The Green Child

I wish it were a little bit fresher on my mind, but I plan on re-reading this gem of a novel. It does get a little bit too whimsical for my taste at the end but, I set my cynicism aside and was ultimately glad I did.

I was drawn to read The Green Child because I had heard it was an intriguing fantasy piece. The book is unique - in structure and style - I've read nothing quite like it. The structure made the novel a bit difficult to follow at first, but once the tale begins, you cannot escape Read's crafty storytelling. And the third act is a mind-blower! I appreciated Read's ability to tell his fantasy story concisely. The story captures dream-like imagery, structure, and motifs masterfully.I have read that the story is allegorical, but not being a political historian or philosopher, that angle was lost on me. Thank goodness Read was successful writing on multiple levels. I have given 5 copies of this book out to friends and family who I know would enjoy the prose and the tale itself. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys unusual, unpredictable, and fantastical writing.

I always assign my philosophy students The Green Child as an immediate follow-up to Plato's Republic. It is a beautiful novel in every respect, and a wonderful companion to Plato's Allegory of the Cave. I have been thanked by my students and friends for thirty years. Many have said that Read's The Green Child is the most beautiful piece of prose they have ever read.

This is one of the only, if not the only, pieces of fiction written by Sir Herbert Read (1893-1968), a British poet, critic and philosopher. He was a champion of modern art and a founder of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. Sir Herbert Read's writings are used as textbooks in Art Appreciation classes and he is considered to be one of the foremost Art Critics of the twentieth century. His prose has the sensibility of a visual artist, the lines written almost as if painted with a brush. The beauty of the book is akin to a fine painting of an English Landscape. Since I was first introduced to this book, over 30 years ago, I have bought at least 30 copies to give as gifts to friends who I knew would enjoy really fine prose for the sake of the prose itself. The story is a wonderfull philosophical tale of adventure and the discovery of another race that live beneath the English countryside metamorphosing into crystalline beings. A definite MUST READ for fans of FINE prose.