Reviews for The Lancelot-Grail Reader: Selections from the Medieval French Arthurian Cycle

The average rating for The Lancelot-Grail Reader: Selections from the Medieval French Arthurian Cycle based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-09-19 00:00:00 Christine Stewart I gave this sucker 4 stars, but that's for a reason other than enjoyment. Simply put, The Lancelot-Grail Reader is the best summary of the original cycle of the Arthurian legend out there. It summarizes a great deal, but it is mostly tedious things like battles, etc. while keeping in what we all know and expect, as well as the things that we thought we knew and didn't expect. For those looking for a good, simple and (blissfully) condensed version of the massive french tales, this is for you. That being said, the Arthurian legend is stupid. You heard me right. Sure, there's plenty of great stories, epic battles, love triangles, chivalry, etc. but really, it's a soap opera. There are more plot threads in ten pages than most novels can cover and none of it is fully explored. You have never seen such a conglomeration of emotional infants outside of As the World Turns as you will see in Arthur stories. Yeah, yeah, hate me for it if you will. I must say, reading this book really improved my opinions of King Arthur movies. They're mostly terrible, but they do a surprisingly good job condensing (and making readable) the mess that is this text. Sure, you could always read Mallory or White, but they're only mildly better (and equally long winded).

Review # 2 was written on 2017-01-05 00:00:00 Lori A Dupras This may have been the edition my supervisor recommended, but I'm not sure I particularly liked it, because it missed out a lot of episodes I had planned (from reading other editions) to include in my essay, therefore making it less useful than it could have been. On the plus side, it manages to seriously emphasise Lancelot/Galehaut to the point where there is absolutely no doubt that they are both very bi and in love, so that's always fun. (I think it's Elias who, when giving Galehaut advice, literally uses a phrase to the effect of "any man or woman with whom you are in love", making it pretty clear he doesn't perceive a difference between the two and that they're the same kind of relationship, which is about as canon a queer character as you're going to get in medieval literature. I'm undecided as to whether it should qualify for that shelf, though, being a wee bit ambiguous.) Also, I am still very emotional about Galehaut dying for love of Lancelot and them eventually being buried in the same grave. There are feelings happening. It's a concern.