Lawrence Norfolk's In the Shape of a Boar is a juggernaut of a novel, an epic tour de force of love and betrayal, ancient myths and modern horrors.

I think this a book that defies explanation. In some ways the way the story unfolds is ambiguous and I think the reader has to work hard to understand all the layers and strands that Norfolk brings to his tale. The first part is reasonably straightforward a rewriting of an ancient Greek myth - the hunt for the Boar of Kalydon. Though even here things are not quite what they seem and his heavy use of footnotes of primary sources made heavy reading at time and as the story progresses the footnotes expand to provide more information. The second part consists of the memories of Solomon Memel, mainly dealing with his wartime experiences and his later success as a poet. The time is the 1970's and an old friend is creating a film of his most famous poem - a blending of the ancient Greek myth and his own time in Greece.

This is a story of ambiguity; the fallibility of memory and the need for mythology ... and the creation and hunting of the "beast". Norfolk does not make life easy for the reader but, in my opinion, this was well worth the time and is definitely thought provoking. ( )

Unlike all his other books, this one sucks. ( )

An exploration of the myth of the Caledonian boar; an interesting effort, but comes up short. ( )