Beloved Exile
January 9, 1987
A review of "Beloved Exile" by Parke Godwin.
Copyright © 1998 Property of Deborah K. Fletcher. All rights reserved.
Beloved Exile is a modern expansion of the Arthurian legends, written by Parke Godwin. It is the second book in a series, preceded by Firelord and succeeded by The Last Rainbow.
Parke Godwin, who is called Pete by his friends, was born in New York City. He drifted a great deal while growing up, and was involved in a variety of activities including: the army, government, professional acting, research technology, advertsing lay-out for Sports Afield, short-order cooking, dishwashing, and maître d'hôtel.
In 1952-1954, Godwin appeared in Stag and Male. He later contributed to Popular Embalming and The American Pederast. Following these activities, Godwin submitted to the Donner Pass Cookbook a recipe for filet d'enfant Cretient, which uses basil, ginger, and pressed garlic juice. In 1971, Godwin won the World Fantasy Award for his novella "The Fire When It Comes."
Godwin was an early student of Parker and Lardner, and firmly believes in shutting up when it's been said once. His chief delight is drinking coffee and wasting time. He enjoys watching the beaches at Cape Cod or relaxing on the Staten Island Ferry. He loves dogs and Prokofiev, cooking, jogging, and collecting obscure records. He tolerates children and cats (if tethered) and conservatives (if muzzled). Sources reveal that, following investigation, he was found to be completely uninvolved in the mystery death of Warren G. Harding.
Beloved Exile is four hundred thirty-seven pages long. It consists of ten chapters, averaging about forty-four pages each, although the final chapter is considerably shorter than the average - about four pages.
The novel is placed in the time period immediately following the death of Artos-Rix Cymri, also known as Arthur, King of Britain.
The story begins with a description of Gwenevere's fight to retain the unity of Britain after Arthur's death. It is laced with political conventions, personal loyalties, and the fortunes of war.
The more important section of the book begins when Gwenevere is abducted by Saxon slavers and sold to Thegn Gunnar Eanboldson. Slavery teaches Gwenevere, who calls herself Gwenda, about the realities of life and love. She struggles to survive in an alien culture, eventually fitting in so well that she is accepted by the democratically organized Saxons.
Gwenevere learns true loyalty when she and Gunnar pull a plow through dry earth with their own strength, after the ox has died. This brings them together spiritually and physically, and they fall in love.
Gunnar eventually frees Gwenevere from bondage, returning to his birthplace in the Midlands. When she returns to her own people, she finds Emrys Pendragon and the Romanized Constantine contending for the throne. Just as the two princelings are going to have Gwenevere executed for various political reasons, Gunnar shows up and saves her. She is exiled to Constantinople in a compromise among Emrys, Constantine, and Gunnar.
The very last of the book is Gwenevere's return to Britain once it has been taken by the Saxons, or English.
The main character is Gwenevere of Britain. She faces humiliation, degradation, physical injury, and exile in the course of the novel. Each time, however, her indomitable spirit pulls her through.
Theconflicts are not clear-cut, for they are conflicts among the tribes which eventually joined to become the British nation.
Chance and coincidence are employed minimally in Beloved Exile. Most events occur because human hands and human minds cause them to happen. The events are extremely plausible for this reason, and this is among the most believable Arthurian legends that I have encountered.
The point of view is completely first person, in Gwenevere's point of view. This is advantageous because it gives us a clear, consistent view of the situations which she encounters. The point of view lends coherency to the novel.
Most of the characters are well-formed, and they change and develop according to the events of the story. The characters seem very real, and that effect is heightened by the fact that the characters possess sixth-century attributes, rather than those of the fourteenth century.
The primary irony of Beloved Exile is the fact that Gunnar exists to enslave Gwenevere only because Arthur spared Gunnar's mother when the combrogi cleared the Saxons out of the Midlands.
The setting of the novel is early Britain, which has a direct effect on the story, as it is very historically accurate.
The language of the novel is simple and direct. The sentences tend to flow together smoothly, and the story proceeds easily. Figurative language and metaphors are refreshingly limited, so that the reader's mind is not bogged down in words that are not necessary. The title is directly related to the story, as Gwenevere is referred to directly as a beloved exile.
I am impressed with this book because it is realistic in nearly every respect. I like the fact that the characters are allowed to be human beings, rather than chivalric tapestries. I also like the fact that the good aspects of Saxon culture are expressed, rather than just the blood-thirstiness of the Saxon massacres. There is very little, in all honesty, that I do not like about Beloved Exile.
I rate this book as a ten on a scale of one to ten, because of its realism, and because I found it difficult to put down. I recommend it, and the other books in the trilogy, highly, as I have read them all and find them to be of equal calibre.
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