Product Description

Melnyk and Restall Orr draw deeply from their own lives to tell a fresh version of the Avalonian myth, yet one that seems the most ancient of all - of a woman and a man who seek Honour, and find love

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #282708 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 296 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781870450683
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Blank

Customer Reviews

A Spritual Journey Exploring a Pivotal Time
I love historical fiction, although this profoundly moving novel does not fall neatly into that category. The story unfolds in the early years of the Christian Church, and depicts by turns the journey of Joseph to England with the Holy Grail, the clash between the Christians fleeing the Roman Empire and the Druids, and the Roman conquest of Britain. The book is written as an alternating first person narrative, a literary form that allows a remarkable window into the very different cultural and spiritual world views of the characters.

The imagery is lush and emotive, giving a very cinematic quality to the book. It would make a fine screen play. It also enlightens as well as telling an excellent story. I had only a very superficial understanding of Druidry prior to reading this book and now wish to know more, and see that there is no fundamental conflict between it and my own Christian faith. In the end, love allows the protagonists to resolve their conflicts as well.

This book works so well on so many levels - the intellectual, the spiritual and the sensual. The authors must be very special people indeed, and I highly recommend it.

A Timeless Tale of Avalon

Reviewed by Peter Neall (and submitted by William Melnyk)
I very much looked forward to getting and reading 'The Apple and the Thorn' the first attempt at a novel written by Emma Restall Orr, one of the foremost Druid teachers in the UK whose teaching I have long admired and Walter William Melnyk, a former minister in the Episcopal church in the USA with a long and deep interest in Druidry and its influence on Christianity.

So when I did get it I dived in eagerly. I was expecting a story about the deep history of Britain, its myths and characters who exerted a profound influence on our later collective psyche. I got those in a story rich in myth, characterisation and history. The story is told by each of the two main characters in their own distinctive voice.

Joseph of Arimethea, known as Eosaidh in the book, comes to England in his job as a trader and traveller and meets Vivian, the High Priestess of the Goddess at Avalon. Their meeting has a profound effect on them both and this story begins when Joseph, ready to cease from his travelling, comes to end his life in the West Country. Here he encounters Vivian again and their story of love and honour unfolds in the context of the ending of one world and the dawn of another as the Romans invade and change England forever.

Like all good stories once begun I could not put it down , it drew me in and I wanted to know what happened. But more than that it surprised and even shocked me. Even in the compulsion of wanting to know what happened I had to pause, to wait as if for breath and let the story happen to me before continuing.

Vivian describes the land, my land as only a priestess can and I am drawn to see and feel things locked deep in my memory that I had forgotten I remembered. Mud between the toes, darkness, real darkness of the sky at night and the sounds and touch of the marsh, of water and of the land. It is not the description of the land it is the gift of the land.

There is more - as she shows Eosaidh the difference between men and women my eyes are opened and my breath hurts. I am given a secret which has been before me all my life that until now I have never seen so clearly.

Eosaidh's response is authentic and honourable in a new deeper sense of the word that goes beyond our normal usage. I hear his voice, feel the turbulence in his heart, and the deep longings of his soul as if they were mine.

The book gives me more than a wonderful story. Today I looked at the land and the people I live with differently. That is a gift worth reading for.

Beautifully Descriptive
I loved this book. The characters were very true to life. Without giving away too much, Vivian's fierce defense of her traditions and territory, and Eosaidh's confusion at the Lad's new status were brilliant. The descriptions of the Lad's acts were inspired. But the details of life on Ynys Y Niwl (Avalon) were the highpoint for me. Yes, this is how it was. You can still feel this magick in Glastonbury, at night, climbing the Tor in the mist, or in the quiet of the Chalice Well Gardens, but to have it so beautifully and vividly described as a way of life is truly a treasure.