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Description 552pp, Royal Octavo Imagine the forest. As darkness falls, the somber beeches disappear in
misty twilight and shadows seem to gather under their branches. Far away,
the blackbird’s call tells of the coming of the night. The birds
cease their singing, silence descends, soon the beasts of the night will
make their appearance. Between tangled roots, hidden by nettles and brambles,
the earth seems to ripple. A few humps of earth seem to emerge from the
ground. They are the last traces of burial mounds, of mounds, which were
tall Praise for earlier Jan Fries books: Reviews Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Fries writes in an engaging, informative and often amusing style. I learnt much and was stimulated by Fries’ challenges, such as his (I am assuming the author is male) continual invitations to the reader to quest for herself, to look at her own assumptions about, for example, who the Celts really were. The author’s honesty and integrity shone throughout this work – he didn’t claim to know anything, suggesting that we’ll never really know as evidence is scant and inviting the reader to make up her own mind and journey for her own experience – for that’s all that matters. Fries challenges the reader to look at her own preconceptions - what is your idea of an ancient Druid? Is he a white robed man pulling mistletoe from a tree? Or is she a grubby fingernailed old woman selecting humans for sacrifice to the gods? The history was easily accessible, enlightening and enriching and not dogmatically expressed. Fries constantly brings the reader back to the present and makes it real by drawing parallels with life today. The book is peppered with humour, which kept me engaged through the (sometimes too detailed for me) historical journey. Have you thought about how today’s Europe might be viewed in 2500 years time? “The ‘Europeans’ had bullfights, a slanting tower, wore tartan, kicked balls into goals (probably a fertility cult ….) travelled in balloons, had talismanic cuckoo clocks and worshipped a range of deities, such as a nude man on a cross, a box full of moving pictures…and small plastic boxes that were held to the ear in an obvious gesture of adoration.” The most compelling section for me was the one on storytelling, in which Fries not only gives tips for storytelling – great for someone like me who’s intrigued but never done it before – but explains the importance of storytelling in a modern world saturated with external visual images. Fries is no doubt a good storyteller himself – his writing is often evocative and powerful and I found it easy to slide into trance at his slightest suggestion. If I were to make any criticism it would be that the grammar and punctuation are truly atrocious. Moreover, Fries uses American spelling throughout – in these times of increasing US global hegemony, it is a shame that even our literature should succumb – particularly in a work about ancient traditions of the British Isles. Most importantly, however, the basic premise of this book is very sound
– that Druidry is living, and that trying to use the rituals of
our ancestors today is inappropriate. By taking us on a historical journey,
Fries is not encouraging us to return to these ancient rites – he
is simply guiding us on an exploration which might enrich our own contemporary
practise. And it has certainly enriched and inspired mine. To submit a review of this book email the Reviews Co-ordinator
To buy this book direct from the publisher visit http://www.mandrake.uk.net
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