Robert FISHER (2000) The Knight in Rusty Armor. Wilshire Book Co., U.S.

by Patricia Bonelo Gutierrez, 1 Bachillerato B EFL

The book is about a knight who led his life fighting in battles, killing dragons and rescuing damsels. He wanted to prove that he was good, kind and loving. He loved his armour so much that he decided to keep it on at all times. His wife Juliet and his son Christopher forgot what he looked liked without it, so they wanted him to take it off, but when he tried to do it he realized that he couldn’t remove it. To remove his armour he had to undergo a difficult and punishing quest, and in the process, he rediscovered his true self and the meaning of life.

It´s a fantasy novel and the main themes are self-knowledge and inner truth.

In my opinion, the most interesting part of the book is when the knight is on the third castle of the quest and a dragon prevents him from entering. But the dragon is not a normal one, it’s an imaginary dragon, which represents fear and cowardice and he can only be overcome by courage and bravery. If the knight is scared, he will never pass because the dragon won´t let him, but when he is brave the dragon starts getting smaller and smaller because he has overcome his fear.

I recommend the book to almost all ages and groups because it is really short and easy to read, and it makes you think about self-knowledge.