The House Of The Wolfings (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
This is a moving tale about the Goths fighting off a Roman invasion. There was prophecy and doomed romance and heroic acts of self sacrifice. The characterisation was a little light, but I still felt for everyone at the end. There were strong women characters who were full of wisdom and spirit who took an active role in defending their homes even though it was just the men who went to battle. There were hints of fantasy with dwarfs who hated mankind and people who were not quite human. It was a sweet tragedy even though in the end the good guys (the Goths not the Romans) won. I found this book very difficult to read. Not because I wasn't interested in it but because the language and the way it was written was so very different you really had to pay very close attention or it is very easy to get lost. The fact that large sections of the dialogue and speeches were in verse made it even harder for me. But I still managed to enjoy it. The edition I read was a lovely 19th century edition, not the one for Tolkien fans. I think it's important to read Morris in nice old editions as you feel like you are reading a mysterious old epic and having the old paper and the smell of old books really adds to the telling of the story.
William Morris discovered the most tedious way to tell a story, and he demonstrated his discovery in "A Tale of the House of the Wolfings." I find it hard to believe that he was once offered the office of Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland, upon the death of Lord Tennyson, given how poor the meter and rhyme of his verse in this book is — perhaps the council which presented it to him did so in jest. I applaud Morris for turning it down on the pretense of political differences rather than merit.That said, I still give this book 3 stars (perhaps beyond my better judgment), because if one can get past Morris's absurd archaicism and defective balladry, the story is actually fairly engaging. Perhaps this supports C.S. Lewis's argument in An Experiment in Criticism that some stories are universal, regardless of their form.
What do You think about The House Of The Wolfings (2008)?
