Redwall, Redwall #1
The Redwall books meant a great deal to me growing up, as soon as I discovered them it seemed I always had one on hand for years...a devotion that lasted until well after I'd become aware of the lack of nuance in Jacques' writing. Like many others, after hearing about Jacques' death, I decided to revisit this.
'Redwall' was not the first of his I read, but, this was my first audio-book. Being and early and adept reader I'd scoffed at the very idea of books on tape, even before I discovered the word 'scoff' in this or one of Jacques' other books. But this book had been checked out awhile and the librarian convinced me to borrow the audio-book along with a hefty tape player and rugged headphones.
There are few choices that could have been better, because, in case you didn't know, the Redwall books are recorded with a full cast of actors that really make them shine. I mean, even Harry Potter can't claim that!
I remember still listening to it at the next 'reading period' (remember those?), and my friend Bryan asked to listen in. Hearing the creaky voice of Methuselah he asked who was that? I read his lips but didn't think about the fact that we were both wearing headphones, so I naturally yelled back: "HE'S THE GATEKEEPER!" And the whole class laughed. Mrs. Whitehead was not amused.
There isn't any more to that story, it's just a vivid memory.
I kept track of a few things while reading, namely some odd points, this book has loads of references to farm animals such as pigs, chickens, cows and the famous horse, but never do we see any of them again. But the oddest character was the 'solitary beaver.' Who Jacques seems to have taken a great deal of effort to not give a name. He has exactly one line of dialogue and, not being native to Great Britain, his story would probably have been far more interesting than most of the sequels.
Never having liked the 'dibbuns,' I was glad they hadn't been invented yet. But many of the other tropes including cowardly voles, gluttonous hares and bickering shrews. An interesting moment had the majority of Redwallers exclaim angrily about the presumption that rats, weasels, stoats, etc. were evil, but they were soon corrected on that and never made the mistake again.
There have been some arguments for the simplicity of Jacques black and white morality, but it is definitely the biggest obstacle the series will have to overcome if its going to last as a staple in children's literature. Most of the series might just vanish as thoroughly as most of the 'Oz' books.
But the flaws in the series wouldn't become obvious for many books, 'Redwall' itself is a great adventure-tale, with a healthy amount of violence from both sides, wordplay and more than enough mythology to sustain the books for 22 volumes.
Redwall
Next: 'Mossflower'
