Customer Reviews

THE HOUND OF ULSTER

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Hound of Ulster is a gripping retelling of the Ulster Cycle - the Irish myths about the semi-divine warrior hero Cuchulain and the Cattle Raid of Cooley. The stories apparently date from the bronze age oral tradition, but were finally written down in the 8th century. Sutcliff writes well and vividly. The stories are a mixture of savagery and lyricism, wild fantasy and psychological realism. Cuchulain in his battle frenzy literally metamorphoses into a monster, yet when he mourns the dead he is completely human. The original Ulster Cycle, also known as The Tain, is available in an English translation by Thomas Kinsella, with stunning illustrations by Louis Le Brocquy, from Oxford University Press. But the text is extremely hard to follow: the Hound of Ulster is much more readable for newcomers to the story. And anyone who likes this novel should read the haunting WB Yeats poem, Cuchulain Comforted, about the hero's death. It's full of ambivalence about heroes and men of violence: how do we admire their courage while deploring their deeds?

This is a fine story of mythical heroism (and some tragedy) of 'older' Ireland (not sure that 'ancient' is the right term). I read this book knowing very little about Cuchulain, only that he is Ireland's greatest hero of myth/folklore. It was a great telling of The Hound's life and the tales of his time and land. And ideal for those who find reading the classic texts, poems, and etc of myth boring, tedious or otherwise. I think the only aspect of this book that might dissuade people from finishing it is its sense of unreality and madness, but this is the same of any tale of myth and legend, so take that as you will. Raids, full pitched battles (some hundreds vs one), magic, monsters, and the faery kind abound. As well, Sutcliff wrote this in the way only she can putting the reader in the time and place of the story (happily as always). She writes with a style of her own but remains true to the tale, land its from, and its spirit. If you like this also check out Sutcliff's 'High Deeds of Finn MacCool'.

While this retelling is written primarily for younger readers it is anything but childish. The sex and bloody mayhem of the source material, central to the explanations of the actions of the protagonists, remains. Consequently, even though the stories are about "superheroes", these heroes remain, in very many ways, recognisably human, driven by deeply human motives of honour, jealousy, love, lust, greed and envy. Often the most heroic can be petty and the most venal given to acts of great courage.

Sutcliff clearly took the time to ensure that the stories were properly rooted in the geography of the North of Ireland and the West of Scotland, something that adds to the pleasure of the reading. A classic that will bear reading and re-reading again.