The story of Camelot is hers. 🫳🏻🎤
Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian is a feminist retelling of King Arthur’s origin story. Elaine the Mad is our lead and the main reason Arthur becomes King at all. The subtitle Sebastian gives her novel is “The story of Camelot is hers.” 🫳🏻🎤
Elaine’s personal journey makes this novel. Elaine is a powerful oracle, but as a young child her powers are squelched by her mother without Elaine’s knowledge. The turmoil Elaine feels within leaves her an insecure, meek, frustrated, isolated child. The other children in the castle call her Elaine the Mad. When she meets Morgana in her pre-teen years, Morgana shows her that it’s okay to be different and tells her of a magical island called Avalon where she would fit in. Morgana encourages her to stop taking her “medicine”, a potion Elaine’s mother gives her at night to quiet her mind and visions. Elaine truly begins to awaken to her power and chooses to leave her mother for Avalon with Morgana. Here you witness the adolescence of all the classic names – King Arthur, Lancelot, Gwenivere – and how they grow up as best friends on Avalon with The Lady of the Lake as their guide to harness their individual powers.
I’d say my K-12 life was Elaine living in the castle. Undergrad through dental school, residency, and really up until about 2018 was life on Avalon for me. Learning, growing, getting to know me and how much I have to offer the world. The next chapter is the best chapter, and I’m still living it. My journey from VA to FL, my transition into practice creation and ownership, my Kois journey, my UHPW journey. I know who I am now moreso than I ever have in my entire life. I am standing in my power, heck, making moves and wielding my gifts and a handpiece; this is Elaine killin’ it upon her return to Camelot, helping Arthur claim the throne after his father’s death.
Elaine the Mad returns to Camelot owning her epithet and is a confident oracle, unbothered by her past and current unpopularity because she finally knows her own power and strength. Elaine ultimately learns how to GFF (give fewer fucks) and live life on her terms. And this is why I read fiction. I love seeing myself in characters and getting greater understanding about my own journey, through their journey. In the last few chapters Elaine’s power truly comes full circle and I am NOT telling how. It’s too good to give away.
Side note: Morganna is an equally fierce and strong, bad ass woman who is essential to Arthur’s success. She literally grabs the moon out of the sky and threatens to destroy it to help Arthur. 😱 She does this even though it comes at a great expense to herself and Gwenivere. I want you to get to know her too.
Rating: 5 Teeth
This tooth is a brand new Sonicare toothbrush fresh out of the box. YOU CANNOT PUT IT DOWN. It’s so so good. You love and cherish it and want to re-read it and tell everyone about it. People may roll their eyes and say, “another book you say is amazing?” YUP. And once they use that toothbrush they’re a convert for life. Female retelling of classic stories are so hot right now, and I’m here for it. Circe is also 🔥, in case you want more girl power in your fiction.
While I was reading this book I was concurrently watching The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix. There is something about a strong female woman with a darkness inside her, that flips it and uses her power for the greater good that really delights me. As a result I’m highly interested in the concept of Arthurian quests now. I feel like there must be literature PhDs writing their thesis on this topic somewhere. I secretly long for this type of in-depth knowledge of literature, and if you know of any novels that feature the Arthurian quest trope please let me know via Insta or this lovely contact form here.
Once upon a time I did a one year stint at Emerson College. I was a Writing, Literature, & Publishing major. I wanted to go into book publishing, but the more I learned about the career path from the inside, I very quickly realized I would spend my entire life attempting to work my way up to the job I wanted and probably end up with it when I was old and poor, if I was lucky. Literally, October of my freshman year I said to myself, “I am too smart to waste time like that”, and flipped to plan B. The rest is history. 😁 In my honors section that year I did a super intense research paper on modernist poetry, we’re talking 30+ pages. Other students chose cooler topics, but I wrote that paper with joy. #wordnerdforlife
Keep following my journey @drcarolynnorton and @chrysalisdmd. One day I’m going to write a novel and get it published, and it is going to be E P I C.