Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin (Harcourt, 2008) tells the story of Vergil's Aeneid from the point of view of--yep--Lavinia, who's given no voice whatsoever in the epic poem. The daughter of a king, Lavinia is pressured to choose one of several suitors when she turns 18. And, as usual, "none of them" isn't one of the choices. *SIGH* What fun to be a woman in ancient Italy--or, really, anywhere.
Le Guin is another author that everyone else has read and I haven't, so I'd best get started. Is this fantasy? Well, more myth, I guess, but Le Guin is generally considered a fantasy writer, and there are oracles and stuff in the book. Cut me a little slack. I'm trying to make this a Fantasy for All Ages month.
"A novel that deserves to be ranked with Robert Graves's I, Claudius." --Publishers Weekly (starred)
"A thoughtful, moving tale of prophecy, myth, and self-fulfillment." --School Library Journal
Full disclosure: I'm thinking of Lavinia as a novel for adults, but SLJ seems to categorize it as YA. Lavinia is 18, and the novel is a first-person POV, but to me, it reads as an adult novel. Take your pick. So far it's wonderful, so grab a copy and read along!
That's right: I've committed to reading all the books on my TBR Shelf this year--and blogging them! Click here to read the reviews I've posted so far.
Congrats on your win on Rosi's blog! Tempted to grab a copy of Lavinia and read along...which means adding to my TBR. Way to go on getting through your pile.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of TBR's, I have your book open and ready to read!
Thanks, Deb! I'm such a kid--I get ridiculously excited about winning anything, but I'm especially excited to read Sherrie's book. And thanks for reading my book. I hope you like it.
DeleteI would definitely call Lavinia an adult novel. I thought it was very interesting--a bit experimental in terms of narrative style, and quite philosophical-- but it didn't grab me the way her sci fi and fantasy does. If you're looking for an entry into Le Guin, the Earthsea trilogy still stands up to the best fantasy out there, particularly since she added the last two installments (making it a quintilogy!) in which she successfully continues the story while completely updating the Earthsea mythology. I loved reading her thoughts about her evolution as a writer and a feminist and how she applied that to her story.
ReplyDeleteGood points, Kim. I've been meaning to read the Earthsea books for a while, and then someone gave me LAVINIA as a gift. EARTHSEA will be next on my Le Guin list.
DeleteGood for you for getting so far on your TBR list. I've got to stop taking on so many review projects and spend more time reading just for the pleasure of it! This book sounds interesting and I hadn't heard of it. I'm not much of a fantasy reader, so I also haven't read Le Guin.
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