Avalon

by Mary J. Jones

TRADE PB

Genres: Fantasy, LGBT, Arthurian, Queer, Fiction

237 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1991

Reviews

[Arthurianmaiden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was quite surprised by this novel. When I bought it and read the blurb, I expected something only vaguely connected with arthuriana, something maybe with a setting similar to arthurian, with some mentions of past arthurian characters and the story of a completely new character and disconnected from Camelot. Instead "Avalon" is quite connected with arthuriana, definitely more than I thought, and even if there were some things I wasn't particularly fond in the novel, I ended up liking it a lot.

This is the story of Argante, the daughter of Guinevere, hidden in Avalon with the Daughters (basically all ladies, some are warriors, under the supervision and rule of the Lady) where she is trained and tries to find her own path, told with flashbacks, from a time where Argante has become the Lady of Avalon herself. Her story is deeply connected with Arthur's one as she believes Arthur, the king, might be his father and I particularly loved the parts of the novels (in the beginning) where Argante struggled with her own feelings for Arthur, needing his attention and getting disappointed time over time. Mordred, Morgana, a version of Merlin, Nimue, Kay and Balin are all here, making the tale a renarration of the story of Balin and how he killed the lady of the lake.
Probably the best part of the novels are the female characters. There are so many lovely female characters, so different, so well written, especially Nimue and Morgant (a mix between Morgana and Merlin) who are powerful, older women, in love and both scary and charming for the reader. I wasn't too fond of Argante's lover, as their relationship seemed more like a mix of plot twists with no real dedication to writing an evolving relationship but at the same time the love story helped me understand Argante as a character, to get closer to her and as she is the main character that is exactly what the novel, in my opinion, should do.
The plot is interesting, even if it starts all of a sudden and a little too late in the novel. The book spends a lot of time introducing Avalon, writing about what the characters are, how does it work and while it's useful, I think it would have been easier to read if it had been done all during the development of the plot. Instead the real heart of the novel starts almost at half of it, when Balin, convinced by Annis, a powerful queen and magician, cut the head off the Lady of the lake. Argante, Nimue and the other Daughters will have to stop Annis and Balin's plot against Arthur and Avalon.

Another little note about how the novel is written. I have mixed feelings about it because in some parts it seems to lack emotion. Descriptions and dialogues and events have all the same pace, with no suspence. It made me feel a little disconnected from the story but at the same time it was incredibly effective in some specific parts. This almost monotone pace, made me literally gasp in some scenes where the action started like that, all of a sudden, narrated almost as if it was nothing. Especially the part where Guinevere is talking with the Lady and suddenly- she is without her head. Gosh, I think I even dreamt it. It was very vivid, which I suppose is a good accomplishment for the novel.

In general yes, if you are looking for a love story between two women, with a lot of female and queer supporting characters, in an arthurian setting, this is definitely the novel for you.

[Maggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gets a 3 instead of a 2 purely because it was written in 1991 and she made an attempt to tell the story, which even today some people don't.

Arthurian romances are a tricky business. The legends are a morass of contradictory oral and written legend. Avalon does nothing to untangle the mess; her sources are unclear and the writing frequently obtuse and dry. However, the narrative was charming and the characters moderately interesting, so this book is a good historical curiosity if nothing else.

[E.M. Taggart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apparently Mary J. Jones never wrote another novel, which is a shame. This story is about the Lady of the Lake. In this reimagining, she's a sort of priestess and part of a female-dominated society, but the novel never falls into didacticism. Instead there is a great deal of imaginative world-building which draws more on the history of the period than on Arthurian legend, and the large cast of characters is well realized and varied. I read almost the entire book in a single night; it was absorbing and flowed easily.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, confusing, peculiar stuff. Not as awesome as I was hoping... bumped up half a star because of the gay :P