★★★★★ 5
The Once and Future TH White
This book is in my lifetime top ten list. I've read it three times. Its pages are full of wisdom, humor, mysticism and hard life, an unbeatable combination. I call the story "a hopeful tragedy." For sure it is a high tragedy up to Greek levels and then some. And yet it's hopefulness lies in King Arthur's ability to continue deepening, learning, reaching for the goodness that he still believes is in every person.
Someone said that The Once and Future King was the "Harry Potter" of its day. While I love the Harry Potter series, Rowling is no T.H. White. Her writing is a serviceable yeoman's march compared with White's kingly, profound, sometimes soaring performance. Harry changes very little as he grows up, while his supporting characters seem to stay exactly the same. Not so with Arthur. He changes before our very eyes, sometimes not for the better, as does Lancelot, Guinever and others. Though both tales are mythological, White's story feels real and gets us deep down in the bowels of our conscience, our morality and our fears. Eventually, it provokes compassion, allowing us to become more forgiving of ourselves and others. Not a bad way to live in the world. When you really learn something, you become a different person. You will really learn something from The Once and Future King, making T.H. the Once and Future White.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2009