The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
I mean, that's just the reality of what's happening.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
But, you know, I mean, there's some very interesting language as well.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
And I wonder what you made of the choice that he's made to create a sense of language or recreate it from...
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
well, I'm not sure what from, but to place it in some kind of historical context and also weaving through it the voices of spiritual beings.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
Yeah.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
I agree with you about that.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
And, you know, that's part of the tragedy of the slave trade, which is that there's such a disconnection between culture that it has to be recreated in that way, which is always going to struggle with authenticity.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
So I applaud the attempt to do it.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
But whether or not it needed to be there, I don't think it did.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
I have to be honest, this came with a lot of hype, this book.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
It's already, you know, being talked up big time around the world.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
I struggled with just following what was going on sometimes.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
I felt confused.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
And there were just some sentences I was like, no, I've read that 15 times and I've still got nothing.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
I don't know what that means.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
I don't know where she is or what we're going with here.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
But there was also some really nice bits of description and I think when it wasn't trying so hard is when that came through.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
Maybe I'll just read you one little bit where I thought it was lovely.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
This is Amos early on and he's sort of starting to realise the relationship between Samuel and Isaiah.
The Bookshelf
On Robert Jones Jr's The Prophets, Una Mannion's A Crooked Tree, and a new translation of Beowulf
When he saw them together, now that he saw them, saw them, frolicking in the marsh, hefting bales of hay and tending to the animals, or just sitting silently side by side with their backs against the barn, feeding each other with bare hands, feet too close together, he nearly glorified their names.