Parzival and the Stone from Heaven [Paperback]

Lindsay Clarke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2003

A wonderful retelling of the legendary story of Parzival, the knight who is given the task of finding the Holy Grail. In the same vein as Seamus Heaney's Beowulf but written as magically as The Alchemist. "If you are to appear before the High King in his court, you'd better have the proper finery," his mother said craftily. "Let me see what I can do." So she cut a tabard out of old sackcloth and a rough pair of buskins out of calf-skin. "And you must have a plume, such as knights wear on their helmets," she said, threading the stems of holly leaves through the crown of his cowl so that he looked like a savage green man from the woods. And so, Parzival arrives at King Arthur's court: a holy fool whom all the knights in that glittering company will mock.' Yet in a world ravaged by war, a world in which men are ruled by fear, hatred and distrust, there is a need for a champion who is innocent of heart and pure of spirit. Arthur's knights are proud and corrupt: none has yet succeeded in finding the Grail, the stone of healing which has the power to make life whole again. But Parzival's destiny may prove greater than that of any other knight!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The story line may be familiar, but Clarke does a solid job of bringing to life the world of the Arthurian legends in this retelling of Parzival's quest for the Holy Grail. The story opens with a brief account of the adventures of Parzival's father, a war-happy knight named Gahmuret who forsakes his new bride to go in search of conflict and glory, only to be killed in battle. From there, Clarke shifts to the son's tale, alternating accounts of Parzival's initial encounter with the Grail with the lusty meanderings of Gawain, a knight whose desire for romantic adventures is just as strong as his yearning for battle and recognition. Parzival's first encounter with the Grail throws his family into temporary disgrace and, when a witch curses him for his folly, he must go back and find the Grail a second time to square his accounts with the magic-oriented morality of the medieval world. Clarke, a scholar who provides a lengthy and thoughtful afterword to fill in the blanks for modern readers who are unfamiliar with Arthurian culture, certainly knows his material as well as his audience. But the nature of the story limits him to a wearisome alternation between battle scenes and love conquests, the one intriguing exception being Gawain's adventure in a house of horrors called Castle of Marvels that is controlled by an invisible evil magician named Kilgore. The craft and research that are obvious behind the writing will ensure Clark an audience among aficionados of medieval fiction, but there's nothing compelling enough in this particular retelling to earn him a wider audience.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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

Review

Praise for 'Parzival': "As soon as I began to read I was entranced and enthralled! In Clarke's Parzival, action is compulsively cryptic and elliptical, as if the tale told itself. ! You will not want to reach the equivalent of page 180 but when you do, you will wander back and begin again." The Independent on Sunday "!an appealing retelling of one of the West's primary myths." The Times Literary Supplement "In adapting this story for a modern-day audience, Clarke has unearthed a gem." The Saturday Times Magazine "!a masterly, accessible and inspirational retelling of the legend." Publishing News 'Lindsay Clarke is surely right in seeing Parzival as having urgent relevance for our time .. exceptional' John Moat, poet

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Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: Voyager (March 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007109296
• ISBN-13: 978-0007109296
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,361,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice retelling, May 20, 2002

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Parzival and the Stone From Heaven: A Grail Romance Retold For Our Time (Hardcover)

I enjoyed the only other retellings of the Parzival legends I've read, "Parzival's Page" and Katherine Paterson's "Parzival." A brief flip-through the book made me think at first that I wouldn't enjoy it, but I did end up liking it. Clarke does a good job of sapping the stiffness from old legends and making it palatable to the modern reader.

The story begins with the story of Gahmuret, who goes off on a Crusade and then returns to Britain, marrying two women along the way -- a Moorish queen and a Welsh queen. He's killed shortly after the birth of his son Parzival, and the shock of his death drives his Welsh widow mad. She secludes herself in the woods with her son, trying to keep him sheltered away from the world that might make him a warrior knight.

