Song of the Sparrow

Lisa Ann Sandell

2007

Back of the Book: Since the days of King Arthur, there have been paintings and poems created in her name. She is Elaine of Ascolat – the Lady of Shalott. And now, there is a new story, a new vision, of this mysterious and captivating girl…

Beautiful sixteen-year-old Elaine has a temperament as fiery as her long red hair. The daughter of a soldier in young Arthur’s army, Elaine is the sole girl in a militaristic world of men. Often slipping into daydreams, she wishes that the handsome Lancelot would see her as more than a tomboy.

Then a new girl arrives, and Elaine is thrilled – until Gwynivere proves to be cold and cruel. But when Elaine and Gwynivere are thrown into a situation of gravest danger, the girls must band together in order to survive. Can Elaine find the strength to fight for the kingdom she has always believed in?

Acclaimed author Lisa Ann Sandell brings a hunting lyricism and an epic sweep to this tale of love, betrayal, and war. Heartbreaking, eloquent, and gripping, this novel is a striking addition to the canon of Camelot mythology.

Thoughts: This book was written in verse (i.e. poetry form); however, it is not poetry. It is still sentences just in a very skinny column. The first two or three chapters were hard to read because of this, but it got easier. Eventually I learned to understand when and why she put in breaks and it started to make sense. For example when Lancelot looked at her and then looked away the words would appear on the page like this:

He glanced at me

then looked

away.

The large break in between me and my could be her breath catching or her heart stopping or just her brain getting befuddled. It was a way of communicating her feelings without using words.

Overall the book was interesting and a fast read. It was almost 400 pages, but since each page really only had about one paragraph it was more like reading a 200 page book.

Ending: So our hero, Lancelot, turns out to be a jerk. Even after the apology, you just have a hard time liking him. That is something new to the Arthur story. And Gwyn’s change, although necessary, seems a little fake. The other thing that just doesn’t really fit with the rest of the story is Tristan getting upset about Elaine talking to Lancelot at the end. I know it was to show jealousy, but he was jealous before and didn’t freak out – why now? Probably because he realized how much he loved her, but still, a total change in character with only one chapter to go? Despite all this it was fun to read and I would still recommend it.