Customer Reviews

The White Stag (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a classic in my family, who are of mixed Hungarian and Scotch-Irish descent. While it is far from accurate history, it is a beautiful legend of the origins of that curious non-Slavic race called the Magyars. Seredy's grasp of myth is readily apparent; her prose is simple enough for an eight- or nine-year-old to understand but she never talks down to the reader, since she uses the universal, spare language of the epic poet. This book was richly deserving of the Newbery Medal and remains a must-read for young adults (and old adults) today.

"The past lived in songs, the present in their flashing swords,and the future in their hearts." This twentieth century myth about the ancient Magyar migration is stark in content yet poetic in style; some passages seem more like poetry disguised as prose. Seredy has recreated an era long swallowed in the mists of lost cultures, when the Roman Empire was disintegrating under the relentless attacks of various "barbarian" tribes. The Huns and the Magyars followed the prophecy of aged Nimrod, leading their people ever westward from Asia to Eastern Europe.

They needed bold, even ruthless leaders to accomplish this monumenal task, yet they were also inspired and championed by a mysterious animal protector--a magnificent white stag with supernatural power. It is difficult for us moderns to admire the Huns, a name synonymous with bloodthirsty aggresssion and destruction of post-Romanic culture. Yet Seredy's goal is to justify this epic migration--a March of Terror spanning three generations, which enabled her ancestors to achieve their self-imposed dream. They focused on steadfast obedience to their god, Hadur, who told them of a Promised Land "between two rivers, surrounded by mountains." There is both literary genius and respect in this saga of the birth and destiny of young Attila. This slender volume is actually a mini epic, piercing the curtain between History and Legend. For readers of all ages.

I like to pair this book with The Trumpeter of Krakow. First we read how "The Tartars came through the world like a horde of wild beasts. They left not one thing alive nor one green blade of wheat standing. Brave they were as lions, courageous they were as great dogs, but they had hearts of stone and knew not mercy, nor pity, nor tenderness, nor God." (From Trumpeter of Krakow)

Then in White Stag we read, "For years there was no rest for them, there could be no rest. Like a sharp wedge they had driven themselves into Europe and now they were surrounded by enemies; they had to go on or perish."

By comparing these two books, a child learns that there are two sides to every story--a good lesson in life.

You know what's wrong with most Newbery Award winning books? They're just so darn pro-peace. Didn't used to be that way. Why take the fascinating novel, "The White Stag" as an example. An amazing story that decides that Attila the Hun has gotten a bad rap. In this book, he's still a psychopath, but he's a psychopath with a mission. If you find yourself unfamiliar with this literary work, allow me summarize the major points found within.

To find their promised land, the Huns go on a years long rampage of pillaging and murder in the hopes of finding their own place to live. It's like the Old Testament but without any of the good moral lessons. For its 1937 publication, the book is remarkably pro-genocide. As it briefly explains, the Huns find themselves in a kill or be killed mentality. People who see them coming fight them instinctively so that the poor Huns are forced to become blood-thirsty. They search day in and out for their own place to live, guided by their vengeful god Hadur. In this light, Attila is the Moses that finally leads his people to a land flowing with milk and honey. Whatta swell guy.

You may have picked up on the fact that I'm being sarcastic. But how can I help it? Just note the fate of pacifism. When Bendeguz, father of Attila, decides that maybe the Huns should settle down in a rather nice land they've come to own and not go about slaughtering the innocent, he is berated soundly by the blind seer Damos. Those who fight others without provocation are holy. And those who would rather not go around killing, "will be punished for their weakness... Long after the Huns have found the promised land, they will be still homeless wanderers in the wilderness". Um... okay.

There are things to like in this book, of course. The prose itself is evocative and lovely. If judged on the placement of words alone, this book deserves the Newbery. And Kate Seredy's illustrations are impressive, there is no question. They're a series of beautiful 30s illustrations, akin to the kinds of graphics you'd normally find in a Socialist rag. If you can possibly locate a copy of this book with the original illustrations, you will not regret it. It's just the moral of the story I have difficulties with. It's supposed to be: Have faith in yourself and your beliefs and in the end all will turn out well. Instead it comes off as: Kill lots of people because you're certain your god is the best, and all will turn out well. Lots of other people will disagree with me. But regardless if you're a hawk or a dove at heart, this book comes off as little more than a beautiful immoral tale.

The White Stag is a great book for people who like strange fantasy. It was very different than any other books in the way Kate Seredy expressed what happened. I liked how she changed an old story of killing into an interesting plot. Before you read this book you think of the Huns as people set on killing, but when you read this book you feel the Huns actually had personalities and reasons for doing what they did. You get to find out about a hidden history and how different the Huns really were. It is a very interesting book.

