Review from Inbetween The Woods
Authors: Norman Mounter, John Wedlake
Genre: Fantasy? YA? Squirrels? IDK
Pages: 98
What Goodreads has
to say:
A wave of
delight and anticipation sweeps through a small community of red squirrels as
they behold a vast fleet of boats carrying their distant cousins towards them.
They will no doubt bring incredible wealth, wisdom and joy to the humble
squirrels of Nutshaven.
However, the dream soon becomes a nightmare. Their distant cousins soon turn
out to be enormous and brutish bullies of an ever-expanding Grey Empire.
Shadowtail - the brilliant but intensely evil Grey leader - announces that
their lives are about to radically change:
“Your colony is now ours, and we shall endeavour to use you and your resources
to enrichen the imperial spoils of conquest and world domination.”
With their entire way of life now under threat, will the wisdom of old Normsk,
the wits of young Cheswick and the might of Brutenuts the Brave be enough to
counter such a dark and dominant force?
What I
have to say:
So I'll just cut to the
chase here: I freaking love The Ghost of Crow Cavern.
I love that the climax is a
chess game; I love that the narrator is some unnamed future historian; I love
that it's wickedly funny but also a little disturbing; I love that it's a story
about colonization gone wrong; I love that it's all about
squirrels.
Like squirrels are the
best. Why are there not more stories about them? There's a lot of stories about
mice, but squirrels are better because they live outside and have cooler tails.
(Sorry, Reepicheep.*)
If we're on the subject of
mice, this book could be compared to stuff like The Tale of Desperaux, The
Secret of Nimh, and probably Watership Down but I haven't
read that last one (yet) so that comparison is pending. (And yeah, I
realize Watership Down is rabbits, not mice.)
It also has a little in
common with Animal Farm in that it's a story about animals on
the surface, but it has obvious political undertones. I found myself thinking
about British colonization and the Holocaust--but don't let that scare you away
from reading this wonderful little book. It's far from depressing; in fact,
it's delightful and often hilarious.
I'm
pretty sure I read 75% of this book with a huge smile on my face, and I had to
restrain myself from laughing out loud at a few points because I was in public.
I especially loved Shadowtail's instructions to Scug concerning finding
information on the rogue squirrel Cheswick:
"Now listen up! I need
to know more about this mysterious Cheswick character. Where he once lived, who
his parents were, his education...and - most important of all - what kind of
chess player he is."
Upon reading this, I may or
may not have laughed out loud in a courtroom. (Court wasn't in session, don't
worry.)
The
narrative style almost gave me a Last Unicorn vibe (and if I
compare any book to The Last Unicorn, you better believe I loved
it). We aren't told who the narrator is, but he or she clearly knows how the
whole story will play out from beginning to end, and throws in comments of a
historical bent.
Example:
"A squirrel by the
name of Maria Dumplekin - who has since passed into legend - was gazing out
from atop a tall forest tree. It was here that she caught sight of a curious
cluster of glistening specks upon the distant horizon."
There are also just some
random things thrown in (as in The Last Unicorn) which add an
element of delight and hint at other worlds outside that of the story. Like
when the narrator talks about the Cerebri squirrels who have
incredibly large brains and build sophisticated machines. And we jump between
characters in a way that's fun but doesn't make the reader seasick.
Having said that, I did get
briefly lost in the first few pages as we switched between characters a few too
many times in too few pages, especially considering that the story and setting
themselves hadn't really been established yet.
Now here's my only real ask
for this story:
I WANT MORE!
The pacing is seamless and
the story moves quickly--maybe a little too quickly: I read it in two hours.
It's not necessarily that
the story needs more fleshing out--it's that fleshing it out
could make a really good story a truly great one. The characters are all so
well developed: Cheswick, Brutenuts, Normsk, Shadowtail, Scug. And it's not
because they're undeveloped that I want this story to be longer, but because
they're so well developed. I want more of them!
I can just imagine the
conversations between Normsk and Cheswick as they hide out on the edge of
Nutshaven and debate whether to intercede now or wait a little longer, as they
discuss the devastation the grey squirrels have inflicted and wonder whether
there's any chance of victory. And as they wonder whether, if and when they
manage to save Nutshaven, there will be anything left to save.
I can just picture little
Blossomtail and Felix and the other squirrel pups in their brainwashing lessons,
struggling to make sense of what they're being told and deciding whether or not
to believe it. I can see Blossomtail saying something wrong and Violet bravely
defending her in front of the fearsome Auntie Gerta. I can picture a few of the
little squirrel pups starting to succumb to Shadowtail's lessons, and a few
others withstanding, maybe even forming a secret Dumbledore's Army-esque
society.
And I can see the grey
squirrels under Shadowtail engaged in a deadly power struggle of which
Shadowtail himself may or may not be aware. I'm sure there are allies and arch
nemeses among the ranks of the grey squirrels, and I'm sure there are plenty of
nasty rumors and intrigues floating around.
Then, of course, there's
Shadowtail himself, who is a fascinating character. I'm envisioning him pitted
as Cheswick's foil: the two squirrels holding down opposite ends of the story
yet sometimes acting in surprisingly similar ways.
Various stories--each
starring a different set of protagonists and antagonists--taking place
simultaneously across weeks (maybe months, who knows?) until they all collide
in a heart-stalling climax. Imagine the epicness!!!
(Of course, I'm not the author(s) and I'm not going to presume to tell them how
to write their own book. It doesn't need to follow the script I've outlined
above; in fact, a longer rewrite of this book by Norman Mounter and John
Wedlake would probably be way awesomer than anything I could think up.)
See, the thing is, I loved
this book a lot. But just as I realized how deeply I'd fallen in love, it was
over.
If this were a longer book
that I could really sink my teeth into, I can imagine myself pouring over it
for days, reading up late into the night, shirking errands and foregoing food
and sleep to find out what will happen to the squirrels of Nutshaven. Upon
finishing, I might add this book to the collection of my most cherished
volumes, recommend it to everyone, and save it on my shelf to re-read in a few
years.
And I'm aware that there's
a sequel in the works (or at least, the epilogue def sets us up for that), but
I'd rather have a meatier first novel before/in lieu of
a sequel.
There's a lot to ponder in
this book, and I'm still not entirely sure whether it's just a story or whether
it's meant to be a political fable of sorts. I think if I'd had more time to
digest it, I wouldn't feel so much like I'd just jumped off a roller coaster.
(Though my post-book vertigo is a testament to just how powerfully this story
took me for a ride.)
Long story short, I dig it.
I just want more to love.
*Reepicheep is basically my
all-time favorite character so I'll take him over a squirrel any day and now
feel terrible for dissing his tail. Also why is this review so long? Wow I
guess I had a lot to say.
However, the dream soon becomes a nightmare. Their distant cousins soon turn out to be enormous and brutish bullies of an ever-expanding Grey Empire. Shadowtail - the brilliant but intensely evil Grey leader - announces that their lives are about to radically change:
“Your colony is now ours, and we shall endeavour to use you and your resources to enrichen the imperial spoils of conquest and world domination.”
With their entire way of life now under threat, will the wisdom of old Normsk, the wits of young Cheswick and the might of Brutenuts the Brave be enough to counter such a dark and dominant force?
Example:
(Of course, I'm not the author(s) and I'm not going to presume to tell them how to write their own book. It doesn't need to follow the script I've outlined above; in fact, a longer rewrite of this book by Norman Mounter and John Wedlake would probably be way awesomer than anything I could think up.)
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