When I was a young teen I had read a few Redwall books, about 5 or so. I still
own some of them and I’ve acquired a couple other ones since then but I haven’t
read them yet. I remember enjoying them. They weren’t my favourite but there
was something about those books I’ve always like. They felt comfortable and
safe to read. They were very pleasant. Somewhere along the line my tastes in
books must have changed. I’m certain of it and it’s a good thing. My growth as
a reader has left me pleasantly surprised quite a few times throughout the
years and it’s helped me discover several authors and series I otherwise would
have remained oblivious about. It’s also helped me focus my hobby on books and
comics that I have a chance of enjoying. It might seem contradictory that I’ve
become more interesting in trying new books and authors while also being very
adamant on avoiding certain other kinds of books and authors but it really
isn’t. It’s just being a smart reader. You won’t love or even like everything
you read and there really isn’t any point in trying to like something that
you’ll likely never be able to enjoy. I’ve read books in the past, and I’m sure
I’ll read more like it in the future, that I didn’t enjoy reading but the
experience was still rewarding. Examples of that can be difficult books or
books which entertained while also presented ideas, values and philosophies
that I disagree with. It can be hard to separate the work from the author or
the author’s ideas. Sometimes it’s worth it and other times it’s not.
I mention all of this because I want to point out that
while individual readers and authors change over time be it slowly or rapidly.
On the other hand books are static but changes in a reader can also affect
books. It can help you see them in a new light, find deeper themes present
below the surface and develop a new appreciation for a specific book. The
opposite is also true. A reader can revisit a book, series or author only to
find that they’re no longer able to enjoy or appreciate them. That’s
essentially what happened with the Redwall
series by Brian Jacques when I read (or reread, I honestly can’t remember) Mossflower.
Like many early Redwall novels, it begins with the hero
Martin the Warrior. He is on his way passing through the land of Kotir, right
next to Mossflower wood. There he is stopped and taken to Kotir castle where he
is imprisoned by Tsarmina, a wildcat who plots to kill her ailing father and
take the throne for herself. She does and soon the land of Kotir suffers under
her tyrannical rule aided by her Thousand Eye army. Heavy taxes are extoled
from the population and soon all of the good beasts (moles, hedgehog,
squirrels, otters, etc.) flee to the security of Mossflower. It’s not long
before Tsarmina extends her rule to the woods and in doing so capture Gonff, a
mouse thief. Through meeting Gonff and breaking out of prison with him, Martin
befriends the rest of the good beasts of Mossflower. They recognize that he has
the spirit of a warrior and enlist his aid in freeing their land from Tsarmina.
What follows is a simple fantasy story about good versus
evil. A character is immediately considered good or evil based on the kind of
animal they are. Wildcats, rats, weasels are all evil (with the single
exception of Gingeviere) and otters, hedgehogs, mice and badgers are good. Good
always finds a way to triumph evil more than in any other fantasy I’ve ever
read. They manage to do so without being portrayed as evil or even morally grey
by the author even though the good beasts use the same wartime tactics as the
evil beasts. There is definitively some authorially mandated hypocrisy at work
and I think it goes against the story and its themes of camaraderie, friendship
and freedom to live peacefully.
Jacques does a great deal of good things in Mossflower. It might be a simple read
targeted at younger readers but it does that what it sets out to do very well.
The book is filled with songs and poems and some of the animal species talk in
funny dialects, the moles especially. Their dialogue is quite fun to read
aloud. There are also mouth-watering descriptions of various meals. I’m
surprised any of the good beast are able to fight off the Thousand Eye army as
they should be too fat and bloated to do much of anything. There is also a good
and balanced representation of the sexes. Characters, good and bad, are given
equal opportunity to be either male or female. The villain is female and some
of the leaders of the good beasts are also female. They’re not always in the
spotlight but truly, few characters are as the cast is quite large for a young
adult novel. Even so, the female characters get to play important roles in the
story and in the hierarchy of the social groups.
Mossflower
serves as a good introduction to the series as it tells the original of Redwall
Abbey. It’s a bit long and meanders around the middle and the ending feels
abrupt. It also lacks depth of characterization as few characters are explored
beneath the surface. For what it’s worth, I enjoyed it because it tapped into
my inner child and while I found the book to be predictable and unoriginal in
its plotting, it was still satisfying on some level because of the way the
story was told. The good beasts
of Mossflower are contagiously
positive and kind. It’s a good message for young readers. Even during battle the
hero of the story, Martin avoids being cruel. Their goal in fighting the
Thousand Eyes army is to regain their lands and live in freedom, not to return
cruelty in kind to those who first stole their lands.
Mossflower is a
good book and it can easily be enjoyed by many readers, particularly those that
are willing to overlook its simplicity and enjoy the story being told. The
story and the approach used by Jacques to tell the story are both simple and
there is very little, if any, subtext present. The anthropomorphized characters
are not used as an allegory like it has been the case with several literary
classics. Some people have opined that Redwall
is Christian literature. I would disagree but the series still presents a
rather rigid, black and white, world view. Because of that the book holds no
surprises and only the present matters. That’s why the novel’s pacing is so
quick. Something happens and we move on to the next plot point. It gives the
illusion that the novel is engaging when in fact, it’s simply providing light
and admittedly fun entertainment. Mossflower
isn’t bad I can’t recommend to just anyone. It’s target audience is rather
specific: young readers. I doubt that anyone above 14 could truly love these
books. Nonetheless they have quite a bit to offer to young readers, especially
those which parents who are willing to read with them and have fun reading
aloud all of the various animal dialects, particularly that of the moles.
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