheesecake (my favorite dessert).

The book was a complete delight to read and was so disappointed when it was finished. I highly recommend her other novel "Katherine" which deserves even MORE praise!!!

The only book I can read over and over again

I don't know how many times I have read Avalon, and I love it every time I read it. For some strange reason I want to read it when I get depressed, which is very odd considering the ill-fated tragedy of Rumon and Merewyn's love. I suppose I'm hoping that one day I'm going to read it and Rumon will find Merewyn in time to rescue her from Ketil. ;) But the book is so fascinating that you just want more of it...then when you finish it, you want to look up all the characters (a majority of them were real people) in the encylopedia and read all about them.

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Great Book, Strange Forward

This was one of the best books I have read! I am new to Seton's work and look forward to reading more of her books. I wouldn't really call it a romance though. It was very plausible that Merewyn, as a young girl, would develop a crush on Rumon. However, it seemed strange that he wouldn't care much for her and then suddenly fall head over heels in love with her. So much in love that he travelled many miles and years to find her. I don't think the whole romance was very well developed.

What really made this book so good was the adventure and the descriptions of life in tenth century England, Iceland, and Greenland. They were awesome and made me feel like I was there. Also, I don't want to give too much of the story away, but Seton made it totally believable that Europeans came to the Americas and settled with the indians long before Columbus.

I find it very odd that the publishers of this book would print a forward like the one in this book by Phillipa Gregory. It contained some praise for Seton and the book, however, it was for the most part critical of the book. How is that supposed to help the publisher sell books?

If you like historical fiction I highly recommend this book. I was sad to see it end and wish that I could find more books written about this time period in history.

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Disappointing

I had high expectations for this novel, as I enjoyed Seton's 'Katherine' and 'Dragonwyck' very much: two very different periods of history, and yet both magnificently written. Therefore, I figured that Seton would excell in this novel set in Medieval England and Iceland. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
The novel started off well, and I found myself captivated by the scandalous characters in the court of England- Lady Alfrida in particular. Yet the novel trailed off and I was no longer enthralled by it. The narrative structure was very haphazard, as it skips years not just once but several times. It makes it difficult to relate to the characters, as you no longer have any idea where they are in their journey.
The foreward is written by Phillipa Gregory, and she said that Seton had sacrificed the narrative for the sake of historical fact. I am very much a history fan, and thought that this was a good thing. However,after having read it, I think that she sacrificed the narrative a little too much. It was an extrememly fragmented narrative. It's a shame that the novel didn't end on the same promising note as it started on.

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I had problems with this one...

Well, much like many of the other reviewers, I had read Katherine and was very excited when this one came in the mail. I was disappointed, however, in the last third or so of the book. The first two-thirds were promising, containing much of what I love about historical fiction, but after that, I seriously wanted to give up. The characters were getting flatter and flatter and the story line itself 'jumped the shark' - so to speak. Save your money...

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

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