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The Running of the Deer
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
8 people want to read
About the author
Ewan Clarkson
36 books3 followersClarkson was born in Workington on 23 January 1929. He was educated at Altrincham Grammar School and served in the Royal Army Medical Corps between 1947-49.
His first book was Break for Freedom, also published in the United States as Syla, the Mink (1968), telling the story of a mink escaping from a fur farm in Devon, and showing the influence of Henry Williamson's stories about Devon wildlife. Clarkson gave a particular focus to the impact of man's activities on nature, a theme he developed in subsequent works, following Break for Freedom with Halic, the Story of a Grey Seal in 1970, and a number of other novels and non-fiction wildlife books. He was an early critic of the use of pesticides and several of his works explore the negative effects on the environment of intensive farming methods.
Clarkson's books often appeared on both adults' and children's lists, and he stated that education was one of the main purposes of his writing. Clarkson also wrote several books on animals aimed specifically at younger children, as well as many magazine articles about angling: an accomplished fisherman, he was regarded as a pioneer of saltwater fly fishing techniques.
Clarkson, who lived in Newton Abbot, died on 19 April 2010.
Source: Wikipedia
His first book was Break for Freedom, also published in the United States as Syla, the Mink (1968), telling the story of a mink escaping from a fur farm in Devon, and showing the influence of Henry Williamson's stories about Devon wildlife. Clarkson gave a particular focus to the impact of man's activities on nature, a theme he developed in subsequent works, following Break for Freedom with Halic, the Story of a Grey Seal in 1970, and a number of other novels and non-fiction wildlife books. He was an early critic of the use of pesticides and several of his works explore the negative effects on the environment of intensive farming methods.
Clarkson's books often appeared on both adults' and children's lists, and he stated that education was one of the main purposes of his writing. Clarkson also wrote several books on animals aimed specifically at younger children, as well as many magazine articles about angling: an accomplished fisherman, he was regarded as a pioneer of saltwater fly fishing techniques.
Clarkson, who lived in Newton Abbot, died on 19 April 2010.
Source: Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 26, 2012
This is the book Felix Salten might have written if he lived on Exmoor in 1970, if he was seeking to write a story reflecting on the appropriate or inappropriate use of blood sport control of wildlife, if he was desperate to give every side of the argument an opportunity to spout forth, if he had a tendency to write awkward and clunking dialogue.
Bambi, this most certainly aint. The lovely books by Salten i mean not the cutesy-poo film produced by Disney, though that in its own right was charming although i am still semi traumatized by ...you know.....what happened early on....you know what i mean....when...well...how should I say this without re-opening wounds....you know...when she, you know who I mean,when she....well...didn't quite make it off that meadow.
The story is set on Exmoor on the North Devon/Somerset border. Clarkson cleverly writes the story from two perspective which intertwine and veer apart. It begins with the birth of Rhus, the beast- hero high on the moor and at the same time it looks to Duncan Turner, newly arrived on his inherited farm which borders the roaming territory of the Red Deer. The story follows the way the interests of Deer, Farmers, the Hunt and the villagers coalesce and conjoin or more often grind and jar against each other. This in itself could be an interesting study of rural life and its strengths and weaknesses but Clarkson is so desperate to be THE RELIABLE NARRATOR ABOVE ALL RELIABLE NARRATORS that he gives every single character the opportunity to put his or her position without authorial comment of any kind and the story gets rather weighed down with 'right-on' fairness and justice to all.
This, normally, I would say is a good plan of action but in this case the story gets terribly confused because the consistency of the main players is not always clear or real. The story revolves around the growth to maturity of the magnificent Stag, Rhus and the courageous stand of Duncan Turner against what he comes to see as the violation of the relationship between man and nature. His stand results in the main human interest of the story and the development of all sorts of sidelines and related issues and Rhus' journey enables Clarkson to use his undoubted powers of description for the good.
The chapters where he follows Rhus are excellent and beautifully observed and there is no anthropomorphizing. Rhus is a Red Deer and remains ever a Red Deer, he fears, panics and flees, his is instinct not intellect, he responds as a wild animal would and the story shines because of this.
