I discovered ‘Three Bags Full’ by Leonie Swann during one of my random browsing sessions at the bookshop. I thought I will read it for German Literature Month hosted by Caroline from Beauty is a Sleeping Cat and Lizzy from Lizzy’s Literary Life. I did a readathon yesterday and finished the book. This is what I think.
What I think
Glennkill is a village and a meadow in Ireland. One morning the sheep which graze there discover that their shepherd, George Glenn, is dead, with a spade driven through his body. They want to find out who killed their beloved shepherd. Soon the village people discover the shepherd’s body. And the police come in and investigations start. But nobody is able to find anything. Meanwhile, the sheep, led by the intelligent Miss Maple (named after you-know-who), start their own process of detection. They use their sharp sheep intelligence and soon they discover interesting things about the village and the people who live there and about their shepherd George. How they find the killer of George and what happens in the end form the rest of the story.
I found ‘Three Bags Full’ interesting because the whole story is told from the sheep’s point of view. Miss Maple is the smartest among the sheep and she leads the investigation. Mopple the Whale accompanies her because he is the one who has the best memory. Othello the black ram joins in too, because he is courageous. Other sheep join in at different times – Maude and Heather and Rameses and Cloud and Zora and Sir Ritchfield and Cordelia. Even a lamb which doesn’t have a name joins in at times. There is also a mysterious sheep called Melmoth which joins in after a while and contributes to the investigation with his intelligence and his worldly experience.
I liked the book for some of the descriptions which Leonie Swann gives. Not long ones. But short, one sentence or one phrase descriptions. Like this :
They were standing on the cliffs between the watery-blue sky and the sky-blue sea.
And this :
The sea looked as if it had been licked clean, blue and clear and smooth…
And this :
A gentle breeze softly fanned their fears away…
And this :
The horizon was rosy as a March lamb’s nuzzle now.
And this :
…their tension melted away like mist.
And this :
A hot wind was blowing through his shaggy fleece, making the wool ripple like trembling gray flames.
And this :
Out there dark had fallen. Dense, velvety night air, incredibly sweet and clear, streamed into his nostrils.
And this :
When Melmoth told them something, it was like a strange wind caressing their faces, a wind spiced with vague presentiments and mysterious scents.
The mystery when it was resolved wasn’t so surprising, but the way the sheep went about resolving the mystery was delightful and fascinating. On the way, the author talks, through the sheep’s voices, about the art and science of detection and how an author can nudge readers in a particular direction by giving false clues. For example, there is a passage which goes like this :
The sheep knew what investigating meant; they had heard the word in the detective story. During investigations the detective delves into other people’s business and gets into difficulties.
In another place Miss Maple says this about suspects :
“Have you noticed something? A little while ago no one would have thought it of Gabriel, because we liked him. And now he’s a suspect, because we don’t like him anymore. Perhaps we’re making a mistake. The murderer could be someone we like.”
In another place she says this about how things may not perfectly fit in a murder puzzle :
“…perhaps not everything has to fit. Perhaps it’s a mistake to think that everything always has to fit together. In that detective story it was all supposed to fit, and then it got tangled up, and George threw the book away. Perhaps the answer is that many things simply don’t fit. Things that we think are connected, but really they don’t have anything to do with each other.”
There were many delightful passages in the story. Some of my favourites :
She thought of the day when she brought her first lamb into the world, she thought of the pain, and the anxiety later, because the lamb had been brown as earth, even after she had spent ages carefully licking the blood off his coat. Brown as earth, with a black face. Later the brown would turn a woolly white, but Zora wasn’t to know that at the time. She had wondered why she was the only sheep in the meadow not to have had a white lamb. But then the lamb had bleated, tiny and brown as he was, and he had a more beautiful voice than any of the other lambs. He had smelled good too. And Zora knew she would defend him against the whole world, whether or not he was the brown color of earth.
What do the sheep do in the flock? They grazed and rested. What would he do without a flock? Graze and rest, of course. Anything else was just imagination.
“A flock of sheep can be herded because you know something about them. You know they’ll stay together. They’ll do all they can to stay together. That’s why you can herd them. You can’t herd a single sheep on its own. A sheep on its own is unpredictable. Sometimes being alone is an advantage.”
