Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Once and Future King by T.H. White

★★★★

"The" book about King Arthur, his Knights of the Round Table, his wife Guenever, his best friend and wife's lover Lancelot, the Quest for the Holy Grail, etc.

I thoroughly enjoyed it! The book is full of characters who are gentle, noble, beautiful, ugly, revengeful, humorous -- and the book made me feel like I could relate to any of them. In the end, it was a thinking book, illustrating how themes of war and human nature are applicable throughout time. The book made me feel half-frustrated and disappointed in the idea that humankind is doomed to repeat its mistakes in war and strife, but also half-hopeful that if humankind continues to strive towards it, we can reach a way of life that is peaceful and just without having to resort to war.

I won't say much about what the book says about war, in case you want to read the book yourself, but it's a bit of a discourse regarding the purpose of war, when a war might be justified (if at all), why do humans fight wars while most other animal species do not, etc. In fact, the discussions on war are so applicable to current events that I think this book is relevant now more than ever.

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