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Elaine of Corbenic
ELAINE OF CORBENIC, based on Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur, is the story of Launcelot and the Fisher King's daughter, who bears him the son who will one day find the Grail. It is also the story of a young woman's journey through abandonment to inner strength and deepening wisdom. Offering the poetry of medieval legend, the story speaks to contemporary themes of love, betrayal, and the quest for meaning
318 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2015
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July 5, 2015
The first impression I had as I began reading Tima Newman’s “Elaine of Corbenic”—a close-up account of one incident in the vast King Arthur legend—was of her grasp of Arthurian language. The cadence, word-smithing and lyricism are just right. The story—at face value a love triangle with Sir Launcelot in one corner and two gorgeous, squabbling women in the other—is deftly told. The characters quickly come to life. Elaine is the unfulfilled, abandoned woman searching, above all, for her own self. Guinevere comes across to the reader as a totally satisfying super-bitch, equal to Puccini’s Turandot. And then there is clueless Launcelot who is all brawn and too dumb to figure out that he needs to leave his afore-mentioned, irascible lady in the dust.
If one chooses to read “Elaine” strictly from the level of plot and medieval chivalry, it can be done with no sense of disappointment. After all, there are jousts, there’s a dragon and there are magic potions. What more could one ask? But Newman is a Jungian therapist and there are many other ways to understand this book. Part adventure story, part allegory, part dream sequence, “Elaine” is a metaphor for the archetypical path to individual wholeness, a trail that we must all blaze in our own ways. While the book gives subtle support to women with their own special issues in a male-dominated world, readers of both genders can readily identify with Elaine’s dilemma and ultimate personal triumph. The misty writing—at times even watery in character—provides a perfect setting for this kind of otherworldly soul searching. The only slightly odd decision was an administrative one, namely, to set the book in extra-large type. But after a few paragraphs the reader forgets this anomaly. And since the book is a page turner under any circumstances, the pages just go by all that much faster. It was a quick and lovely read. david@teacherofdreams.com
If one chooses to read “Elaine” strictly from the level of plot and medieval chivalry, it can be done with no sense of disappointment. After all, there are jousts, there’s a dragon and there are magic potions. What more could one ask? But Newman is a Jungian therapist and there are many other ways to understand this book. Part adventure story, part allegory, part dream sequence, “Elaine” is a metaphor for the archetypical path to individual wholeness, a trail that we must all blaze in our own ways. While the book gives subtle support to women with their own special issues in a male-dominated world, readers of both genders can readily identify with Elaine’s dilemma and ultimate personal triumph. The misty writing—at times even watery in character—provides a perfect setting for this kind of otherworldly soul searching. The only slightly odd decision was an administrative one, namely, to set the book in extra-large type. But after a few paragraphs the reader forgets this anomaly. And since the book is a page turner under any circumstances, the pages just go by all that much faster. It was a quick and lovely read. david@teacherofdreams.com
Displaying 1 of 1 review