Lady of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson

I went back to the library last Wednesday, and got so many books the lady at the checkout wanted to stop at the first of my three piles. lol. And a woman behind me in the queue showed her son that I had borrowed books in English and French (she seemed impressed). She doesn't know that she should be impressed that I borrowed German books, but hey.

I spotted this book from the English shelves and thought I had to borrow it. After all, I really like the world of Avalon, the priestesses and the Goddess. This was also the best book so far: I didn't get angry at the characters. It is split in three parts in which we follow different characters at different time points. I also like how spirits come back to life several times. Also, this book fits between Priestess of Avalon and the Mists of Avalon, so it was interesting to see another point of view. I just found out how big the collection was .. I hope I'll get to find the other ones one my one at the library :)

I enjoyed this book (and read it in two or three days), liked the themes. I would always like to have more small details on everyday life to really feel in the universe of Avalon, but I suppose it could get boring.

Priestess of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley

In November 2006, I read "The Mists of Avalon", by the same author. I liked her description of Avalon and its religion a lot and that was my main reason for borrowing "Priestess of Avalon".

I prefered the writing style in the second book, but I liked the description of religion in both. Feminism didn't disturb me (although I find that for a feminist book, women still have a tendency to hide their nature and take the will of their husbands for an order). I really enjoyed the criticisms the author writes about Christianism and how she explains how and why it took over the Roman gods and the Goddess of Avalon.

What I totally disliked was the unability of the powerful women to positively influence their children. But maybe it is something that really happens in life: people involved in a fight or a cause are sometimes the best contradictors of their own cause in their private life.

All in all, I found both books entertaining, easy to read and real page turners. I enjoyed some of the ideas, but was often angry at the behaviour of the main characters, which I don't particularly enjoy when it becomes recurrent).


[Wikipedia article on The Mists of Avalon],[Wikipedia article on Marion Zimmer Bradley]

Un peu plus loin sur la droite, by Fred Vargas

I discovered the author during my last holidays in France: my friend AL was reading one of her books (Fred Vargas is a woman -- I only just discovered that while reading the Wikipedia article) and told me she had a great writing style and that the plots were really good.

After reading it (borrowed from the library, no surprise here), I confirm. The characters have a good humor and an interesting history, independently from the plot, which was really good nonetheless. I loved the dialogs with and about the toad. A lot of the dialogs just sound so right and witty, I laughed out loud several times. Also a page turner.


[Wikipedia article on Fred Vargas (in French)], [Wikipedia article on Fred Vargas (in English)]

L'identité, by Milan Kundera

I really enjoy the chance offered by the library to read the classics. All in all, it is a good thing that I had to pay for my library card, it motivates me to use it. And once I manage to get in the library, it's like being in wonderland. I pick the German and English books on how much I like the cover, and for the French books, I pick some of the classics.

So far, so good. This novel is a jewel. Although I enjoyed Kundera's writing style less than that of Camus, the plot -- and the way it gets the reader confused -- is great (and simple). Considering the complexity of the themes this novel presents, I wonder how much I actually get out of the book. Why do I always have the feeling that I need to read books a second time these days ? I can't help it, at the first reading, I am so taken by the plot that I don't pay enough attention to anything else. So. I'll read the book again. And try to find other works of Kundera, too.

[Wikipedia article on Kundera (in French)], [Wikipedia article on Kundera (in English)]