Before I started reading this, I thought it was a children's book. You know - something like wind in the willows, animals frolicking, adventure, a bit of mild peril. IT IS NOT. I cannot stress this strongly enough. From a few pages in, when Fiver the rabbit has his frankly chilling psychic episode, I realised that this book is not fluffy & lovely.
This is not to say that I didn't enjoy it - I couldn't put it down, and it is excellent.
It is the story of a small group of rabbits who, as a result of Fiver's psychic episode, leave their warren and set out to find a new home. They face many dangers on the way, from predators, man, and other rabbits. As ever, I don't want to give too much away about the story, but there were, for me, two striking things about this book.
First, the violence. Rabbits fighting, being hunted, being gassed out of their burrow, live rabbits tearing dead ones apart in their panic...I was genuinely a bit traumatised by this. I did already know that this is how the animal kingdom works, but it's that much more difficult to stomach when they have names and brains which can understand the events.
Secondly, the accuracy of the portrayal of rabbit behaviour, and the reasons behind this given through the anthromorphisation (doubt this is a word) of the characters. The way that the rabbits behaved was so perfectly described that it made the events that much more convincing - they didn't become people in my mind.
Brilliant book. Read it but be prepared for the gore.
So that's it - the list is done. One more reflective post to follow, I think, once I've thought about the overall experience! Didn't think I'd make it...
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