"She grew drowsy and slept, the warmth of her body seeping out intothe snow until at last the frost laid icy fingers on her heart, so that it beat no more"
"Powerless he looked for a long last raging breath into the black muzzle of a shotgun, and then the sun went out as his blood ran like smoke into the river to the sea."
Ironically Clarkson does not seem as comfortable with humanity and his dialogue sometimes really embarrasses.
At one point one of his characters actually says "But you are a stranger in these parts and don't understand our ways"...No honestly, he really does.
An eight year old girl says "But it's all alone in the world and its mother lies dead down in the woods"....really, an eight year old girl in 1970?
'With a start Duncan wakened from his reverie......from this he desisted' Did he really? yep that is a normal way we would express that i think.........not.
I could go on but i won't. And so the writing is somewhat "clunky" though more in the dialogue it has to be said rather than in the descriptions which can be lovely.
My copy, printed in 1972, has some beautiful pen and ink drawings by David Stone. They serve as a wonderful accompaniement to the story which i did enjoy but which was not as wonderful as i think it could have been.
Bambi, this most certainly aint. The lovely books by Salten i mean not the cutesy-poo film produced by Disney, though that in its own right was charming although i am still semi traumatized by ...you know.....what happened early on....you know what i mean....when...well...how should I say this without re-opening wounds....you know...when she, you know who I mean,when she....well...didn't quite make it off that meadow.
The story is set on Exmoor on the North Devon/Somerset border. Clarkson cleverly writes the story from two perspective which intertwine and veer apart. It begins with the birth of Rhus, the beast- hero high on the moor and at the same time it looks to Duncan Turner, newly arrived on his inherited farm which borders the roaming territory of the Red Deer. The story follows the way the interests of Deer, Farmers, the Hunt and the villagers coalesce and conjoin or more often grind and jar against each other. This in itself could be an interesting study of rural life and its strengths and weaknesses but Clarkson is so desperate to be THE RELIABLE NARRATOR ABOVE ALL RELIABLE NARRATORS that he gives every single character the opportunity to put his or her position without authorial comment of any kind and the story gets rather weighed down with 'right-on' fairness and justice to all.
This, normally, I would say is a good plan of action but in this case the story gets terribly confused because the consistency of the main players is not always clear or real. The story revolves around the growth to maturity of the magnificent Stag, Rhus and the courageous stand of Duncan Turner against what he comes to see as the violation of the relationship between man and nature. His stand results in the main human interest of the story and the development of all sorts of sidelines and related issues and Rhus' journey enables Clarkson to use his undoubted powers of description for the good.
The chapters where he follows Rhus are excellent and beautifully observed and there is no anthropomorphizing. Rhus is a Red Deer and remains ever a Red Deer, he fears, panics and flees, his is instinct not intellect, he responds as a wild animal would and the story shines because of this.
"She grew drowsy and slept, the warmth of her body seeping out intothe snow until at last the frost laid icy fingers on her heart, so that it beat no more"
"Powerless he looked for a long last raging breath into the black muzzle of a shotgun, and then the sun went out as his blood ran like smoke into the river to the sea."
Ironically Clarkson does not seem as comfortable with humanity and his dialogue sometimes really embarrasses.
At one point one of his characters actually says "But you are a stranger in these parts and don't understand our ways"...No honestly, he really does.
An eight year old girl says "But it's all alone in the world and its mother lies dead down in the woods"....really, an eight year old girl in 1970?
'With a start Duncan wakened from his reverie......from this he desisted' Did he really? yep that is a normal way we would express that i think.........not.
I could go on but i won't. And so the writing is somewhat "clunky" though more in the dialogue it has to be said rather than in the descriptions which can be lovely.
My copy, printed in 1972, has some beautiful pen and ink drawings by David Stone. They serve as a wonderful accompaniement to the story which i did enjoy but which was not as wonderful as i think it could have been.
Displaying 1 of 1 review