Fox hunting novel In this country, there are pe…
Fox hunting novel
In this country, there are perhaps two groups of people who are despised more than any other (barring paedophiles): fox hunters and ?experimental? novelists. So now that Rosalind Belben, one of Britain?s best writers, and ?experimental? at that, has published Hound Music, one wonders what the result will be. According to the reviewer in this week?s TLS, ?the book is an imaginative recreation of the whole drama (of hunting), not a pro-hunting tract?. So maybe nothing will happen. For what's it's worth, I place fox hunters just behind paedophiles.
The review quotes David Plante on Belben: ?I can?t think of anyone writing in English (with the possible exception of Beckett) whose prose is so beautiful.? Believe me, this is no overstatement. (It was written before Beckett?s death of course). Even her use of commas is poetic. If you get the chance, read Dreaming of Dead People, and then Is Beauty Good (neither available on Amazon). The latter Plante compares to ?medieval depictions of life cycles in which everything comes together and revolves.?
