The Grail of Hearts [Paperback]

Susan Shwartz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1993

A magical retelling of the legend of the Wandering Jew follows Kundry--the harlot who is condemned to wander the Earth for all eternity for laughing at the crucifixion of Christ--the evil sorcerer Klingsor, and Parsival the fool.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

A harlot condemned to a life of eternal wandering for ridiculing the crucifixion, a sorcerer obsessed with his desire to possess the Holy Grail, and a young knight blessed with the purity of ignorance cross paths in the magical forest of Broceliande in this version of one of history's most popular stories. Arthur and his knights play a minor role in this elegant reprise of the legends surrounding the Cup of Christ, as Shwartz chooses to focus on lesser-known but no less compelling characters. Much of the novel's action takes place in first-century Jerusalem, lending an exotic atmosphere to a story too often bogged down in medievalism. Highly recommended for libraries where Arthurian fantasy is popular.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

The promotional copy bills this latest novel from Shwartz (Imperial Lady, 1989--with Andre Norton), her first solo hardcover, as a ``breakout'' book, but it's hard to imagine how this uninspired reworking of the Grail legends (owing most to Wagner's Parsifal) could satisfy even Shwartz's regular readership, let alone win her a new following. Amfortas, the Fisher King, is decidedly unhappy with his dull life as liege of the holy castle of Montsalvasche, so when he hears a woman's cry of distress, he hurries to the rescue. But it's a trap: Amfortas's archenemy, the evil wizard Klingsor, has staged an attack on his lovely servant Kundry (who is the Wandering Jew, cursed to wander eternally for laughing at Christ on the cross), and she proceeds to seduce the Fisher King after he rescues her. The land withers; Kundry, guilt-ridden, rebels against the wizard; and he casts her back in time to relive her fatal moment of mirth in ancient Judea. Kundry breaks free of Klingsor for a time, losing her spell-held beauty and serving the Grail knights as a crone, until Parsifal can arrive and redeem them all. Shwartz follows her sources too closely--during the interlude in Judea, for instance, the biblical characters recite the very words of the King James version!--and her characters rarely display any emotion but crushing, self-hating guilt (which becomes monumentally tiresome). In all: ponderous plotting and dialogue, plus repetitive, unimaginative imagery, do little to elevate this formless hodgepodge of a book. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (February 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812554094
• ISBN-13: 978-0812554090
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,602,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Powerful Reworking of an Ancient Tale, July 22, 1998

By 

Katharine Kerr "ink-stained wretch" (San Francisco, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Grail of Hearts (Paperback)

Even though this book is out of print, I cannot let the Kirkus review given here at Amazon.com stand unchallenged. I can only assume that reviewer never read the actual book but only the cover copy. Rather than some vapid retelling of an old story, Shwartz's version of the Grail King is a deeply felt and powerful feminist revision of this set of legends. What's more, by emphazing Kundry's Jewishness, she brings an outsider's perspective to the story that wipes away some centuries of vapid Christian sentimentality to revitalize the material.

Her prose is supple, and her knowledge of the medieval period in general and Holy Land in particular are faultless. In general, this is a highly literate and intelligent book that deserved much better treatment than it's received at the hands of reviewers who are neither.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars twice tried, twice failed, August 1, 2000

By 

Amber B Shields (St Paul, MN, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Grail of Hearts (Hardcover)

to finish reading this book! I was totally psyched to read it, because I thought it was such an interesting perspective on the Arthurian legends, but it turned out to be vague and boring. the only current I could even remotely follow was the romance-novelish style of writing, which didn't appeal to me in the least.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grail of Hearts makes sense out of old legend., August 16, 1997

By 

Floyd E. Wilson (North Dakota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Grail of Hearts (Paperback)

I know that his book has not received rave reviews, even amongst Arthurian readers, however, I found it to provide a very good understanding of the Parsifal legend. After reading Richard Monaco's books and trying to understand the older texts, I had pretty much written off ever getting into Parsifal, Kundry and Klingsor, but Ms. Shwartz's book was a fresh re-telling and in my opinion it is one of the must reads of Arthurian literature