Syl V V من عند Southan, Uttar Pradesh, الهند
This review is for "Three men in a boat" although it could easily be for the men on the Brummel. 3 men from London (and their dog) are fatigued from life in the busy city of London. They decide to spend a restful week punting up the Thames to Oxford. Funny in times and picturesque if nothing else. I reread it now since it takes place in and around Henley, where we now live.
This book is essentially a retelling of the King Arthur tale, told in today's society with teenage characters. Ellie (the narrator) is the daughter of two Medievalist professors and is on a sabbatical with them. She is very irritated about having to uproot for a year. She meets a lot of other kids at her high school, including Will, Lance, and Jennifer. Along the way, she starts to realize that they, not to mention she, are not necessarily all they appear to be. In addition, dark forces seem to be gathering to replay a series of events that has gone on since the time of the original King Arthur. This book has a fun premise, but it could have been done better. What with all the hormonal fluff, it was considerably less than it might have been. In addition, there's a lot of language, mostly the misuse of the Lord's name, which does bother me. I also read it several times before the implications of some of the stuff finally hit me, and there is also the issue of "reincarnation" involved. Eventually I had rated this book higher, but after some reflection, I have come to realize that there are multitudes of books that are better, more wholesome, and worth reading. UPDATE (2015): Turns out there is one more thing that bothers me: Cabot's excessive love of the attribution phrase "wanted to know." Will wanted to know. Lance wanted to know. Jennifer wanted to know. EVERY SINGLE PERSON WANTS TO KNOW.