On the Black Hill

On the Black Hill

I've been curious about Chatwin and the cult that surrounds him for a long time. I have many of his books and a couple of biographies kicking about. This is a truly marvellous little book that unfurls the lives of Lewis and Benjamin Jones, twins born at the turn of the century on the border between England and Wales. They are sweet and kind and hard working and remain that way all of their lives. They love their farm, their mother and their animals and have a deep, twinnish bond with one another. In their final years they share not only the farm but a bed. It's a thin book but I feel I know all there is to know about the twins, their family and their neighbours. It's a gentle story and beautifully written, almost like a pastoral painting. We see the seasons pass but the brothers live such a sheltered life that little changes over the eighty year span of the novel. Nothing much happens; it could be boring but it's not. I hated to see it end. More Chatwin soon I think.