The Cone-Gatherers [Paperback]

Robin Jenkins (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Penguin Books Canada, Limited (1993)
• ASIN: B000M0HYMA
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars haunting, December 2, 2004

By 

A. C. Walter "awalter" (Lynnwood, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cone-Gatherers (Paperback)

Originally published in 1955, "The Cone-Gatherers" is set in the middle of World War II on a country estate in Scotland. The estate's wood is to be cut down soon to provide wood for the war effort, and two men have been sent into the wood by the forestry service to collect cones for seed. The men are brothers, and the younger is a simple-minded but very empathetic hunchback with "a face like Lord Byron". Through no fault of their own, the brothers acquire the irrational hatred of the estate's gamekeeper. The wood, itself lying under the shadow of ruin, quickly becomes a dangerous and mysterious setting in which the problem of evil plays out to tragedy.

Jenkin's short novel is the stuff of high literature and evokes associations with Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" and the bold themes of Joseph Conrad. Also, the novel exhibits a strong and welcome moral sense not often seen modern fiction today. It addresses the intense issues of character and virtue also seen, for instance, in the works of the mid-century Oxford group "the Inklings", especially the novels Charles Williams (such as "The Descent into Hell" and "All Hallows"), though without the supernatural element. As a story of genuine, concentrated pathos, "The Cone-Gatherers" is the sort of haunting novel that brings the reader to a stark confrontation with the truth of human nature.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Favorite 20th Century Novel, January 22, 2008

By 

Pennsylvania Settler (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cone Gatherers (Canongate Classics) (Paperback)

I'll simply state that I agree with all of what my friend Mr. Walter said in his review, and will add that I think fans of Flannery O'Connor's work would greatly enjoy this book as well. Nice to see it's got a new reprint!