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George dead, pinned to the ground by a spade. The rattled sheep decide that they must find his killer. This turns into a difficult task, as sheep can’t talk to people; and though they understand the human conversations they listen in on, like the one between George’s widow Kate and Bible-basher Beth
Jameson, they do not always understand the details. Not even the smartest of them, Miss Maple, Othello and Mopple the Whale, can understand the humans' behaviour, and are particularly confused by the neighbourhood priest, though they conclude that his name is evidently God. They are afraid to confront suspects like butcher Abraham Rackham, and are suspicious but fearful of their new shepherd Gabriel O’Rourke, who is raising a flock of sheep for slaughter. And even after a series of providential discoveries and brainwaves reveals the answer to the mystery, they still have to figure out how to let the humans know.
729:, in a rave review, found the sheep to be a successful and appealing parable for humanity, and concluded that the book has "charm without whimsy, and is touching without being sentimental". Publishers Weekly called Three Bags Full "refreshingly original", and observed that Swann's "sheep's-eye view and the animals' literal translation of the strange words and deeds of the human species not only create laugh-out-loud humor but also allow the animals occasional flashes of accidental brilliance".
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the local butcher and one of George's few friends. Together with George, he discovered the body of McCarthy. Ham loves George's wife, Kate, and installs cameras at his shop so that he can record the moments when she visits his shop. One misty day after George's death Ham tries to steal a sheep from
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George's daughter. Her mother is not revealed. She volunteers to take the flock of sheep to Europe and because the sheep choose her over
Gabriel, she inherits the flock and shepherding duties. Before his death, George sent her a letter. She intentionally delayed a reply and regretted that decision
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In the Irish village of
Glenkill, George Glenn is a shepherd who is a loner, estranged from his wife, and is fond only of his sheep. Every day, after he lets them out to graze, he reads to them from romance adventure novels and textbooks on sheep diseases. At the start of the book, the sheep find
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A devout
Christian who lives alone. Beth tells Rebecca that George was never her boyfriend. She left Glenkill for a mission in Africa; and, when she returned, everything had changed. An anxious woman, Beth smells bad to the sheep. After George's sheep reenact his murder at the Mad Boar Pub, Beth
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Is the shepherd of the flock. He is lonely, depressed, suicidal and feels lost. George is married to Kate and has a mistress, Lily. George has an adult daughter, Rebecca; but he has no relationship with her. Before his death, he wrote a letter to
Rebecca. George is a
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585:, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Knowledge (XXG).
316:, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Knowledge (XXG).
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A shepherd with a flock of sheep raised for mutton. George's sheep like him at first and consider him to be a good shepherd, but learn that he is not a very good shepherd. Gabriel is motivated by money.
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speaks to the audience and reveals that George came to her before his death. George told Beth his plans of suicide. After his suicide, Beth drove the spade through his body, as George requested.
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This character is never named by the author, or the human characters in the story. The sheep recognize his smell and call him the master hunter. He may be involved with drug trafficking.
452:. Unlike the townspeople, George is not interested in expanding the tourist market in his town of Glenkill. With his friend Ham the butcher, George discovered the dead body of McCarthy.
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An alcoholic who finds the dead body of George the shepherd. During the smartest sheep contest, Tom is drunk and correctly understands that George's sheep are acting out his murder.
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review praised Swann for "gnawing" and "wriggling" her way into a gap in the anthropomorphized animal detective novel, thereby succeeding to avoid hackneyed "gumshoe" tropes.
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Once caught in a love triangle between George and the butcher Ham, Kate married George. She gained weight after marriage. Ham continues to love her and pine for her.
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The sheep name Father
William 'God.' He sees the sheep around town and in his church conducting their investigation and becomes very fearful of them.
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Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
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Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
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The landlord of the Mad Boar pub. Josh Baxter is interested in expanding the tourist trade in
Glenkill because he will benefit financially.
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The literal black sheep of the flock, is somewhat mysterious. He hasn't been with the flock long, and hints at a dark and troubled past.
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are present, among others). Using the perspective of the flock, Swann makes comedic jabs at human character and institutions.
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Content in this edit is translated from the existing German
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Head ram, sometimes seems to have a wandering mind. Forgets things easily especially when worked up over something.
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Largely humorous in character, the novel displays a strong knowledge of sheep behavior, biology,
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An ineffective investigator. He does not solve George's murder case, or the McCarthy murder case.
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A pensive black-faced ewe with a weakness for clouds and abysses.
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George's flock, falls off a cliff and is paralyzed.
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1001:"Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story"
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943:"Review: Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann"
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981:from the original on 7 May 2022
840:"Sherlocks in sheep's clothing"
838:Ephron, Hallie (24 June 2007).
807:"Four legs good, two legs bad"
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253:story featuring a flock of
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243:Glennkill: Ein Schafskrimi
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56:2005 novel by Leonie Swann
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563:the corresponding article
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188:Published in English
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815:. London. Archived from
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641:For more guidance, see
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355:For more guidance, see
900:"Books Newly Released"
871:"A shaggy sheep story"
469:Abraham Rackham (Ham):
33:about its development.
31:is missing information
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1087:German mystery novels
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760:References
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