Song of the Sparrow

Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell

The untold story of Elaine, Lady of Chalott.

My review:

This review is going to be short, because I feel like this is one of those, it is what it is stories. You love it for what it was, or you don’t. I fall into the first group, I really love Arthurian tales and I think the author did a wonderful job of capturing a girl on the verge of womanhood. I also think Sandell’s characters were very vivid and focused, if you will, surprisingly so since it was written in verse.

The characters and the relationship between Elaine and the men of the round table, as well as Elaine and Gwynivere, are the strongest point of this story. I look forward to reading another of her books to see if she continues this trend without the sway of epic poetry as the backbone.

Thoughts on the cover: Isn’t it gorgeous? Almost as lovely as the title! I would love to see this become a three part series. Call of the Owl for Morgan and Cry of the Dove for Gwynivere. If you know the legends of Arthur, you might see why a dove would be an interesting/ironic choice for Gwyn and why that dove might have an outcry.

Notes on the names: of course, the names are already in the books of legends, but why not talk about them? They are some of the very best! Guinevere is so lovely, and I would love to see a surgence of this name as the mega-popular Jennifer (the anglicized version) continues to die out. I’m surprised Lancelot doesn’t merit more attention, with a nick name like Lance I think many tykes could pull it off. Arthur is having a resurgence, especially in Britain and I am happy that this one is going from retirement homes to nursery’s! Elaine, I love Elaine, but Seinfeld, in a odd turn of events, made the name less popular, instead of the other way around. An Elaine variant is currently high on my list. Tristan is amazing and I really wish it didn’t mean something so tumulus as “riot,” no mother wants to put that on a baby, the terrible twos are bad enough.