Mr Darwin's Gardener by Kristina Carlson

Mr Darwin's Gardener

Kristina Carlson

A literary, visual novella offering a portrait of village life. As the observer you are immediately immersed in a stream of consciousness through a series of village characters. Their beliefs about God, science and nature are entwined with gossip about a grief-stricken neighbour and his loss of faith.

Extract
Harrison, the poor, skinny horseman, is freezing in his thin coat. The soul fails to rise, like a soufflé with insufficient egg. The Communion does not fill the stomach. The spirit, in a body, is nothing but a whistle into the mouth of an empty bottle.

Padded Farmer Marchand says to Henry Faine that the matter of the talent is well put in the bible. The story applies to any business, for nobody buries money in the ground, though Prodigal Sons cry for pottage, having first buried the talents in the soil and then sold the land for song.
Parallels
  • Under Milkwood by Dylan Thomas
  • The Fight between Carnival and Lent - a painting by Pieter Bruegal