John Preston (2) (1953–)

In the long hot summer of 1939 Britain is preparing for war. But on a riverside farm in Suffolk there is excitement of another kind. Mrs Pretty, the widowed farmer, has had her hunch proved correct that the strange mounds on her land hold buried treasure.

This is a well-written, quiet story focusing on digging up the mounds first by a local archaeologist who discovers something important. Then a museum makes a deal with Mrs. Pretty to take over with their more experienced and professional archaeologists. This causes resentments and conflicts but Mrs. Pretty is a tough but fair woman who handles them. The story was interesting with some interesting characters and I enjoyed it.… (more)

"The Dig" depicts the events of the excavation of Sutton Hoo in Suffolk: The tentative, hopeful beginnings, the spectacular finds, and the fight over the treasure and where it should go. However, while it includes the important persons associated with the archeological dig, it is not a faithful account, but a novel, and it is foremost about the characters. The story is narrated by alternating voices, who narrate long parts of it before the narrator changes. Like this, it is possible to experience the events from various perspectives, each with different focus.
It is also a rather quiet and slow novel, and the atmosphere is very serious. There is always the impression of impending doom: On a large scale, because it is 1939 and war is coming, which is never dwelt on too much, but which is visible in small details and observations. Mirroring that is the small scale of the personal relations of the characters, the way some of them treat each other, their personal disappointments and failures.
All this made for a fascinating read, although I must admit that in the end, I felt that I had wanted more - a deeper insight, more of a real conclusion, or even more of an open conflict. Because of this, it left me a little unsatisfied, although that may just be what it intended.… (more)

I listened to the audio version of The Dig which was narrated by a team of readers portraying different characters from the book. There was a lot to appreciate in this somewhat fictionalized story of a famous archeological find in England – a well rounded plot, colorful characters, lively descriptions, historically appropriate language. At times, though, I drifted out of the story when the author dulled my interest with too many details. Still, this is a fascinating story, even more fascinating to me because I had seen some of the Sutton Hoo artifacts in the British Museum and could now visualize them immersed in the dirt before they were pulled from the ground.… (more)

Plodding but thoughtful fictionalised account of the Sutton Hoo Anglo Saxon burial site, first excavated in 1939. The narrative is shared between Mrs Edith Pretty, the landowner whose health is failing, local archaeologist Basil Brown, and female archaeologist Peggy Piggot who is drafted in with her husband Stuart to aid with 'the dig'. I watched the Netflix film adaptation first and I was dismayed to discover that the portrayal of Peggy by Lily James - never a good sign! - as a young archaeology 'amateur' who is rebuffed by her husband and finds love with Edith Pretty's nephew, the site photographer - played by Johnny Flynn, equally poor casting - is both inaccurate and insulting. I understand that the book doesn't really have a lot of action beyond discoveries made at the excavation, but why waste the only female archaeologist on a romantic subplot?

Adaptation aside, I really enjoyed spending time with the characters in the book - all based on real people. Edith is a widower who welcomes the dig as a distraction from worries about the future and the welfare of her young son. She is distant but caring with her staff and wonderfully imperious with officials interfering on her property, yet forms an intellectual bond with gruff archaeologist Basil Brown. He and lead archaeologist Charles Phillips provide helpful exposition on the history of the site and the treasures unearthed. Not sure why John Preston suggests that Phillips was obese and a threat to the fragile excavation, however! Peggy is happy to cut short her dismal honeymoon to join the dig and finds the first artefact. She is initially dismissed by Phillips but they later form a working alliance over the artefacts from the burial chamber.

I also liked the fragile nostalgia of the pre war years in which the book is set, and was shocked by how Sutton Hoo was treated during WW2! According to the epilogue, the burial site was used for training and _target practice, which beggars belief.

A pleasant introduction to a historical discovery which I must admit to knowing little about.… (more)