Translated by Anthea Bell
This was our book group’s pick for S is for… Sheep in this case as we make our way through the tail end of our Flora & Fauna alphabet theme for picking books.
First published back in 2005, in German under the title Glennkill, and translated into English that year by Anthea Bell, this novel has been given a 20th anniversary reprint ahead of its adaptation for the big screen – more on that later.
It’s a strange thing – a German novel set on an Irish farm in the fictional village of Glennkill, and all told from a small flock of sheep’s PoV who turn detective when their shepherd, George, is found dead with a spade in his chest – presumed murdered. George had been an unusual shepherd, he read to his sheep every night. George always said he’d take them to Europe and they doted on him!
George Glenn would never again hold any sheep responsible for anything. He lay impaled on the ground beside the path while his sheep wondered what to do next. They were standing on the cliffs between the watery-blue sky and the sky-blue sea, where they couldn’t smell the blood, and they did feel responsible.
The sheep all discuss the problem. Sir Ritchfield, the oldest, is matter of fact, ‘He died of that spade,’ he said. Mopple the Whale (the biggest sheep) insisted that ‘you judged a shepherd by the quantity and quality of the fodder he provided.’ All the sheep added their two pennyworth to the discussion, bar Miss Maple (yes, you read that correctly) who takes charge.
‘We have to be prepared. Sooner or later humans are going to turn up here. We must watch what they do. And we’d better not all stand around in a crowd. It looks suspicious. We ought to act naturally.’
‘But we are acting naturally,’ objected Maude. ‘George is dead. Murdered. Should we be grazing right beside him where the grass is still sprinkled with his blood?’
‘Yes, that’s exactly what we ought to be doing.’ The black figure of Othello came between them. His nostrils contracted as he saw the horrified faces of the others. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll do it. I spent my youth near the carnivores’ enclosure. A little more blood won’t kill me.’
And so the sheep watch and observe all the humans as they pass through the field – many very interested in the contents of George’s caravan. In between their observations and discussions, they munch the grass. I did enjoy all of the sheep’s different personalities, which in part were influenced by their breeds – for they were a small flock of heritage breeds and Miss Maple gaves them all jobs according to their skills – Mopple being the memory sheep, for instance.
However, it’s the munching the grass that got me. After every little unsheepish bit of discussion or sleuthing they have to pause to be sheep and graze, which makes the novel rather drawn out. Although I enjoyed their investigations and the comedy throughout, it made the book a bit of a slog for me. And I was not the only one in our book group, who broadly fell into two camps – loved it or found it a slog. This lack of pace was not helped by the humans being rather unlikeable for the most part, alongside the rambling investigations and sheep-lore – was the big bad wolf involved?
This was a really inventive novel, and Swann wrote a sequel too – Big Bad Wool, but I found it such a slow read, I probably won’t bother searching it out. I will, I’m sure, however, watch the film when it is released. The Sheep Detectives is being made by Amazon/MGM as a live action-animation movie like Roger Rabbit. The sheep will be animated. I gather Hugh Jackman will be George, and a plethora of actors have been cast; some as voices – Emma Thompson (who must be Miss Maple), Patrick Stewart, Bryan Cranston and Chris O’Dowd amongst them. No release date for 2026 yet.
Source: Own copy. Allison & Busby paperback (new edition) 378 pages. BUY at Blackwell’s via my affiliate link (free UK+ P&P)