Years pass, and Parzival accidently encounters three knights on the road. Immediately he becomes obsessed with being a knight, and despite his mother's protests, he leaves to become one. By training and assistance, he does become a knight and marries the beautiful queen Blanchefleur. But before he arrives at King Arthur's court, Parzival comes to a magical castle where he is expected to ask the king a question. His failure to do so drives him away from God and into a desperate quest for redemption.

Alongside Parzival's quest, we also have the adventures of Sir Gawain, who seems to develop a crush on any mildly pretty lady he comes across. He becomes enamored of a very proud and obnoxious woman, who is entrapped in the dark magic of an evil sorcerer.

This is a nice book. It isn't perfect; with the exception of Gawain and Parzival, the characters are pretty two-dimensional, especially Kei, who is obnoxious for no reason that anyone can really explain. Other characters, like the pig-faced sorceress Cundrie, seem to exist for no other reason than to tell Parzival and Gawain things. Fans of the usual Camelot love triangle will be disappointed, while people who dislike the much-rehashed love story will probably enjoy reading some Camelot-related material that hasn't been done to death.

The writing style and dialogue are formal but not incomprehensible; Clarke does a good job of giving us a view inside the heads of the lead two characters. The plot itself is fairly straightforward, with some sudden twists and turns that might confuse people unfamiliar with the original legends. Readers may need to backpedal a few times.

This book would probably be a good retelling for teens and adults alike; it has some dirty content that the YA and juvenile retelling doesn't have, such as Gawain almost being seduced by a girl (they're in bed and they kiss and snuggle, but nothing more), and references to the "activities" of Gahmuret and his two wives, and briefly of Parzival and Condwiramurs. In addition, there are some very gruesome scenes, such as Parzival's maddened, deteriorated cousin who totes around the head of her dead lover.

A good retelling for any who enjoyed Parzival's Page, or Katherine Paterson's retelling. Or for anyone in the mood for some freshly-told Arthurian stories.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Jungian Grail Quest, April 8, 2006

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Ralph J. Bellantoni "RJB" (Joisey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Parzival and the Stone From Heaven: A Grail Romance Retold For Our Time (Hardcover)

Clarke does a praiseworthy job of bringing Wolfram von Eschenbach's complex 13th century epic to life for 21st century readers. He streamlines the story and renders the verse original in prose, but his prose often achieves exalted effects. The story is far from 'a wearisome alternation of battle scenes and love conquests.' It is a richly symbolic tale of the life of the soul and the achieving of real maturity, told through encounters both magical and martial. Parzival's quest for the holy grail--in this instance more of a spiritualized philosopher's stone--enchants and absorbs the reader in a world of portentous marvels. The 1st eight chapters of the book, known collectively as 'The Wounding,' is the more powerful portion of the story. The concluding eight chapters--'The Healing'--is not as convincing in its impact. The solutions achieved are perhaps too overtly Jungian. But there is still great profundity and beauty in the events that unfold and resolve. Clarke's admittedly loose adaptation of Wolfram's masterpiece makes this reader hungry to get a little closer to the original. As I don't think I'll be tackling the 13th century German any time soon, I may give the complete, literal translation by Cyril Edwards (published by Boydell & Brewer) a try next.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming allegorical tale--an enjoyable fulfillng read!, March 25, 2006

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Snowbrocade (Santa Barbara, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Parzival and the Stone From Heaven: A Grail Romance Retold For Our Time (Hardcover)

The legend of the holy grail is one that has captured the imagination since it first appeared hundreds of years ago. It has been told and retold--as well as parodied by the Monty Python troupe. It is not widely known that in some of the original versions of this tale the grail was a stone rather than a cup!

This version succeeds at being true to the spirit of the original tale--a long mysterious quest where much is lost and much is gained. The ultimate goal according to Jungian theory is the restoration of balance--lost by a culture that overly values prowess particularly in war. Since this is a perennial problem for humanity, this legend maintains its potency.

This writer has managed to vividly convey beauty of the ancient time in which this quest unfolds, as well as the passion and enchantment. An enjoyable fulfilling read!