What helped him was the wind.
For the wind brought with it – who knew from where? – a leaf, and laid it carefully in front of Othello’s hooves. A golden leaf. Autumn gold. Swallow-flying time. The time of scents, mating time. Once again he turned back to the meadow, where Mopple, Maple, Zora, and Cloud were gazing reverently at a gray cloud. But he saw none of them. What he saw, scented, felt with all seven senses and several brand-new autumn senses too, were three dazzling beauties with white fleeces and intoxicating scents. And a rival, young and strong but inexperienced.
I enjoyed reading ‘Three Bags Full’. One of my favourite lines from the book’s blurb went like this – “It’s…as if Agatha Christie had rewritten The Wind in the Willows…” Isn’t that perfectly put?
If you like cozy mysteries with animal characters, you will like ‘Three Bags Full’.
Have you read ‘Three Bags Full’? What do you think about it?
Aunuasl sounding book vishy and one that I d not heard of to your review ,all the best stu
It is definitely on an unusual and unique theme, Stu. If you get to read it, I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
I was really looking forward to this review. It does sound much better than i thought it would be. I’ve seen it in book shops but was never sure what to make of it. Thanks for adding the quotes they give such a good impression of the book. I like those short descriptions. With the exception of Virginia Woolf’s “Flush” I haven’t read a lot of books from an animal persepctive but the idea does appeal to me a lot. It seems quite metafictional as well which is nice and gives another dimension.
Glad to know that you like the review, Caroline. I liked the point of view from which the story was told and that is why I wanted to read this book. I haven’t heard of Virginia Woolf’s ‘Flush’, but it looks interesting from your description. I will add it to my ‘TBR’ list. If you do get to read ‘Three Bags Full’, I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
That does sound like a fun cosy, especially since it’s now winter over here. The animal thing scared me off a bit, but I can’t resist cosy crime and so will give it a try. And congrats, you are doing so well with the German lit month 🙂
Thanks Bina 🙂 Hope you get to read ‘Three Bags Full’ and like it. Will look forward to your thoughts on it.
Cozy is not my thing, but who could resist a novel narrated by a sheep?
Thanks for stopping by, Fay 🙂 The sheep narration was wonderful. If you do get to read this book, I will look forward to hearing your thoughts on it.
Oh it sounds like fun! I love when animals “write” books!
The sheep playing the main part in the story and narrating it was really wonderful, Jenners! If you do get to read this book, I will look forward to hearing your thoughts on it.
By the way, have you read the new Stephen King novel?
This reminds me of a book I finished recently which is told from the perspective of a dog. It’s called “The Art of Racing in the Rain” and I’m working on a review for it. It was a great book, the kind that makes you warm and fuzzy on the inside.
I might give Three Bags Full a try.
Interesting to know that, Delia! I can’t wait to read your thoughts on ‘The Art of the Racing in the Rain’. Hope you get to read ‘Three Bags Full’ and like it.
ADORABLE premise. Sheep investigators!
Glad to know that you like the premise, Linda 🙂
As an Irishwoman, I’m intrigued as to why a German writer would set her sheep book in Ireland?
I’d never heard of this book before, it sounds intriguing! And according to wikipedia it’s been translated into 30 languages.
That is an interesting question, Eibhlin! It is really intriguing why the author did that. Maybe she felt that the right setting for the book was there only in Ireland?
If you do get to read the book, I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
I remember hearing about this one from a friend and thinking it sounded fun… though I admit I wouldn’t necessarily think sheep to be all that intelligent (especially given the insult that one who follows the crowd unquestioningly is considered a “sheep”). I do like that one of the sheep was named Miss Maple, though! How fun!
Hope you get to read this book and like it, Steph. There is a scene in the story, where one of the sheep, who has travelled around and is wise, teaches the other sheep how not to be herded 🙂
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What I really like about your reviews is how carefully you select wonderful passages for us, your readers, to enjoy. I want to read this book. Thank you for the review.
Thanks for stopping by, Heidi 🙂 Glad to know that you liked this review. Hope you get to read this book and like it. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it.
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