Description: The Black Cauldron is not a war novel as such, but a work of magic realism which traces a series of boisterous, tragi-comic events in one of the more unusual western European societies. Spanning the tragedy of war, the clash of sectarian interests, the interplay of religion and sex, The Black Cauldron develops into a presentation in mythical form of the conflict between life and death, good and evil.
Brief description:
W. Glyn Jones (1928-2014) had a distinguished career as an academic, a writer and a translator.
He taught at various universities in England and Scandinavia before becoming Professor of Scandinavian Studies at Newcastle and then at the University of East Anglia. He also spent two years as Professor of Scandinavian Literature in the Faeroese Academy. On his retirement from teaching he was created a Knight of the Royal Danish Order of the Dannebrog.
He has written widely on Danish, Faeroese and Finland-Swedish literature and his many translations from Danish include the 7 Heinesen novels.
Review Quotes: "...an unsparing portrait of violence and intrigue in the Faeroes under British wartime occupation." -- The Times