Creighton University

This seems to be much more than a review of Simpson’s Reynard – more of a dive into Reynard’s lasting appeal.  The byline of the review is “What the stories of Reynard tell us about ourselves.”  I note helpful observations like this: “Our notion of a clean-lined narrative did not develop until well after the Renaissance.”  Then there is this from Simpson’s introduction: a great part of the pleasure of the book is its revelation of the stupidity of our fellow-creatures.  Acocella finds Reynard baffling in terms of its moral inconsistency.  “Caxton, or the narrator isn’t [a fox], and his attitude toward Reynard’s sins is strangely inconsistent.”  Fascinating reading!