It's Time to Feast
Mice. Swords. Custard.
Are you with me? No? How about now:
“A large dried apple and preserved plum tart graced the centre table, surrounded by small bowls of gooseberries and cream, raspberry cream turnovers, and applecream flans. Servers went around with large jugs of golden cider, specially brewed by Benjo Tipps, the old cellarkeeper.”
This passage describes one of many feasts the likes we have never seen in the world of children’s fiction — feasts so memorable they inspired a twitter bot account. Many great writers found their voice during ‘The Blitz’ aka the German bombing campaign of London during WWII — Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow and Chris Cleave’s Everyone Brave Is Forgiven stand out — but Brian Jacques’ rare imagination for the most delectable of miniature feasts, born out of wartime scarcity, has persisted and elevated him as a singular voice in fantasy. Look no further than his masterful narration of the audiobooks. The moment I revisited the audio version of Redwall, I was instantly taken by the deep timbre of Mr. Jacques’s lush Liverpudlian tones. Truly an iconic performance worthy of the Globe Theatre.
Redwall Abbey is a cloistered Eden of woodland critters — consisting of mice, moles, rabbits, badgers, squirrels — until its peace is broken when the villainous rat CLUNY THE SCOURGE invades with his horde of ferrets, stoats, weasels, and foxes. Cluny is simply an all-time villain. He has the grotesque proportions of Dune’s Baron Harkonnen, but also the juggernaut bloodlust of A Song of Ice and Fire's 'The Mountain'. He wreaks havoc on the poor Abbey, whose residents are a gentle society of monks and librarians.
Redwall’s defense is successful in large part to aid given by an eclectic gang of rangy outsiders, including a sparrow, a stag hare, and, my personal favorite, a shrew named Log-a-Log, who has the swagger of a riverboat gambler. At the outset of the series, there is a clear dichotomy of good creatures and bad…so does Jacques go on throughout the series to explore the nuances and inherent complications of each species? OH YES… keep reading…
An Epic Reading
In 1998, I had the tremendous fortune of meeting Brian Jacques at a promotional event in San Antonio, Texas, for the 11th book in the series, Marlfox. I was only 9 — or a ‘Dibbun’ in the parlance of the series — but the experience was unforgettable. In his reading, he did all the voices, including the iconic ‘molespeak’, which was inspired by truckers in the British hinterlands. From this encounter, Redwall was instantly stitched into the fabric of my imagination. When I was playing in the woods and happened across the right stick, you just know I was in Mossflower, wielding Martin’s legendary sword.
The series struck a perfect balance between the indoor and outdoor kid inside me, because I could go from questing in the nearby woods to perusing books in my quarters like the wise old Abbey historian, Methuselah. The monkish lifestyle probably appeals to me more today, so I am happy to leave the adventuring to the Dibbuns. But the feasts had me thinking: should I pursue a Redwall diet? They are mostly vegetarian with the occasional shrimp dumpling in the mix. All of it farm-to-table, locally sourced fresh ingredients paired with various small-batch cordials and ales. If anything, Redwall Abbey deserves a Michelin star.
Mossflower Forever
At the heart of Redwall is a hero’s journey. A humble mouse, Matthias, answers the call to defend his home and learns his destiny in retrieving the mythical sword and shield of Redwall’s founder, Martin the Warrior. Nothing unusual… But what sets Redwall apart from other children’s fantasies is the fearless and fastidious worldbuilding. The attention to detail with regard to the rules of combat (or, if you will, ‘game mechanics’) and the meticulous arrangement of feasts is astounding. It is no wonder that Jacques produced 22 novels from this premise alone. Stories in the series center around the esoteric badger cult that occupies a dormant volcano, while others are swashbuckling high-seas adventures involving pirate voles and their rodent ilk. The stakes are high as well. Blood is shed, lives are lost, and again, like ASOIAF, some of your faves might perish.
The feasts are a perfect metaphor for this series, because everyone is EATING. These books feel like a Renaissance Faire. In addition to the gastronomical flourishes, they feature glorious medieval combat, cozy mysteries, and a rolling cast of “Merry Men” à la Sherwood Forest.
And the songs! I had forgotten how lyrical a writer Jacques is. Again, listen to the audiobooks wherein the cast sings and performs every ballad. I suggest you dive right in with Redwall, but from there it’s more or less a choose-your-own-adventure with a full spread of prequels, sequels and stand-alones. These books are not going away. As a librarian (assistant to) I hereby declare them an indelible part of the children’s canon of fantastical literature. EULALIA!
—Ben Holt is an Information Services Assistant at Lawrence Public Library.
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