The Testament Of Yves Gundron
- 18 Sep 2014
- 9781782116127
- £5.59
- 305 pp
In a few words
Emily Barton’s witty, ambitious tale of what may be lost and gained in our fervent pursuit of modernity
Emily Barton's fabulous fable is convincing on every level.
Like a saccharine-free prehistoric Brigadoon. Barton's accomplished, wry debut effortlessly combines the attractions of sci-fi time travelling, European folk tales and Swift-like adventures in a collision of cultures as medieval mores meet modern western ways.
More about
the book
Set in the village of Mandragora in an unnamed country, The Testament of Yves Gundron opens with a description of a harsh, rural existence of and daily toil in a pre-industrial medieval community. Then Yves Gundron, yeoman farmer, invents the harness and life in Mandragora begins irreversibly to change.
All is not as it seems, however, and when anthropologist Ruth Blum appears in the village – native of Boston and the late twentieth century – what had seemed to be a simple historical document proves to be something else entirely.
In this ambitious, witty debut, Emily Barton has created a superb piece of wildly imaginative fiction. The Testament of Yves Gundron is a deftly handled examination of the double-edged sword of technology and explores what we may have lost and gained in our fervent pursuit of modernity.
Rich in emotional depth and intellectual curiosity, this generous, strangely ego-free novel finds sweetness and clarity in 'that state of affairs we had never known to call 'Peace'' .
witty and refreshing
Catriona O'reilly
Irish Times
Emily Barton
View profileEmily Barton is a graduate of Harvard and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She lives in Brooklyn.
