The Dawn in Erewhon

Well, what you might describe as a rather long journey to get to the end of what is at most a novella, probably more accurately a long short story, ended this morning. I first came across the story, and, indeed, its author, Guy Davenport, through quotations - numerous quotations, the vocabulary used in the story is expansive, to say the least - in the 'unusual words dictionary' I bought in the late 1980's. In that pre-interwebs era, pretty much the only way to find rare or out-of-print books was to traipse around second-hand bookshops, and I never did find a copy of the anthology, Tatlin!, containing the story anywhere. Fast forward to around 2010, and after another reading of the alternative dictionary, I began searching the net for a copy. And found one, at a fairly cheap price - I only paid about £7 or £8 for it. Eventually, I even started to read it. But then, the 'breakdown' intervened, I wasn't in Cornwall anymore, and the book became one of the myriad things that were left behind. Another nearly four year hiatus, until I once more read the 'dictionary', and was impelled to head for eBay again, acquiring my current copy of Tatlin! (for around the price of its predecessor). And finally got to the end of The Dawn in Erewhon. I have a confession to make. I didn't 'get it', at all. I frankly have no idea what it was about. My immediate impression, closing the book, was that it was the literary equivalent of one of those 'arthouse' films, rather like my recent encounter with The Genesis Children, where everything looks beautiful, but nothing actually happens. Maybe Professor Davenport was simply operating on a level too elevated for my intellectual wherewithal to cope with, but, as he's sadly no longer with us, I can't ask him, so I'll just have to accept I'm not clever enough to keep up. In consequence, I've found myself focusing on rather trivial elements, most notably the fate of one character, a pretty young boy befriended by the protagonist and his (female) partner and taken by them on a picnic, who then completely disappeared from the narrative. What became of Peerke? Did they eat him? Bury him alive? Or simply take him home afterwards? Curious boylovers need to know! All in all, the story has turned out to be a rather odd experience. But at least my vocabulary is a little larger than it was before.

Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B