Thomas the Rhymer

Excelent tale that sucks you in from the very first. A rare treat.

If you are interested in reading a story which takes the traditional Scottish Ballad of Thomas the Rhymer and fleshing it out into a full length novel, then this book is worth a look. I am very pleased to report that this is NOT some revisionist novel with a bizarre social agenda that changes key elements of the original story in order to evangelize some sort of political or policy ideology. To transform the original Scottish ballad into a full length novel much needs to be added and fleshed out but this is done carefully and in such a way to support and enrich the original story, rather than change or nullify the original. The Queen of the Fey is not made into an angel or a demon, she is a traditional Fey meaning that her concept of morality is alien to humankind. Its a difficult task to properly portray such a character and Ms. Kushner does a competent job. This is the first book I have read by Ms. Kushner and she clearly is a skilled writer and someone who has made a solid scholarly effort to be true to the original source material. While the ballad is very short, there is a substantial body of work describing the Fey as they were known during the period that ballad was created. While I am not a scholar in this area, and a true expert in the field may be able to level some criticism, as a novice who has read a reasonable amount of material on the subject, it is my opinion that this novelized version of Thomas the Rhymer is consistent and true the wider source material which Ms. Kushner draws upon to flesh out the story.

Oh dear god. It was UTTERLY hopeless to try to get into this book. I stared at the paragraphs and they were so unengaging that my eyes kept sliding around, looking for words that went together, maybe, kind of, sort of. But not really. The prose was just weird and completely uncompelling. It didnt feel in the least like Ellen Kushners other work. Ugh.

Nice classic story. Very interesting read and a fun tale. If you like Irish history, its a good read. And if you dont, you should read more :)

Ellen Kushner has used an old ballad to create a fascinating and lovely tale of a young harpist and singer. Thomas appears one day at the door of an older and childless couple in the country who take him in and begin to love him as a son. He in turn, loves and respects them, all the while finding himself fascinating to and fascinated by a neighbor girl whose fiery temperament charms him. Off and on he reappears, leaving behind the courts of the nobility where he sings and plays for their pleasure. One day, while visiting his friends, he wanders onto Eildon Hills and meets the queen of the faeries. She takes him with her to her home where he abides for 7 years. He becomes her lover, her plaything, and a challenge to others in the land, because he is forbidden to speak to anyone except the queen. Having fulfilled his bargain, the queen returns Thomas to his own world, burdened with a terrible gift: He can only speak the truth. Told by Gavin, the elderly farmer, Thomas, and the girl whom he marries upon his return, the story of the life of True Thomas unwinds almost as a song does. There is melody, harmony, and many verses. For those who come to believe, the end will bring tears to their eyes. Readers who enjoy this book might also enjoy Kushners earlier novel, Swordspoint. She does not write often, but she writes well.

Ellen Kushner takes a traditional Scottish ballad and weaves it into something magical and beguiling in this lovely, haunting tale. The ballad sings of a minstrel lad abducted to Elfland for seven years to serve as the Elf Queens lover, then returned to the mortal world with the gift of always speaking the truth. Kushner deepens the focus of the story and humanizes the characters. Thomas is a footloose and carefree young minstrel and gifted seducer of willing ladies, eager to win fame for his singing and harping. His sojourn in Elfland is conveyed in dazzling prose, rich with the heady, heedless abandon of youth as Thomas gives himself up to the quicksilver Elf Queen and the succulent delights of her bower. Yet, he is tormented, too, by her small, careless cruelties, by the elves constant game-playing, and by his lonely isolation as a mortal in a magical realm. He is scarcely any less isolated when he finally returns to mortal Middle-Earth, a more sober and compassionate man, hailed as both rhymer and prophet, but who never again quite feels in step with his fellow beings. While Thomas Orpheus-like descent into the eerie glamor of the Elvish underworld is the centerpiece of the story, Kushner provides humanistic grace notes in the characters of a down-to-earth farm couple who love Thomas like a son and help to tell his story. They are joined by another narrator, the wild-spirited but careworn country lass who wins young Thomas heart and witnesses the bittersweet epiphany of the storys conclusion. Both fairy tale and love story, full of lusty balladeering, poetry and heartbreak, this novel is truly enchanting. I felt bereft when it was over, as if the portals of Elfland had been shut behind me forever.

On the plus side, the writing quality was good. On the bad side, there was no drive to the plot (if there was a plot). From the blurb, I’d assumed that it’d mainly be about Thomas after fairy land dealing with only being able to speak the truth, but turns out that the majority of the book is set before and during fairy land. Overall, I think Thomas the Rhymer need an injection of some conflict. There just wasn’t enough happening. The “back in the mortal earth” was the last two sections, of which the third is the one dealing with the adjustment of only being able to speak the truth. Not much is done with that, and we don’t see that many difficulties being presented there. I did not like Thomas at all in the beginning – he was a womanizer who never really seemed to care about other people. Yes, he got better in the end as a result of the stint in fairyland, but I think the truth telling should have been more of a force of change for him. What happens to a character who’s constantly lying when he’s forced to speak only the truth? Nothing significant, according to this book. I don’t think the entire last section should have been there. The end of section three seems to be the basic happily ever after, story’s done… and then there’s another section? It does do something with a detail from earlier in the book, but it still wasn’t reason enough to have an entire new section. Besides the lack of plot, it was well written, but it just wasn’t very satisfying. I wouldn’t recommend this one, unless maybe you’re a big fan of the ballad it’s based on. Otherwise, don’t bother. Pick up one of her Riverside novels instead.

I am a lover of all things Faerie. I have put alot of time and research into the world of Faerie because I am a Faerie artist. This book is the best description of the Faerie realm that I have ever read. It is fantastical and imaginative and wonderful. For those who are deeply interested in the world of Faerie, it is highly recommended. For those with no love of fantasy, dont bother. The story is what it is. A legend, taken from an old poem; and yes it may be anticlimactic. But if you read it, read it for the creative imagination that went into it. Read it for a true glimpse of the Faerie world. I treasure this book and have read it many times over.

I sincerely envy Ms Kushners writing skills: she is a wondrous writer, she handles her language with a subtlety unheard of and still she manages to avoid any overwriting or mannerism. This story, though, is far from great. Some reviewers say it is true to the legend: should it be really so, part of the problem might lie in the original plot and yet the author could have done something to amend that. Be it as it may, her characters are exceptionally dull -except for the elderly couple- and Elfland is lushiously boring, its beautiful queen being the worst of all. The verses included are enjoyable.

Kushner takes one of the most basic Celtic myths -- the human taken into the land of Faerie -- and fashions it around the life of an historical figure, Thomas the Rhymer. She tells the story from many perspectives to give the myth weight, a sense of time and place, and most of all, an understanding of why the story has endured. Rarely, a fantasy novel earns the right to be called classic; this one does.