This is a guest review from Deron O:
I read Richard Monaco’s Parsival or A Knight’s Tale, the first of his Parsival series, many years ago as a teenager, not too long after its initial publication. Monaco's tale is based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's 13th century poem Parzival about Parzival, a knight of King Arthur, who quests for the Holy Grail. I had already read probably a dozen versions of the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, such as Le Morte Darthur, Idylls of the King, and The Once and Future King. I was put off by Monaco's version because his was so, so unlike the others. It was raw, visceral, and chivalrous only in the loosest sense of the word. Yet something about his writing style stuck with me after all these years.
When I learned that he’d written a new Parsival book, Lost Years: The Quest for Avalon, I had to read it. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that book begins at the very moment that this book ends. Because I enjoyed Lost Years, despite its flaws mostly due to poor editing, I located my old copy of Parsival that had since been boxed up and stored away in the basement and gave it a second read.
Parsival is the son of King Gahmuret, and after Gahmuret is slain in battle, Queen Herzelroyd vows to cloister her child from the world, to not raise him as a knight and king as is his birthright in an effort to prevent him from meeting the same fate as his father. Years later, in his teens, Parsival is completely innocent of the ways of the world, not even comprehending death.
One day, while in the woods, he encounters three of King Arthur’s knights, one being Galahad. Given their shiny armor and his mother’s description of God taking “the form of a man as bright as the sun”, Parsival confuses Galahad for God. Galahad quickly disabuses him of this notion. The knights mistake Parsival’s naivete for madness, and tiring of answering Parsival’s questions about knights and anxious to get on their way, one knight sarcastically tells the fool Parsival, “Go to King Arthur...perhaps he’ll make you a knight yourself and you’ll know all these things then.” So, like a child, inexpert at detecting sarcasm and trusting unquestionably the benevolence of others, he goes.
His mother is powerless to stop Parsival. Shortly after he leaves, distressed and distraught, she dies of a broken heart. The serfs Broaditch and Waleis are soon dispatched to bring Parsival back to take the throne. Their pursuit forms a second narrative thread of this story.
Parsival muddles along - aspiring to become the ideal knight, marrying, defending the kingdom from the evil Clinschor and his invaders from across the sea, and questing for the Holy Grail both physically and spiritually. For the most part, he fails. His innocence is often his undoing, most ironically in his physical quest for the Holy Grail. With each encounter, Parsival's innocence fades a bit more. He learns that the knights are not so chivalrous, and after taking part in a battle with King Arthur against Clinschor, he humorously concludes, “War...is stupid.”
In contrast, the lowborn Broaditch demonstrates, in his own way, the chivalry, heroism, and dedication that one would expect from Arthur’s knights. Broaditch and his companions are characters I didn’t think I’d care for much, rather wanting to get back to Parsival’s adventure; however, I found that to be untrue and enjoyed their tale just as much as Parsival’s.
The story moves along at a brisk pace. Chapters are short, often just a page or two. Monaco uses flashbacks and flash-forwards. While this could lead to problems following a story, I did not find that to be the case here. Occasionally, Monaco uses a stream of conscious style or sentence fragments that had me rereading some sections. I don’t mean that to be negative, just noting that the author sometime requires a little more of your attention. Overall, I enjoy Monaco’s writing style, and it is one reason why I decided to revisit his book.
This author and his work deserve more recognition. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading the others in this series.
RATING: 5 out of 5 stars
Comments: The books in this series are: Parsival or A Knight's Tale; The Grail War; Final Quest; Blood and Dreams; Lost Years: The Quest for Avalon.
Both Parsival or a Knight's Tale and The Final Quest were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
There is very little information about Richard Monaco on the internet, but I was able to locate this interview.
Wolfram von Eschenbach's poem Parzival is also the basis for Richard Wagner's famous opera Parsifal. Wagner's opera Lohengrin was also inspired by that poem. Lohengrin is the son of Parzival.
Lohengrin figures important in Monaco's series. Lohengrin is a baby at the end of Parsival, and oddly, while Lost Years begins moments after the conclusion of Parsival, Lohengrin is magically a teenager. I recall Monaco explaining in the aforementioned interview that it was necessary for the plot, where Lohengrin plays a rebellious teen fighting to not walk in his father's footsteps.
