Storymusing: Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann

 

Three Bags Full

by Leonie Swann

After seeing the preview in the theaters for “The Sheep Detectives” I came across this book on the return cart in our library. I came to the conclusion that the movie, which had looked so funny and appealing to me, was based on this very book. I checked it out immediately.

I was taken with the cast of characters, sheep like Miss Maple, obviously a nod to Miss Marple from author Agatha Christie. Names like Sir Ritchfield, Zora, and Othello also give the sheep a thoughtful feel with a nod to other literature. Other sheep have more “sheepy” names like Cloud, Heather, and Mopple the Whale.

Set in a village in Ireland, this book is remarkably philosophical while maintaining a fascinating perspective from the sheep view, where sheep think about things like grazing and relate events to what they know.

The air was perfect; a cool wind blew off the sea, the meadow was fragrant. All the same, the whole place suddenly smelled of death, new death and old, almost forgotten death. Maple began to graze.

Grazing is a comfort to her and the other sheep, but much is made of scents in this story. The sheep can purportedly smell human emotions, though that is not so far-fetched. The sour smell of the sweat of someone who is scared, for example. Or the smell of death on the butcher, which petrifies them.

But George, their shepherd, has expanded their world view by reading to them. Perhaps not great literature, but he has shared ideas with them.

Some of the sheep have been out in the wider world, discovering different points of view, like Othello who was forced to fight dogs, and Melmoth, who wandered free for years.

They are all currently part of George’s flock. Then they find George dead with a spade through his chest.

“He didn’t die of an illness. Spades are not an illness.”

The flock begins to question how this came to be and takes up the call for “Justice!”

As they sneak about the village and investigate, we learn more and more about both the sheep and the lives of the villagers, until they are rich and varied characters.

I was a tiny bit disappointed by the ending because I didn’t feel like the sheep figured it out for themselves, but rather had the truth revealed to them. Nevertheless, they did a great deal of detective work getting to that point.

After reading such an exceptional book, I’m a little afraid to see the movie because I know it can’t possibly measure up. No, I’ll have to wait several months and remind myself that a book cannot usually be directly translated into a movie. They are, as it were, different animals.