Review "Lavinia" by Ursula K. Le Guin

I'm sure you were more-or-less expecting a review of a Christmassy book this week. Yeah. I was, too. But then the Great December World Literature Debacle of 2020 happened, in which I had to (and am having to--not done yet) take the better part of two weeks to read Don Quixote and The Pickwick Papers, to the exclusion of anything else I wanted to read (i.e. all the Christmassy and wintery books I was planning to read. *sad face*). Thus, the review of a book I read before the debacle, which I very much enjoyed. 

Also, quick note: I will not be posting on Christmas (obviously), so I will instead post the Christmas tags I've been tagged for on the 26th (because Christmas is a season). I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

In The Aeneid, Vergil’s hero fights to claim the king’s daughter, Lavinia, with whom he is destined to found an empire. Lavinia herself never speaks a word. Now, Ursula K. Le Guin gives Lavinia a voice in a novel that takes us to the half-wild world of ancient Italy, when Rome was a muddy village near seven hills.

Lavinia grows up knowing nothing but peace and freedom, until suitors come. Her mother wants her to marry handsome, ambitious Turnus. But omens and prophecies spoken by the sacred springs say she must marry a foreigner—that she will be the cause of a bitter war—and that her husband will not live long. When a fleet of Trojan ships sails up the Tiber, Lavinia decides to take her destiny into her own hands. And so she tells us what Vergil did not: the story of her life, and of the love of her life.

Worldbuilding/Writing Style
The worldbuilding was stunning. Just stunning. It showed Latium as the perfect mix between future-Italy and provincial-town, with all the right touches, like the way the houses look, and the sacrifice rituals they had. I always felt like I could vividly see the setting, sometimes in sweeping, almost panoramic mental views, and sometimes through the MC's eyes. Fantastic worldbuilding. As for writing style, I wasn't entirely watching for it the whole time, but Le Guin's style is always enjoyable.

Plot
So, for the first half? Three quarters? of the book, it was sort of rehashing The Aeneid, but from Lavinia's point of view. Which was cool! Only, I knew what was going to happen (most of the time. The stuff with *spoiler* Virgil in the sacred grove *end spoiler* threw me for a loop. But it was super cool) so that part wasn't as gripping for me as it would have been for someone who hadn't just read Aeneid about two months ago. The second half/quarter was, for me, the interesting and gripping part, where Aeneas and Lavinia are building their life, and raising their son, and contending with all the problems that brings. Not that the first half/three quarters was boring, because how can a battle between two peoples be boring? But it didn't hold my attention as well. 
I thought it was interesting and well done, also, how Le Guin came up with natural explanations for the things that are "done by the gods" in the original poem. 

Characters
What to say about the characters? They are incredibly life-like, and incredibly realistic. Lavinia is a strong woman without losing her femininity (reminding me a bit of Catherine's recent post HERE) and she just. wants. the. best. for. her. land. which is definitely not Turnus (who is a complete brat). I loved the way Le Guin has her *spoiler* "meet" Virgil in a sacred grove *end spoiler* which brings up interesting questions about the difference between poetry and reality. Also, Aeneas. Aeneas was fantastic. It would have been so easy for Le Guin to make him into The Perfect Hero, but she doesn't. He's human. He's a human who has doubts, and grave ones, a human who just wants to to do the best thing. (I ship him and Lavinia rlly, rlly hard). The secondary characters are also amazing, but there's not room to talk about all of them here. 

Romance
Okay, it's pretty obvious to anyone who knows anything about literature/history that Lavinia ends up marrying Aeneas...but in the book, it's not a marriage of convenience/forced marriage. She actually loves Aeneas, and it's quite sweet. 

Content
Lots of dying. There wasn't a whole lot of graphic gore (almost none), although the MC does help in the military hospital, so there's the mention of injuries. There are a few mentions of Lavinia and Aeneas going "beyond kissing" once they're married, but again, not graphic. One mention of a man who "preferred men". (Which irritated me, but since it's not huge, I finished the book).

Overall Rating
I've been waffling between 3.5 and 4 stars, but I'm going to be nice today and give it 4 stars. Despite some of the small issues, the premise was intriguing, the worldbuilding amazing, and I think it will stick with me for awhile. 

Reminds me of...
Is it too obvious to say The Aeneid? XD I mean, it does remind me of that one, but it also kind of reminds me of Many Waters by Madeleine L'Engle, which is another book that takes a different angle of a well-known story from more-or-less pre-historical times. It's also one of my very favorite Madeleine L'Engle books ever. 

Have you read The Aeneid? Anything else by Ursula K. Le Guin? Have you read any good Christmas books recently? I hope you all have a Happy Advent, and Merry Christmas!