In the Shape of a Boar by Lawrence Norfolk

In the Shape of a Boar

Lawrence Norfolk

This book brings a new meaning to the phrase 'multi-dimensional'; not only does it combine three stories based on the myth of the Kalydon Boar, but examines serious themes such as heroism, reality and love at the same time! For me the overwhelming impression was one of the essential aloneness of every human being - but do read it and find your own meaning. Tip: I skipped most of the footnotes without losing anything essential (I hope!).

Extract
Sandor's voice ceased. The turning spools drew blank tapes through the machine. Sol thought of the moment in the screening room when Ruth prompted him for his memories. Three flickering children playing in a grainy river and their resonant ghosts: himself, the woman beside him and Jakob. A train whistle sounded its thin note further up the valley. He pulled himself out of the chilly water and the sun shone out of a cloudless sky, stinging his wet skin. Had he been hot or cold? But they were not children. They had never been three children playing in a river. Ruth was right, he thought, as the shadows lengthened, forming two figures on the rough ground where once he had lain. It was honesty, of a sort.
Parallels
  • The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears
  • Domino by Ross King
  • The Athenian Murders by Jose Carlos Somoza
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Violence
Explicit sexual content