the once and future king

[frantyck at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 28272

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., lumen_dei at y... wrote:
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> to read while waiting for Harry Potter V ; we have a list of books 
> (over 75) that Harry Potter fans have sent to us. Thanks to all who 
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Here's a great one:

_The Once and Future King_, by T. H. White.

Has anyone here read that? I've been reading it slowly and 
comfortably for the last week or so. It's a retelling of the story of 
Arthur, but this one is nothing like any of the others I've read. 
It's light, urbane, witty, moving, truthful, quirky, scintillating. 
It's a bit like Umberto Eco but less weighty. It's also like 
fanfiction in a sense, that it touches on all the rock-solid plot 
points, but in between weaves a fantastic, believable but very 
individual path.

The reason this post is not OT: The first part of the book (the best, 
I think) describes the youth and education of Arthur (or the Wart), 
under the supervision of Merlyn. Much like Harry in PS/SS, Arthur is 
introduced to the world of magic, and to his inheritance. Merlyn's 
preferred pedagogical method is direct experience; thus, to learn 
about birds, Arthur is transformed into one. Which is then an 
opportunity for White to explore bird society, teaching and 
speculating brilliantly. The section where Arthur becomes a migratory 
goose (funny as that sounds) is one of my favourite breath-halting 
bits of literature. And then there are the ants, over-allegorised co-
denizens of our planet, but still cleverly reimagined here. Please 
read this book, preferably a musty, yellowing, secondhand version 
like mine.

I was going to compare Harry's and Arthur's experiences as they are 
introduced to a new world, and the fact that they both have a mission 
of some sort to perform, but I'm sitting in my office and the book 
rests on my bedside table at home... so. There is also much to be 
said about comparing the conceptualisation of each magical world... 
both set in England and with similar cultural topoi/recurring 
features of magic and all that. There must be something in the fact 
that English writers can so readily conjure up believable magic 
worlds, I know I read an essay on that somewhere... gnarrr.

If this has come up before (dang, should have checked the archives), 
sorry. Still, there's always someone new here!