Parzival & the Stone From Heaven
A Grail Romance Retold for Our Time
By Lindsay Clarke

      I have an enduring memory of myself aged about fourteen, lying by the fire in the Christmas vacation, reading Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival. This magical story has captured the imaginations of many people since it was written over 800 years ago, including Wagner and George Lucas. Here is another retelling, and as the cover of the book says it is "a grail romance retold for our times." Lindsay Clarke has taken out a lot of what some people (particularly younger readers and those who aren't keen mediaevalists) might regard as complicated and give a shorter and smoother version with more narrative that reads more like a novel.

     Parzival arrives at King Arthur's court, dressed in strange woodland garb and so innocent through living in the forest with his mad mother that he appears the ultimate holy fool. He has a lot to learn and knows it, but it isn't going to be easy, as there is so much conflicting advice to sift through and this dilemma is going to cost him dearly when he encounters the Fisher King. If you are at all interested in the versions of King Arthur that set the story in a sort of mediaeval dream world, then this is going to appeal greatly, as there truly is the lot in here: damsels in distress and causing it, evil wizards, hermits, knights in shining armor and magic. It doesn't claim to replace the original, but I can imagine that a lot of people are going to find it more accessible, and it is an easy read in a positive sense--well told and absorbing on many levels. At the reverse is an afterword, which explains at some length why this story is a myth for our times too, and this is perhaps not so accessible for anybody who is not academic, but it can always be skipped and I didn't feel that it added anything to the text. If you like fantasy and want to find a much older source than Tolkein, then this ought to please.