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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Chatwin writes beautiful sentences as he charts the cradle to grave journey of two Welsh farmer twins. Some may find the resolute narrowness of Lewis and Benjamin's lives, wed to their farm "The Vision", boring. The only event of the outside world that impinges on their lives is whether one or both might be sent to fight in the blood-bath of World War I. The language, a prose style that isn't showy, yet is (seemingly) effortless in its flow, carried me through the pages with its understated beauty.
Yet the story, with the psychically linked twins, various melodramatic moments such as a veteran left out in the rain and feuding family, seems some how awkward and ill-judged in comparison to the top-flight prose. From reading Songlines I have the sense that Chatwin intuitively organized his books. On the Black Hill generally follows the twins through their entire lives, but in the last section dealing with their old age it suddenly jumps, for a time, on to another character and her life. The twins reappear but the focus is lost and the rest of the book peters out. So I wasn't that impressed with Chatwin's fictional efforts, but as a crafter of language I will read on happily.
Yet the story, with the psychically linked twins, various melodramatic moments such as a veteran left out in the rain and feuding family, seems some how awkward and ill-judged in comparison to the top-flight prose. From reading Songlines I have the sense that Chatwin intuitively organized his books. On the Black Hill generally follows the twins through their entire lives, but in the last section dealing with their old age it suddenly jumps, for a time, on to another character and her life. The twins reappear but the focus is lost and the rest of the book peters out. So I wasn't that impressed with Chatwin's fictional efforts, but as a crafter of language I will read on happily.
Chatwin's magic rests in his capability to transfer you to the country he writes about. So far I have in my bucketlist Patagonia, Australia and now Wales.
This was a quiet story about life of identical twin brothers living in rural Wales through the whole 20th century. Even when they share everything, look the same, feel the same pain, they're not the same characters. Both of them has unique persona, different hobbies. It was quite interesting study of twins - not everything is as it seems. It's not about happy or sad ending, it's about life with all its quirks & features.
Chatwin won James Tait Black Memorial Prize (one of oldest in Britain) for this book, prize which went also to f.e. Angela Carter, Iris Murdoch, Aldous Huxley, etc. - the last one in 2019 went to Olivia Laing - Crudo.
This was a quiet story about life of identical twin brothers living in rural Wales through the whole 20th century. Even when they share everything, look the same, feel the same pain, they're not the same characters. Both of them has unique persona, different hobbies. It was quite interesting study of twins - not everything is as it seems. It's not about happy or sad ending, it's about life with all its quirks & features.
Chatwin won James Tait Black Memorial Prize (one of oldest in Britain) for this book, prize which went also to f.e. Angela Carter, Iris Murdoch, Aldous Huxley, etc. - the last one in 2019 went to Olivia Laing - Crudo.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Although this was a very good book, I couldn't shake the feeling that I've read things like this before. Because of that sense of familiarity, I don't think I became as emotionally invested in the characters as I might have otherwise. That said, it is still an interesting book, filled with interesting characters and humour. Definitely worth a read.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This is a nice, quiet little novel to pick up when you don't want anything upsetting or scary or suspenseful to read. It's very much place-driven and character-driven rather than dependent on an exciting plot. Chatwin covered 80 years in 250 pages, so there's no excess prose or boring passages. The beauty of the book is the way the author carries you away to a sheltered little farming community on the border of Wales and England. With very few words he richly creates all the small-town provincial characters you'd expect for that time and place. There's the gossip, the crazy person, the greedy one, the pious one---and then all the interlopers "from off" that the locals don't trust because they're new. The landscape and seasons and lifestyle are also vividly created with few words.
The story follows the lives of Benjamin and Lewis Jones. They are identical twins who are so attached to each other that they're more like one person than two. Born in 1900, they spend their entire lives on their farm, with only one holiday away at the age of ten. Sounds boring, but the book has its own special charm.
The story follows the lives of Benjamin and Lewis Jones. They are identical twins who are so attached to each other that they're more like one person than two. Born in 1900, they spend their entire lives on their farm, with only one holiday away at the age of ten. Sounds boring, but the book has its own special charm.
Lately, I've had almost no time to read for pleasure, and in fact I only picked up this book as background/research for an upcoming reporting trip to Wales, but as soon as I started it, I forgot that this was a work-related read. I so enjoyed everything about it -- the characters, the sense of place, the way that the plot seemed slightly exaggerated in a few spots, as if we were dealing with archetypes from a pastoral, but then almost immediately pulled back to reveal a much more nuanced element/character. A lovely, gently told tale that makes me even more excited to visit the area where it is set.
Since first reading this years ago, I'd forgotten how different it is from the rest of Chatwin's books: instead of the motif of an individual going out to see the world that recurs in his fiction and nonfiction alike, On The Black Hill is the story of people who stay home with stubborn insistence while the world and its changes arrive on their doorstep, welcome or not. The writing is gorgeous, grounded in the details of farming and landscape while simultaneously exploring the abstractions of history and politics and class. It's an updated pastoral, not so different in its themes and details from those of Thomas Hardy a century earlier, and it struck me while reading that some of those themes -- especially the pastoral trope of a woman left and somehow, despite her gender and the expectations of her community, managing to prosper and survive -- are obsolete in a way that saps some of the strength of the genre. While I'm sure it was once surprising and provocative to see a woman character run a farm on her own, it isn't any longer, so that part of this novel (and Hardy's, for that matter) feels a bit matter-of-fact rather than dramatic. But I don't suppose it's fair to hold that against On The Black Hill, which is still a good read.
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced