Avian Transformations

Wooohoo, finally getting my reading groove back, after about two months of no time at all or nothing but time I have finally succeeded in returning to my about a book a week rhythm and since I am usually reading multiple books this gives me plenty of variety and fodder for my incessant rambling.  The latest book to fall to my awesome reading powers (I'm feeling a bit loopy this morning) is The Black Swan by Mercedes Lackey which is a retelling of Swan Lake.  I picked this one up because I love retelling's, and I love the original ballet of Swan Lake and so far I have like Ms. Lackeys work so sounded like a pretty good bet to me. Also the cover was awesome.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD

Odile Von Rothbart is the only child of the great sorcerer Baron Von Rothbart and is desperate for his approval. While she herself is becoming an accomplished and talented sorceress, her father relegates her to the role of housekeeper and guardian to his flock of transformed swans.  Von Rothbart has raised his daughter to believe that all women are inherently devious, traitorous wenches, good for only serving a man loyalty.  To this end he finds women who he feels have been unfaithful in some way and transforms them into swans, only allowing them to turn back into humans in the moonlight.  For the most part Odile and the swans live an isolated life in a sumptuous, yet tightly controlled manor far from civilization.  The leader or Queen of the Swans is Odette, a young woman who's father promised her mother on her deathbed that he would never force Odette to marry.  As soon as her mother was dead Odette's father tried to force her to marry an older man who had already gone through several wives.  To avoid this fate, Odette convinced one of her

fathers squires that she was in love with him and persuaded him to help her run away.  As she was on her way to the great Empire to try and plead her case, she was overtaken by Von Rothbart and turned into a swan. All of the other girls we assume have similar stories, but Odette is the one we are most concerned with.  Odile keeps an aloof eye on her charges, never mingling, always keeping herself apart and trying desperately to earn her fathers attention and approval.  Meanwhile in another kingdom the Queen Regent Clothilde schemes with her minstrel to find a way to keep the crown away from her only son the Prince Siegfried when he comes of age in the coming year.  She has tried her best to keep him from becoming a competent ruler by encouraging his interests in drinking, hunting and women.  After an incident with a gypsy girl who kills herself after a carnal encounter with the Prince, he decides to try and change his ways.  He begins by finding places for all of the vulnerable women at court, sleeping only with women who approach him first (yep this is considered better behavior).  He starts drinking less and listening more, earning the respect of many nobles who earlier thought him to wild to make a good ruler.  His mother decides the best way to control him is to marry him off to a young, beautiful, docile, tractable woman, one whom the Queen could control and by proxy control her son.  Back with the swans Odette finally confronts Von Rothbart who then makes a promise that if Odette can make a man love her, knowing everything she did, and keep him from betraying that love for one month, she and the other swans will be free.  To this end Von Rothbart takes the swans and his daughter on a long journey.

 Through out this journey he shows little regard for the well-being or comfort of either his daughter or the flock.  Odile does her best and finds many ways to take care of herself and her little flock of swan maidens.  Every time she starts to feel resentful, her father comes and makes it all seem like a test, giving her the bits of approval she so desperately craves.  Oddly enough though she is left exhausted every time her father comes to visit.  She soon becomes more friendly with the flock and Odette in particular starts to spend time with the pale sorceress.  Odette puts forward the theory that Von Rothbart may be draining Odile of her powers to use for his own purposes.  Odile does not want to believe this, but the suspicion has been planted.  Von Rothbart makes an appearance and informs Odette that the man she needs to woo will be appearing soon.  Back at the castle a hunting party, including six princess hand selected by the Queen who are seeking to become the Prince's bride set out.  The Prince has no delusions about marrying for love and spends his time with the princesses looking for a woman who would make a suitable queen and would not be to upset if he spent time in other beds.  Eventually he and his best friend Benno go off to hunt swans on their own one night, setting up the inevitable meeting between Siegfried and Odette.  Siegfried is instantly struck by the transforming
maidens beauty and wants to know more.  Odette begs him to come back the next night and she will tell him her tale.  Odile listens in on the conversation between the Prince and Odette.  Odette tells him everything, including the reasons she was turned into a swan and the part about him remaining faithful.  Siegfried actually pauses at that one, but decides that it is worth it to be able to marry Odette. They make arrangements to meet at the Prince's birthday party at the castle where he will announce his intentions to marry her.  Odette and all the rest of the swans are overjoyed at this development and Odile is also very happy for her friend.  Von Rothbart appears the day of the party and informs Odile that they will be attending to watch the Prince and Odette.  After fashioning amazing costumes for them the sorcerer leads his daughter into the party, as Soon as the prince sees her he calls her Odette, making her realize that her father has transformed her into Odette's likeness and is now controlling her body.  No matter how hard she tries, she cannot shake her fathers control of her.  Siegfried pledges his love to "the woman at his side", effectively breaking his vow to Odette.  Chaos ensues and Von Rothbart kills the Queen and minstrel, but not before the minstrel confesses everything.  Siegfried and Odette reunite at the lake and confront Von Rothbart who is to strong for either of them.  Rather than be parted the pair plunge of a cliff into the lake.  Odile, finally realizing how evil her father is, kills him and then goes to save the Prince and the Swan Queen.  She is successful and the Prince assumes the crown and marries Odette.  All of the swan maidens are transformed into humans permanently and found places of honor among the Swan Queens court.  Odile is given the lake where the swans were as her own land and the title of Countess in her own right.  She serves as a councilor to the king and Court Magician and they all live happily ever after.

I was excited to read this one because the traditional Swan Lake ballet is one of my favorites and I was interested to see how it would be transformed into a fantasy story.  The author wrote it like it was set in medieval times, in our real world, in real European countries.  She used the actual religious and political ideas of that time period, giving a realistic spin to the whole thing. The story itself was quit lovely, I could actually see scenes of it danced in my head, and up until the end it actually followed the basic story line of the ballet pretty faithfully.  The role of women in this book, while accurate for it's setting, was a little disturbing.  Siegfried relationship with women, and the men's views on their place was definitely archaic to put it nicely.  Von Rothbart's view of women was despicable and we are never really given the real reason for these views other than his wife died when Odile was very young.  I loved watching Odile's transformation from an eager to please puppet to a strong resourceful woman. I also loved that she was already a beautiful intelligent noble who used her own resources to save her friends...who were also intelligent, kind, women.   The six princesses that were selected for the Princes perusal were interesting as well.  I liked the different personalities and the different way they were viewed by the Prince and his mother.  Parts of the book were slow, especially the hunting scenes of which there were many.  I guess if you were interested in medieval hunting techniques this could be interesting, but to me it just added unnecessary pages. Overall it was a good book, it won't be every bodies cup of tea, but lovers of courtly fiction will find much to enjoy, and if like me you like the original ballet, you will not be disappointed. And I personally liked it so much better than the movie.  I give this book 7 out of 10 crowned swans.

What do you think of a ballet being rewritten as a story?  How much leeway do modern writers have when writing books set in different periods of history?  How much do you want to wear Odile's black swan costume?!?