Hound ~ George Green

What could possibly go wrong when a German born, Roman slave fond of the drink is charged with Ulster's youngest hero's livelihood as they chariot through a war over a bull? The ending does not change in this modern adaptation of the Tàin Bò Cùailnge told from Cù Chulain's charioteer's inebriated point of view.



I'm of two minds regarding this re-working of the Ulster Cycle of heroic tales. I think that had I not spent the three quarters of my first year at Uni studying The Tàin I might have considered this a wonderful work of fiction. I enjoyed the characters a great deal and appreciated the perspective, especially the ending. However, academia stands in the way and thus my enjoyment of the text was often stilted by oddities or omissions.

The manuscripts where these tales are found were written by post-Patrician monks with an aim to inject Christianity within Pagan motifs as a means of holding on to the uniqueness of Eire, whilst ensuring acceptance in the broader world. As a result, the last of the Ulster cycle ends in unison with the Christian Christ's crucifixion, suggesting that the preceding stories were occurring relatively at the same time as Jesus's. George capitalises on this connection, despite there being no actual evidence of parallel dates. By doing so, he permits himself to add evidenced historical personages within this retelling. Characters, who I believe would have been included in the tales had the time frames actually been the same. The most glaring of these is Boudica.

While Ireland was a land of its own and never conquered, we do know that there was trade between it and other Celtic countries. There is no possible way, that just across the Irish Sea a great congregation of Druids was murdered, followed by the destruction of one of the most powerful Celtic tribes and there is no mention of it in the manuscripts. I understand this is all theoretical, but as an author, the insertion of such a personage should be carefully considered. Granted, this book is probably meant for a wider audience than those who studied ancient Celtic texts, but alienating those familiar with them is a risk, and in this case, a risk to far.

Because Boudica was mentioned relatively early, it ruined the experience for me. Maybe I'm making too much of this small point, as she is only mentioned the once, but I felt it was at the detriment of other elements. The very important system of geis is merely glossed over, but in the original texts, they form the foundation of not just these tales, but most Celtic tales, generally. Also, I had strong reservations about the representation of the hags. They didn't sit right with me, and probably because I'm trained to think of them as a single unit and not as a threesome. This is difficult to explain in a revue without turning the entire thing into a lengthy dissertation.

Ultimately, I suppose I conclude by saying that as a fiction, it really works and I did enjoy it. As an homage to The Tàin, I'm not convinced.

Review was originally located at the now defunct Paternoster Row Legacy blog.