The Pearls of Lutra
Style: Good
Attitude: Unobjectionable
Series: Redwall
Age Range: Pre Teens+
Period: Indeterminate
Synopsis:
A gang of pirates steals a set of pearls from an otter family, killing all but one of the otters in the process. She vows revenge. One of the pirates absconds with the pearls to Redwall, where he hides them before dying. The pirate's chief, on a South Sea island, sends more pirates to retrieve the pearls. They take the abbot of Redwall hostage. Martin the Warrior, Grath the otter and some of the Guosim shrews follow the pirates to their lair. Meanwhile certain of the young Redwallers are following clues to the 6 pearls.
Notes:
As with all the Redwall series, there is a slightly surprising mixture of simple children's characters (eg likeable hedgehogs, field mice and badgers and detestable weasels and monitor lizards) coupled with some violent moments. These are not gory or explicit, but are nonetheless stark. (One of the pirates is forced to jump out of a window by his chief; others are drowned in an arranged shipwreck; one of the Redwallers is killed by jackdaws while hunting the pearls). In contrast, the death of the Redwaller is used as an opportunity for a positive portrayal of death. Despite the fact of Redwall being an “Abbey” with an “Abbot”, there is no explicit or implicit spiritual content to the books.
Tuesday 1st January 2002