Medievalist and modernist, meta and classic, this novel moved me most for its empathy for the tragic characters it seeks to show. Everything's been said I think about this book, but I first learned about it when my pastor, back in the day, quoted the novel in a sermon. But White was a secular man, only "afraid of the human race". Now, that makes perfect sense as he depicts a fantastical realm before Reformation, individualism, and Charles Taylor's immanent frame, a world organized under a cosmos in a modernist book. The humor [especially Merlin's anachronisms] makes me laugh, the nuanced portrayal of these flawed men and women make me relate. I find the work meaningful.

While White expressed a deep interest and knowledge of Irish culture, he engages in ugly stereotypes and blames... I've read a little about the context behind his bigotry, and it's useful to know as we look back.

Overall, a great story of innocence and experience and the sadness in both.