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jillyfaz 's review for:
Three Bags Full
by Leonie Swann
This book was not what it first appeared to be. I thought it was just going to be a clever murder mystery. A shepherd is murdered, his body found outside the barn by his sheep and his sheep (yes, his sheep!) decide to solve the murder and bring the killer to justice.
While the beginning of the book may seem rather "Babe" like, the book has much more to it. The sheep who have always been pretty content to just graze and live a simple life in the pasture are entering new territory; they are having to try to figure out human behavior, (which is not that easy when you don't have anyone to explain vocabulary to you. They think the local priest is 'God', and when one human remarks that the murder appears to be "the work of Satan" they are mystified - turns out Satan is the name of the donkey who lives two pastures over - a creature they consider annoying but not capable of this evil deed!).
There is a lot of discussion regarding humans as herd animals and whether creatures (sheep and people) can function alone/individually and what that might mean. The sheep also ponder the meaning of life and death.
Overall this was a pretty good book. At times it was a little confusing because the sheep explain things to the best of their ability but because their world knowledge and vocabulary is limited it can be difficult to guess what they are talking about. Also, because their ability to investigate is limited (they can't exactly go around the town asking questions) the mystery progresses rather slowly.
While the beginning of the book may seem rather "Babe" like, the book has much more to it. The sheep who have always been pretty content to just graze and live a simple life in the pasture are entering new territory; they are having to try to figure out human behavior, (which is not that easy when you don't have anyone to explain vocabulary to you. They think the local priest is 'God', and when one human remarks that the murder appears to be "the work of Satan" they are mystified - turns out Satan is the name of the donkey who lives two pastures over - a creature they consider annoying but not capable of this evil deed!).
There is a lot of discussion regarding humans as herd animals and whether creatures (sheep and people) can function alone/individually and what that might mean. The sheep also ponder the meaning of life and death.
Overall this was a pretty good book. At times it was a little confusing because the sheep explain things to the best of their ability but because their world knowledge and vocabulary is limited it can be difficult to guess what they are talking about. Also, because their ability to investigate is limited (they can't exactly go around the town asking questions) the mystery progresses rather slowly.