Hunting Unicorns: A Novel [Paperback]

Bella Pollen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 2005

A stylish, screamingly funny, razor-sharp look at the British aristocracy in decline, Hunting Unicorns introduces us to the owners of the vast Bevan estate: the Earl and Countess-charming and possibly round the bend; Daniel, their eldest son-funny and clever, but a hopeless alcoholic; and Rory-the younger brother mired in the tidying up of his family's well-meaning schemes. Adrift in a rapidly changing world, the Bevans cling to tradition while wrestling with taxes, tree blight, and the need to keep the family skeleton firmly in the cupboard.
Enter Maggie, an opinionated American journalist for the hard-hitting show Newsline. Far happier sending dispatches back from the trenches of war-torn anywhere, Maggie is none too pleased at being forced to research a documentary on the decline of England's upper classes. When these two worlds collide, no one is prepared for the fallout.
The story of two brothers bound by duty, and one woman who feels bound by no one, Hunting Unicorns is a delightful romantic comedy that explores loyalty, family, and, ultimately, having the courage to risk everything in the pursuit of what really counts.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pollen's flashy, witty, urbane romantic comedy digs affectionately at the blue-blooded English. Assigned by current affairs show Newsline to determine if the English aristocracy is "a dying breed who after centuries of appalling behaviour were finally getting their comeuppance," American journalist Maggie Monroe enlists the help of the London agency Stately Locations to meet and interview the well-born owners of those homes. Beleaguered Rory Jones runs the agency, which nets needy owners of crumbling great houses tourist money; unbeknownst to Maggie, he's also the heir of the exalted Bevan family thanks to the untimely death of his older brother, Daniel. Maggie and her film crew brush up on Burke's Peerage and invade the English countryside, running over peacocks and smoking pot in pricelessly appointed bedrooms. Despite Rory's injunction, Maggie ventures to the Bevan mansion and wins over Rory's dotty parents. As cousin to the queen, Rory's father, Earl Alistair, is "pure Newsline Gold... and a total anachronism." He's also an impoverished and rather sweet alcoholic—and the son of a Nazi collaborationist. Pollen (All About Men) ventures into these and other dicey areas dealing with the old aristocracy (i.e., sex) in a most engaging, irreverent manner, using alternate points of view for Maggie and Daniel, who, from beyond the grave, observes the action with wry detachment. Pollen's characterizations veer into the stereotypical, but charmingly so; in the end, Maggie and Rory are two young people in search of authentic experience, despite differences of birth and country.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

She'd rather be covering a war, but American television journalist Maggie Munroe is sent to England instead to "revisit Brideshead in the twenty-first century" by putting together a story on the aristocracy. To gain access to stately homes, she's put in touch with Rory Jones, who runs Stately Locations, an agency that helps impoverished lords develop commercial opportunities on their estates. Maggie doesn't know that Rory himself is the reluctant heir to an earldom and a huge pile of architecture. Her determination to do more than a puff piece leads her on a wrongheaded investigation of Nazi ties in one family--his family. Inevitably the brash, commitment-phobic Maggie and the drily witty, slightly hapless Rory (picture Hugh Grant) get over their squabbles and yield to their mutual attraction. Narrated alternately by Maggie and by Rory's brother Daniel (whose demise in the first chapter gets him a front-row seat from which to observe Rory's life), this quirky comedy melds romance with a P. G. Wodehouse view of England's upper crust. Mary Ellen Quinn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (May 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802142087
• ISBN-13: 978-0802142085
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #392,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Raised in New York , Bella Pollen is a writer and journalist who has contributed to a variety of publications, including American Vogue, The Spectator, The Times & The Sunday Telegraph.

Author of four previous novels, Midnight Cactus, Hunting Unicorns, Daydream Girl and All About Men, Pollen has tackled a broad spectrum of subjects from the decline of the British Aristocracy to the immigration issues of the US/Mexican Border.

With Summer of the Bear, Pollen returns to a place beloved of childhood holidays, an isolated and wind swept island off the west coast of Scotland where a young boy believes an escaped bear may hold the key to his diplomatic father's sudden death. Part mystery, part ghost story, part family drama, Pollen has delivered a riveting and magical story about a family rocked by loss and bereavement. Pollen is married with four children and divides her time between London and the American mid-west.

www.bellapollen.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impossible to put down, January 19, 2005

By 

B. Claypole White (Hillsborough, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hunting Unicorns (Hardcover)

I picked this book up for the title. Well, that and the fact that I'm a Brit. living in America and have a weakness for English writers. I love romance and comedy. But I love smart writing more. The three are not always compatible. In this book they are. I howled with laughter many, many time, and loved the author's use of language.

When I realized one of the narrators was dead I thought "oh,oh. A Lovely Bones wannabe?" But this novel is unique. Not like anything else I've read. And the narration is perfect. I loved the characters (American and English). I loved the plot (even though I know some of the 'urban' myths quite well!). I loved the details. I loved the linen cupboard. In fact, I loved everything. I'm off to check out Bella Pollen's other novels!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars quirky quick fun, June 22, 2004

By 

Alana V. Rivera "eveninghawk" (Somerville, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hunting Unicorns (Hardcover)

The reason I picked up Hunting Unicorns is that it reminded me of Ruth Ozeki, for some weird reason. Interestingly enough, inside the back cover is an ad for a Ruth Ozeki book. I have a fascination with contemporary British writing, looking at my list of favorite writers, the number of UK folks stand out. Bella Pollen's foray was a quick read for me. Two days of reading that would have been finished in one if I weren't hanging out with friends.

Culturally, I find myself best able to identify with books that crash cross-cultural and identity issues straight into each other. What can I say, I am fascinated by anything that may bring me closer to some internal revelation.

That is certainly ground covered here. The main characters are pushed into an awkward romance and the awkward terms of their own cultural identities. Some folks love celebrity gossip, but I eat this stuff up.

Without selling out the book too much, I'd like to point out my favorite writing device in this book. The story is revealed by two narrators, which is not strange, but one of those is dead. This is not some mythical sci-fi twist or even spiritual aspect of the plot, rather just a matter of fact. The post-mortem witticisms of tht extremely flawed narrator are spectacular.

In the end, it certainly gives me some new thoughts on the role of narrator in the story.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, weird and Death on a bicycle, June 18, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Hunting Unicorns (Hardcover)

This book is excellent. Narrated in turns by two of the characters we get different perpectives of events. There are some cliche elements of life in a country estate - how to kill the pet rabbit and pee in the sink if you can't find the toilet, but the complete madness of the characters makes it seem normal. A good romantic comedy without the usual soppy traditions.