Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #87986 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-01
• Format: Import
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Customer Reviews

Above and beyond a retelling of an old story
Maria Bello's character in "The Jane Austen Book Club" reads Ursula Le Guin and is completely taken with the books, and knowing nothing of Le Guin, I found it necessary to right that fact.

"Lavinia" is the untold story of Vergil's silent Lavinia in "Aeneide". An oracle prophecises that she, a Latin king's daughter, will marry a foreigner and be the cause of a war. In Vergil's version she never speaks and is in every way a background character. In Le Guin's "Lavinia" Lavinia is the narrator.

Lavinia is the daughter of King Latium, who is the cause of a war between Turnus and Aeneas and who marries Aeneas - "Lavinia" is the story of this. "Lavinia" is also a dialogue between Le Guin (through Lavinia) with the poet a.k.a. Vergil about Lavinia's character in "Aeneide" and the "Aeneide's" perhaps unfinished state. And this is the part, which in my opinion, makes Le Guin's "Lavinia" soar.

Le Guin easily moves around the fact, that "Lavinia" is a known story retold, as she lets Vergil tell Lavinia the story of the "Aeneide", partly because of the narrative skill and voice of Lavinia. Lavinia - as the reader - has a firm inkling of what will happen. The war. Lavinia marrying Aeneas. Aeneas' death. And Le Guin still enchants the reader with this story.

"Lavinia" is above and beyond a retelling of an old story. It truly gives an old story new voice and new life. Le Guin's writing and storytelling craftmanship is extraordinary. Almost 5 stars.

Louise.