Redwall, by Brian Jacques

It is only by sheer coincidence that I chose to reread Redwall for the first time since my childhood mere days before Brian Jacques passed away. I remember going through these books like candy, reading them voraciously one after the other. As for many other children, the Redwall series was an integral part of my childhood.

That being said, I must admit that the book does not now live up to my memory of it. There are many young adult books that have translated well into my adulthood, but this is not one of them. The story is simplistic, though engaging. The characters are really more caricatures than characters, with little depth to their emotions. The jokes at which the characters laugh uproariously are barely funny. And there seems to be almost a sense of stereotype and prejudice throughout the book: mice, shrews, moles are good; rats, weasels, ferrets are invariably evil creatures. The only change that occurs is in the sparrow character.

I will be keeping Redwall, and if I have any children, will read it with them, but I don't think I'll be reading it again for myself.