Song of the Sparrow

This post originally published May 19, 2010.

Author: Lisa Ann Sandell
Published: May 2007
Publisher: Scholastic Press
383 pages (hardcover)
 
Summary: Elaine of Ascalot has lived in an army camp with her brothers and her father, who are all soldiers of Arthur’s army, ever since her mother died from an attack by the Saxons, one of the many enemies of Briton. Elaine does her part in the war by mending clothes and healing the soldiers, and secretly she is in love with one of the soldiers, handsome Lancelot. Elaine is used to being the only girl around, until one day, Gwynivere shows up. Unluckily for Elaine, Lancelot falls head over heels for Gwynivere, who proves to be a cruel and selfish person. To add to her broken heart, Arthur has decided that their army cannot wait any longer for the Saxons to come to them, they must move out and be offensive, causing Elaine to worry not only for her father and brothers’ safety, but also wondering what she will do all alone now?

My Thoughts: Elaine is, if you do not know, the Lady of Shalott from Arthurian legends. I love the poem The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Tennyson, and I also love Arthurian legends, so when I spotted this book in the library, I picked it up without a second thought.

This book is not written in typical prose format. The entire book is written in what I believe is free verse poetry, but don’t feel put off by that fact. It certainly looks like a poem, but it utilizes so few poetic devices, and the language the poem uses is exactly that of a regular novel. It has dialogue, descriptions of people, objects and events, and is in first person from Elaine’s perspective. If you ignore the poetry appearance and read it as you would a regular novel, then you will notice no difference at all.

The plot is extremely simple, and I guess it’s because of that, the plot moves slowly. Despite that, I did enjoy the story and it gets pretty exciting near the end, although the action is short lived as the characters — Elaine and Gwynivere — get over their hurdle rather quickly.

Elaine’s a likeable character — well, almost everyone is, but nobody really stood out for me and I didn’t feel attached to anyone. The characters’ relationships with one another are pretty cute, but what annoyed me was how the romantic relationships were handled in this story. Granted, I don’t think love plays a major role in this novel (the only major love thing was Elaine’s super crush on Lancelot), but I don’t think that’s a good reason to have all the relationships completely rushed. For example, Gwynivere is totally into Lancelot, and then BAM, she is suddenly all about Arthur. I felt Elaine’s feelings for Tristan also came out of nowhere because she has been crazy about Lancelot all her life. It was just really sudden (not to mention … I don’t think Tristan ever falls for the Lady of Shalott in Arthurian legends or vice versa; isn’t he supposed to be with Isolde?! And Elaine is supposed to die of heartbreak from Lancelot’s rejection but I guess that’s too depressing for a YA novel).

All in all, this is a good book to read, especially if you are into Arthurian legends. It’s not super awesome and it doesn’t stick to Arthurian canon, but it certainly doesn’t suck, and it has good writing, so that’s always a plus. I wouldn’t really call this a ‘re-telling’ of the story of the Lady of Shalott because it’s a completely made up story and the relationships the characters have with one another are vastly different from the canon, but it’s a fun read nonetheless!

My Rating: 3/5