The Guinevere Deception, and why I hate honourable oafs
- Polly Angelova
- May 28, 2020
- 6 min read
When my best friend first recommended this book to me, I was immediately intrigued by the quirky subversion of the original myth. Powerful women secretly in charge? Sign me up! I must say, the novel as a whole did not disappoint - Kiersten White does a fantastic job of turning the well-known story on its head and surprising the reader with some clever twists on classic elements of the tale.
I really can't say much more without giving away spoilers, so consider this your official warning and come back to the rest of this blog when you've read the book if you want a truly untarnished experience.
Fairly early on we find out that the real Guinevere is dead, and Merlin has put a wild magic girl in her place. There are a bunch of interesting things about this predicament, and the key ones are outlined in the summary of the book. But one thing I was pleasantly surprised and fascinated by was the personality of this wild girl. I expected her to be drunk on power and showy with her magic, or perhaps have that over-exaggerated bickering banter with Arthur which gradually builds up romantic tension, but she's actually given a much more down to earth personality.
First of all, I find her social ineptitude completely endearing - of course she's not well-versed in the ways of court, and of course she's a bit naive - this girl has literally grown up in the forest! It's a great way to tie in somebody's background with their personality traits, and it holds up much better than a number of modern chicklits where the character is just unbelievably gullible.
But more than that, what I find so compelling about Guinevere (I'll just call her that from now on to save us the hassle), is her struggle to find her purpose in Camelot and in life. It's something which resonates with me, and I imagine a lot of fellow twenty-something readers. Throughout the span of the narrative, her ideas about who she is and what she's aiming for are uprooted a couple of times, and we ride along as she questions her identity, feeling lost, alone and confused. We've all been there girl! I look forward to seeing how Guinevere's struggle to find her place and purpose develop over the series.
Another interesting element of the books is Kiersten White's take on magic. She creates a world with multi-faceted magic where rustic knots live alongside the flashy spells Merlin casts. (Oh, by the way, Merlin is a dick in this book!). This is the first retelling of the Arthurian legend where we see magic as the focal point of conflict instead of just a plot device.
White draws a fascinating juxtaposition between the magical roots of the kingdom, and the current attitude of its subjects towards magic-wielders. On one hand, Camelot was literally build into the stone through magical means, and has a king who won his throne with the help of magic. On the other hand, with the introduction of Christianity, this same king has outlawed magic and let many of his subjects to actively shun it.
It's a very interesting narrative conflict, and I look forward to seeing how it develops further, especially after the events at the end of this book.
I am also HERE for the LGBTQ representation!! First up we've got Brangien, a lady in waiting, badass magic-wielder and secret lover to Isolde. (Yes, that Isolde - the Tristan and Isolde myth is also subverted and woven into Arthurian legend - White is basically building one big master-narrative of Anglo-centric legends). I am not 100% clear on whether Brangien got kicked out of her home explicitly for having a same-sex relationship, or it was more of the general having an affair with the king's wife business. Either way, our girl Guinevere doesn't bat an eye when she finds out and jumps in ready to help the lovers reunite. It's the type of LGBTQ positivity I look for in a book.
We've also got Lancelot, who was born a woman but very clearly doesn't feel particularly feminine - a more subtle representation to the very openly lesbian couple, but it's here nonetheless and I love it. It brings up issues about gender and what women can and can't do according to social norms - all of which are still (sadly) relevant today. Some of you might suggest that Lancelot only desires to be more masculine to pursue a dream and it has nothing to do with gender identity, but I personally picked up on the signs that this is not the case.
AND NOW FOR MY COMPLAINTS! (Talking about legendary characters makes me dramatic)
One of my biggest pet peeves when reading a fantasy story, especially a YA one, is the overabundance of honourable oafs we get as the main love interest. The series which do this are too many to list, but a few prominent ones such as Divergent, Red Queen, The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, Fallen, The Selection and even Chaol from the Throne of Glass series come to mind.
Almost from the start, we are introduced to the polar opposites that are Mordred and Arthur, and the chasm between their characters only deepens the more we get to know them. Mordred is dark, broody, complicated, magical and very straightforward about loving Guinevere, going so far as pointing out plainly that he will always put her first.
Unlike Arthur, our buff vanilla honourable oaf who always puts his ideals first and appears to have no human weaknesses - just a very rigid moral compass. He cares more about his kingdom than the actual people in it, a flaw which is starkly highlighted in the scene following the tournament where he straight up disappears and does not give a shit about Guinevere. ALSO, he straight up lied to her along with Merlin, and never lets her do stuff, because it's either dangerous, or not completely aligned with his infallible value system.
Okay, fine, maybe reading A Court of Thorns and Roses has spoiled me when it comes to siding with dark and complicated, what with actually giving the readers one such love interest who actually stands a chance. I'll admit, I've always wanted to see the foil to the male protagonist get the girl rather than simply serve as a plot complication to create an internal struggle for the heroine before she ultimately chooses the oaf. IMAGINE my disappointment when I finished The Guinevere Deception!! But I suppose there are still two more books to go!
Okay, so I know I said earlier on that I find Guinevere being gullible adorable, but there's a caveat. While it works as a quirky character trait when it comes to everyday life situations in between the big events, it can get extremely aggravating when she's being dim about important things. You know, like pursuing one relatively harmless magical woman instead of looking out for bigger threats. Or not realising sooner how dodgy Merlin is and looking into his agenda more closely.
Or, perhaps most importantly, not catching on to the fact that the Lady of the Lake is not talking about the sword when she tells Merlin he's taken something from her. Now, this is not 100% confirmed yet, but between the lack of childhood memories, the fear of water Guinevere doesn't remember the source of and the ending of the book, it seems rather obvious that she is the lost thing the Lady is so mad about.
My qualms aside, I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series. Curious to see how the love triangle from the original myth will play out - will Guinevere and Lancelot still be an item? Or is Brangien meant to get over Isolde with some help from the Queen's Knight? Will my dreams come true with a Guinevere and Mordred pairing? So many people could potentially be involved!
I also really want to know what happened to real Guinevere - I suspect Merlin straight up killed her! And most importantly, I'm here to find out how Guinevere will grow as a character. Will she find her footing, lean more towards the magic and become more independent? Or will she try and stick to the whole being a queen and best pal with Arthur business? I need answers!
4/5 stars
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