I read Richard Monaco’s Parsival or A Knight’s Tale, the first of his Parsival series, many years ago as a teenager, not too long after its initial publication. Monaco's tale is based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's 13th century poem Parzival about Parzival, a knight of King Arthur, who quests for the Holy Grail. I had already read probably a dozen versions of the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, such as Le Morte Darthur, Idylls of the King, and The Once and Future King. I was put off by Monaco's version because his was so, so unlike the others. It was raw, visceral, and chivalrous only in the loosest sense of the word. Yet something about his writing style stuck with me after all these years.
When I learned that he’d written a new Parsival book, Lost Years: The Quest for Avalon, I had to read it. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that book begins at the very moment that this book ends. Because I enjoyed Lost Years, despite its flaws mostly due to poor editing, I located my old copy of Parsival that had since been boxed up and stored away in the basement and gave it a second read.
Parsival is the son of King Gahmuret, and after Gahmuret is slain in battle, Queen Herzelroyd vows to cloister her child from the world, to not raise him as a knight and king as is his birthright in an effort to prevent him from meeting the same fate as his father. Years later, in his teens, Parsival is completely innocent of the ways of the world, not even comprehending death.
One day, while in the woods, he encounters three of King Arthur’s knights, one being Galahad. Given their shiny armor and his mother’s description of God taking “the form of a man as bright as the sun”, Parsival confuses Galahad for God. Galahad quickly disabuses him of this notion. The knights mistake Parsival’s naivete for madness, and tiring of answering Parsival’s questions about knights and anxious to get on their way, one knight sarcastically tells the fool Parsival, “Go to King Arthur...perhaps he’ll make you a knight yourself and you’ll know all these things then.” So, like a child, inexpert at detecting sarcasm and trusting unquestionably the benevolence of others, he goes.
His mother is powerless to stop Parsival. Shortly after he leaves, distressed and distraught, she dies of a broken heart. The serfs Broaditch and Waleis are soon dispatched to bring Parsival back to take the throne. Their pursuit forms a second narrative thread of this story.
Parsival muddles along - aspiring to become the ideal knight, marrying, defending the kingdom from the evil Clinschor and his invaders from across the sea, and questing for the Holy Grail both physically and spiritually. For the most part, he fails. His innocence is often his undoing, most ironically in his physical quest for the Holy Grail. With each encounter, Parsival's innocence fades a bit more. He learns that the knights are not so chivalrous, and after taking part in a battle with King Arthur against Clinschor, he humorously concludes, “War...is stupid.”
In contrast, the lowborn Broaditch demonstrates, in his own way, the chivalry, heroism, and dedication that one would expect from Arthur’s knights. Broaditch and his companions are characters I didn’t think I’d care for much, rather wanting to get back to Parsival’s adventure; however, I found that to be untrue and enjoyed their tale just as much as Parsival’s.
The story moves along at a brisk pace. Chapters are short, often just a page or two. Monaco uses flashbacks and flash-forwards. While this could lead to problems following a story, I did not find that to be the case here. Occasionally, Monaco uses a stream of conscious style or sentence fragments that had me rereading some sections. I don’t mean that to be negative, just noting that the author sometime requires a little more of your attention. Overall, I enjoy Monaco’s writing style, and it is one reason why I decided to revisit his book.
This author and his work deserve more recognition. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading the others in this series.
RATING: 5 out of 5 stars
Comments: The books in this series are: Parsival or A Knight's Tale; The Grail War; Final Quest; Blood and Dreams; Lost Years: The Quest for Avalon.
Both Parsival or a Knight's Tale and The Final Quest were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
There is very little information about Richard Monaco on the internet, but I was able to locate this interview.
Wolfram von Eschenbach's poem Parzival is also the basis for Richard Wagner's famous opera Parsifal. Wagner's opera Lohengrin was also inspired by that poem. Lohengrin is the son of Parzival.
Lohengrin figures important in Monaco's series. Lohengrin is a baby at the end of Parsival, and oddly, while Lost Years begins moments after the conclusion of Parsival, Lohengrin is magically a teenager. I recall Monaco explaining in the aforementioned interview that it was necessary for the plot, where Lohengrin plays a rebellious teen fighting to not walk in his father's footsteps.
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