About book Isolde, Queen Of The Western Isle (2003)
Um...I guess it was okay. I mean, if every time something of any consequence happens, good or bad, the proclamations to "Goddess, Mother" is something you enjoy, then yeah. It was okay. Aside from the inept writing and the droning on and on of similies, metaphors, and using "Otherworldly" to describe just about EVERYTHING, it was remedial at best. The characters were droll; very 2 dimentional. I found Isolde too whiny much of the time. Tristan was no one that I would lust after or just need to keep reading about. And Mark was dismally annoying. Just blatantly. So, again, it was just okay. I will be reading the other two in this series because Ive already started the series so I may as well finish it. A very, very big plus to this book was that the chapters were only about 2 or 3 pages long. Which made me feel like I was accomplishing something and getting to the next chapter was sometimes the most exhilarating thing about reading this book. I would highly recommend this to my 8yr old because I feel that that is the level for which this series was written. But anyone who's ever read something and been so deeply moved by any love story will not appreciate the poor conceptual writing in this series. But my 8yr old, who is very much a lover of all things romantic and fanciful, would enjoy something of this magnitude because she's never read anything else like this. But for those who have, Id recommend it for light reading while waiting for an airplane, or stuck in the waiting room of someplace for such a long time. I did really like the style in which it was written, though. I really liked how the author broke up the story and it was an interlocked tale between so many. That was enjoyable to follow. But, like I said, I will be reading the other two titles in this series, so how bad, really, could it have been?
I love this time period in history. The time of King Arthur and his knights. The varying tales of passionate love, court betrayals, the battle between the ways of old (druids) and new (christianity), and the ever present struggle for power between men and women. Tristan and Isolde has long been a romantic and tragic tale, but Rosalind Miles manages to capture all the romance and tragedy while bringing a fresh look to the tale. The love of Tristan and Isolde being a result of a love potion Isolde's mother - the queen of Scotland - intended for her daughter to share with betrothed King Mark being accidentally shared between Isolde and her knight is sure to cause devastating repercussions. To live their lives separately but together. To know that there are those at court - King Mark's nephew and the King's mistress - that would plot to expose the love affair for their own gains, to know that they never live openly but must always sets the stage for tragedy and heartbreak. This book sets the stage for it all - allowing the reader to fall in love with ill fated couple. Knowing all the odds that are stacked against I find myself rooting for them anyway - even knowing from history that their end will come.
Do You like book Isolde, Queen Of The Western Isle (2003)?
I read this book on the heels of a 900+ page novel written in 18th century England. After reading such a piece of British literature, I found the writing in this book too simple and too easy to read with no challenge. I felt the language too modern and mismatched to the time period of the story. The story and characters were not well developed and "Goddess, Mother" was greatly overused. I love historical fiction but was disappointed with this book. I do not plan to continue with more books of this series.
—Elizabeth
A good book to escape into on a winter's day. The description is beautiful, and the women are strong-willed and full of heart. However, I could have done without some of the "astral plane" talk. Also, Isolde's constant doubt toward Tristan wore on me, and they behaved throughout in a way that I couldn't understand (why mistrust and doubt each other instead of just *talking* to each other?) Overall it was enjoyable, but there were some stiff spots regarding character interrelations that I just couldn't understand.
—Grace
This book caught my eye because of my obsession with anything having to do with the Tristan and Iseult legends. Unfortunately, this book didn't really do it for me.I really, really did not like Isolde. I was already inclined to dislike her right off the bat, anyway, because the first few chapters of the book before we meet her consist mainly of the other characters talking about how wonderful she is. When we finally do meet Isolde, she comes across as sort of a brat, which just made me dislike her that much more. Unfortunately, the other characters aren't any better. Tristan struck me as some sort of token chivalrous knight with no real depth, and I wanted to strangle Mark every time he appeared on the page for being such a selfish coward. Basically, I didn't see any redeeming qualities in any of these characters.It was really unfortunate that the characters fell so flat to me, because I had no problem with the plot. The main plot follows the legends fairly closely, while adding in some subplots that, for the most part, added more depth to it. I say "for the most part" because there was one subplot following King Arthur and a supposed bastard child fathered by him, and I didn't really see how that added anything, aside from making the book longer. I did appreciate the attempt to add some of the religious tension going on in Britain at this time, even if the priest who figured so prominently in the story was more a caricature than anything else.Overall, I was disappointed. There are two more books in the series that apparently follow more parts of the legend, but I won't be giving those ones a chance.
—Stephanie
