The Golden Mole: And Other Vanishing Treasure
Katherine Rundell
Faber, £10.99, pp208 (paperback)
Newly released in paperback is Rundell’s dazzling collection of essays about some of the world’s most wondrous creatures. From the iridescence of the golden mole to parasites in the eye of the Greenland shark, Rundell details the natural world in exquisite prose. We learn that Pliny the Younger believed hedgehogs rolled their spines in fallen apples to collect food and that bear cubs were solid lumps of flesh licked into shape by their mother. Rundell’s gift for language, wit and historical observation combine here to create a rare and beautiful book.
Mistletoe Malice
Kathleen Farrell
Faber, £9.99, pp288
Farrell’s gloriously acerbic novel – originally published in 1951 and now reissued by Faber – takes a scalpel to the traditional family Christmas family. Elderly, tyrannical Rachel hosts a beautifully drawn cast of ensemble characters, including wayward son Adrian and repressed daughter Marion. Over the course of four days, their resentments, desires, frustrations and foibles are brought to light in razor-sharp dialogue and astute observations.
The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary
Hana Videen
Profile Books, £15.99, pp352
In medieval England, bestiaries – illustrated books containing descriptions of creatures, real and imagined – experienced their heyday. They not only served as teaching tools in schools and monasteries, but facilitated an outlet for societal prejudices from misogyny to antisemitism. In her new book, Videen revisits the Old English language for an understanding of various animals, from spiders and eagles to dragons and sea goblins, in a compendium combining etymology, culture and our changing perceptions of the animal world.
To order The Golden Mole, Mistletoe Malice or The Deorhord go to guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply
