Mists of Avalon Abridged

Rating:
Summary: Great, emotional book.
Review: This has to be the best book I've read. Very emotional heart stirring tale. It surpasses all other Arthurian tales by a great deal. I recommend that anyone and everyone read this. It is a very touching, insightful story.

Rating:
Summary: It was the best book I have read in a long time!!!
Review: This book was mainly about christianity but it was interesting to see the point of both sides .I felt that Morgaine was a very strong character and I personally did not like Gwen at all.She got on my nerves more than anyone!!I am only 13 and thought this book was way too big but in the end I was so happy I read it!I suggest this book to anyone who loves fantasy.

Rating:
Summary: This book was thrilling.
Review: This story, cunningly retold from the point of view of the women captivated me. The book also represents what most likely would have been the the point of view of the Druids living in the Arthurian era. As Morgaine says at the beginning of the book, "There is no such thing as a true tale,"this book enchanted me with its look at the Round table from a different perspective.

Rating:
Summary: After reading this, you can't read anything else.
Review: The Mists of Avalon was the most beautiful, amazing, and inspiring book I have read. Now that i've finished it, it is very difficult to sit and read another book, because i find myself missing the characters from Mists of Avalon. I felt as if Morgaine were a part of me, and i lived her life with along with her, from the point of her experience at the Beltane Fires, the birth of her child, to becoming a preistess all over again, and the tragedy of the deaths of her loved ones. I prayed when Morgaine prayed and i was happy when she was happy. Also, Gwenhwyfar added to the story by being an annoyance, because she in turn added another dimension to Morgaine, by putting Morgaine down, and calling her "witch" and "harlot." Gwenhwyfar is overly pious, and made CHristianity look bad, but the point of the book is not to put any religion down. The imagery in the book is incredible, and i found the book entirley spellbinding. The book may be very long, but it's worth it, besides if it were short, then it would be incomplete. Read "The Mists of Avalon" you will be glad you did.

Rating:
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: This is not my usual read. Having never read a story of the Arthurian ledgend, I decided to give it a try, and I'm afraid to ever read another for fear of not loving it as much! Bradley gave the characters such depth by making them as petty and quirky as we are today. The battle between Christianity and the Old Religion made me truly sorry that the values of Avalon are not part of our lives today. Morgaine, Viviane and the often forgotten Igraine were such strong women. Even the weaker Gwenhwyfar was not afraid to speak her mind; and men listened to her. It allows one to believe that maybe this is not the first period in time when women have emerged as strong. What a great book!

Rating:
Summary: It is not anti-Christian, it is anti-bigotry
Review: One doesn't have to be a literary scholar to see that Bradley's point is not that Christianity or the Christian God is evil. The Mists of Avalon is not propaganda for ancient Celtic religions. Rather, the "My religion is the only true religion and you will go to hell" missionary attitude and narrow-minded opposition to all other religions is the evil force here. The major tenet of the Druids is "All gods are one God; all goddesses are one Goddess." As Morgaine herself realizes at the end of the book, the young nuns in the convent of Saint Brigid are not so very different from her sisters at Avalon. The hard-line women of Avalon who were vitriolically anti-Christian were just as much in the wrong as the Christian priests who wanted to destroy Morgaine's religion were. Once again, The Mists of Avalon is not anti-Christian (although the young Morgaine may be); it takes a stand against people who demean and deny the validity of any religion but their own. Unfortunately, some people are STILL of this narrow-minded attitude. As for sex in The Mists of Avalon, it's true that some (few) classics are asexual. Then again, many classics deal with sex as an important theme. Faulkner, anyone? Joyce? Morrison? Tolstoy? Bradley's book discusses many aspects of human life with great realism; religion, doubt, betrayal, pilgrimage. Sex is only one of these, and I think, frankly, that it is quite tasteful and appropriate to the story. Maybe reading this book will help people realize that sexuality is an important part of life, not a shameful thing to be expurgated from the pages of literature. Liking or not liking The Mists of Avalon is a matter of personal preference. However, readers must try to see past the immaturities of individual characters to realize that the book does not demean any religion, but rather those bigoted practitioners of any religion who refuse to coexist with other faiths. In my opinion, Morgaine's growth out of narrow-minded bigotry is one of the most moving themes in Bradley's work.

Rating:
Summary: The best book in the world !
Review: I am only 13 years old and I loved the Mists of Avalon ! And Morgain became my favourite character. When you start reading this book you think it must be quite boring, because it's soo big ! But then you find yourself bewitched with the story ! It's incredible ! I recomend it to all my friends and family !

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book w/ great symbolism.
Review: This is definetly my favorite book ever. Bradley did a wonderful, in depth description of even the character w/ small roles. She could make you loathe one character and totally like the next. She did an excellent job showing the battle between the Old Ways and Christianity. There should be more books to the series. The writing was spectacular, although I wished she had talked more about Morgaine's training. Even without that part she did a wonderful job staiting that she wasn't going to talk about it. Bradley is an excellent author w/ great abilities. I loved the way the plot had so many twists to the old male dominated version of the legends. A must read to all fantasy lovers. Bradley is just spectacular. You could truly relate w/ the characters. I could just go on and on abut the pure wonder of the book. It deserves 100 stars(if posible)! Everyone, everywhere should read this book. If anyone hates this book,they should be sent directly to an insane asilum.

Rating:
Summary: The most amazing book on the planet!!
Review: After reading The Mists of Avalon, I cried and picked it up to read it all over again. I love this book because it delves into political, religious, and issues of women as well as many more. The book itself is an absolutely incredible telling of the Arthurian legend, with more feeling then the Once and Future King, or tales such as that. The book is just so great, it should be recomended to everyone who wishes to read the best book they ever will.

Rating:
Summary: A horrible "portrayal" of the Arthurian legend.
Review: A friend who is deeply interested in "magick" lent me this book because I love the legend of King Arthur and Camelot so much. Eager to read a story from the women's point of view, I couldn't wait to start this book. I couldn't finish it because it was so horrible. First of all, one of the main themes was that Christian/God/Jesus = bad. As a firm Catholic, not to mention the fact that faith in God (NOT the "goddess") has gotten me through some amazingly rough times, this theme quickly became tiring. Goddess this and Goddess that, this book became more of a handbook for occult groups than any type of Arthurian legend. Most historians believe Arthur to be a follower of Christianity. True, this book kept him that way. But portraying the religion as the destruction of all things good and imaginative was a sorry way for Bradley to get her point across. Another point. Yes, King Arthur was said in some legends to have had an illegitimate son, maybe even commit incest. We the readers DID NOT need a detailed description of how the act went. The setting up of the "sex ritual" between Morgaine (Morgan le Fay) and Arthur went on for pages. I, for one, don't need such details. It is also very boring and completly demeans love between a man and a woman. Sorry, but it does. We don't NEED details. Some of the best classics written leave out ANY sexual parts, and for all the better. There is a more mysterious air. No details, thank you. Overall, I see this book as the destruction of everything the Arthurian legend stands for. If you are searching for an original, "historically accurate" Arthur tale, I suggest you try "Black Horses For The King" by Anne McCaffrey. A great tale . . . where God is portrayed as Good and there is no "sex rituals". And THAT is what the Arthurian legend is made of . . . noblity and honor, not "magick" and the likes.