The Final Days of Doggerland: A Neolithic Story of Survival in Northern Europe
Originally an award-winning screenplay, The Final Days of Doggerland is about the Neolithic migration of the Yamnaya people. Doggerland was an area that once connected Britain to Europe. Oane and her small tribe have just migrated when they’re attacked by Viggo and his warriors. Despite the language barrier, her knowledge of poisons makes her a valuable hostage. It may also be the only way to regain her freedom before the waters rise too high.
The book’s intended audience is unclear. There are multiple, lovely black-and-white, children’s-book-styled pictures along with songs and animal narrators. The narration includes snippets of carefully crafted sheet music, which would be appropriate for an appendix section but not in the middle of the prose, when treble clefs aren’t a concept. However, there are also chapters about dead men’s flesh being shredded apart by wolves, and scenes of rape as the animal narrators watch from above. Later, the raven narrators comment on how this same woman could “at least” clean and organize her captor’s hut. If that’s a joke, it’s incredibly inappropriate.
The book’s origin as a screenplay is apparent as the narration is largely exposition. The narrative choice of ravens who observe the lands is a captivating one, but there’s very little character exploration. The references and metaphors are glaringly modern and overshadow the research. In a time before Stonehenge, people would not roll their eyes (origin: 1980s; prior to that: a form of flirtation) or say “getting the gist” or “hocking a loogie” or “canoodling.”
There’s an intriguing glossary included about ancient grains and the landscape, but overall, the narration itself doesn’t make reasonable efforts to set the stage with historically appropriate terms. There are interesting historical facts in the story, but it’s lacking the fine details to lend it credibility.