The White Stag by Kate Seredy tells an epic tale of the author's own imagined mythic origins of the Magyar (Hungarian) peoples. The story unfolds as a heroic migration out of Asia and into Europe by the sister tribes of the Huns and Magyars, with the Magyars losing their nerve and settling eastwards, and the Huns driving on for historic glory with Attila.

I first picked the book up as a fourth grader in a school well the book was hardbound and well worn, thumbed over by several generations of Hungarian-ethnic schoolmates I presume, the school having many such folk. I'm not Hungarian but I relished this tale of conquest, destiny, and pagan will-to-power.

Today I've reread the book with my child at the same age. My how my perspective has changed. Today I enjoyed the book again but with pause. I was amazed at how the Huns were depicted as so convicted in their god-blessed migration of conquest, and how any sympathy to the vanquished and displaced populations of Europe was barely mentioned in the telling, except to note that they'd given Attila the name of the "Scourge of God." In this way and to my adult mind, the story had a lot more "Biblical" parallels than just the patriarch named Nimrod. Did the Hebrews cry for the dead children of Jerhico in the Bible? I can't recall, but Seredy's Huns sure don't.

I wonder if today a book such as this could win the Newberry award let alone be published. The White Stag, however, was published in 1937 when Germany and Germans were entranced with their own version of epic nationalism and seemed ready to throw the dice again on a war of conquest. Perhaps the book fit the mood of the day. But the perspective of the award-giving intellectuals has certainly changed since then dramatically in a skeptical and anti-nationalistic direction. Would Knut Hamsun have been published in recent decades, let alone won a Nobel prize?

Well this book has no ironic self critique. It speaks the epic with a voice more like that of the Nietzschean "blonde beast" than that of a self-doubting and ironic product of the late 20th century's cultural deconstructionism. If you prefer your tribal tales full of sympathy for the downtrodden "Other," then this book is not for you.

The beautiful story arc pits the Magor tribe against the followers of a man we come to know Atilla the Hun. This book had me on the edge of my seat as a child, and has a great ending!

Late, late in this book, Seredy uses the word "Hun," at which point (as a child of 9), I figured out that Hunor and Magor were the founders of *actual* tribes, including Atilla's Huns. Up 'til then, I'd assumed it was pure fiction created by Seredy. Her subtle approach has always impressed me about this book.

Attila . . . who is this man? Attila the Hun . . . who is this conquerer? You may read every history book on this historic man, but you may not learn as much as when you read The White Stag. Ask yourself this: when does fiction end and history begin? There are few authors who can express themselves perfectly in both writing and drawing as Kate Seredy, the author of The White Stag. When she combines her talents into this book, the results are wonderous. The poetic words flow into rich pictures which capture the imagination and brings it into new heights. Even though The White Stag is a short book, it is an equal to any ancient history book with hundreds of pages. After you read this book, the memory of it lingers and enthralls you. Adults and childern alike can read this novel and find the satisfaction of an excellent book. Stories which mix fiction with facts are as true as history. When you read this book, you read history, because history is as full of untruths as truths. Read this book when you are young, and when you grow up, read it again to yourself anf your childern. Each time you read this book, your insight of its sighnificance will grow.

I enjoyed this book. It's written for a child's reading level, but I have never read it before and I was interested in expanding my library.

This a legend of the ancestry of the Hungarians. Starting with Nimrod all the way to Attila the Hun. The moral of the story gets mixed up, but I really didn't see this as your typical "good vs. evil" or Aesop's Fable story-line. It's folklore and an explanation on how "our Hungarian ancestors" came to be.

I'm not going to explain this in great detail as other reviewers did. It's a short story and it has many illustrations and it is worth picking up or checking out at your library.

The White Stag written by Kate Seredy is a wonderful fairy-tail based on Hungarian legend. The book tells of how the warrior bands, the Huns and Magyars struggle in their travel across Asia and into Europe to the Promise Land. The story is beautifully written as it tells of a powerful family of hero's, a mythical white stag, moon maids, and a blind prophet who is able to see the future. The symbolism and metaphors Seredy uses are wonderful and make the story very beautiful; of course the most magnificent one being the white stag representing Hadure (God). The tail is quite exciting as it tells of bravery, honor, loyalty, faithfulness, love, doubt, ambition, failure, and happiness. It's truly an amazing story with an important message to its readers, that hard work and determination pay off in the end.