The Natural History of Unicorns by Chris Lavers, a review.

Who doesn't enjoy a good myth? Especially one filled with magical beasties that capture the imagination and never leave your memory. Unicorns have filled our tales with whimsy and beauty for centuries, and I am just as excited about the notion of their reality as anyone else, wishing deep down that a creature of such elegance and beauty once existed. Chris Lavers sets out to explore the origins of the unicorn myth in his book, The Natural History of Unicorns, and even promises to reveal to us some real unicorns along the way. Understandably I was completely sucked into this rather beautiful little piece of nature writing, hoping for an insightful journey into how the unicorn became.

I feel it is safe to say that this is a piece of non fiction written for a specific, rather learned audience and I can appreciate the fabulous effort that has gone into the research of such an interesting, much debated subject. The archive images are brilliant and well spaced throughout, these are well worth a little nose through alone. "A One Horned Ass" launches us into the world of unicorn hunting as Levers' first chapter, I felt drawn around in circles by it's references and had difficultly remembering one avid scientists name from the next, constantly having to back track to figure out whether names had been mentioned before. This repetitiveness and circling seems to dissipate as you progress, yet it still didn't grab me.

I was sadly a little disappointed by this book, not because of it's vast, exceptional research or because of its subject matter. I felt let down by the writing, lo and behold we are dealing with a magical creature here, yet the writing is rather dry, prescriptive and altogether lacking in sparkle. I can only assume this is aimed at a far more academic audience than the title implies. I cannot feel the passion of the writer behind the words and neither could I read too much in one sitting without my eyes beginning to droop and my mind beginning to wander. This is a fair old shame and resulted in me not finishing the book, half way through I had just had enough.

Not one for me, but I can appreciate its value in the world of natural history myth hunting. Stick with it and you might love it, or nod off, just like me. Back to the library for you mon cherie!