Hare’s fur by Trevor Shearston

The work and rhythm of the potter provides an underlying authenticity for the novel, Hare’s Fur. We are introduced to Russell Bass, a seventy year-old potter living alone in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, Australia, working away at his craft in a traditional manner. Having tragically lost his wife and child and with only a few close friends, the milieu surrounding the cycle of his work is exemplified as he attempts to emulate the exquisite beauty and rarity of the pots and glazes from the Chinese Song Dynasty potters (960-1279). His interest in these was piqued by James Sedgewick, a discerning and avid ceramics collector, who bequeathed him his prized nine hundred year-old Hare’s Fur teabowls in reciprocation for a lifetime of pleasure using Bass’ pots.