Mayweed's Map of Moledom

Duncton Wood by William Horwood (1980)

There's been a glut of CG animal flicks, so here's something a little different. Welcome to the scurrying world of animal fantasy literature! Duncton Wood is the bestselling first work in William Horwood's six-book epic about moles. Horwood's 'moledom' uses a limited anthropomorphism: his moles have the ability to write, chant liturgy and practice martial arts, but are otherwise styled naturalistically. This is unlike Brian Jacques' Redwall books but similar to Richard Adams' rabbits in Watership Down (1972).

Duncton Wood is an epic modern mythology, and some suggest it trumps The Lord of the Rings—perhaps not such a difficult thing, depending on your take on Tolkien! Horwood weaves a tale of struggle, love, renewal, and prophecies fulfilled. The story centres around the lives of Bracken and Rebecca, following them from puphood into adulthood. The final third of the book shifts—or loses—momentum as the massive story burrows even further afield. This aside, Duncton Wood is magnificently crafted.

Horwood's prose is passionate and evocative, powerfully and tenderly expressing a great sweep of feeling from beauty to horror to serenity. Duncton Wood brims wonderfully with protracted descriptions of woodland flora and fauna throughout the seasons. There is some strong content rendered so vividly by Horwood that even adults may find it sickening. The style of Horwood's books is quite unlike Redwall: they are far more complex and subtle and are recommended for older readers.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the Duncton series is its deep religious dimension, distinguishing it from both fantasy works generally and other pieces of 'rodent fantasy'. It is an element that gives Horwood's moledom some similarity with Christian fiction. Rather than a mere description of a detailed religious system, Duncton Wood's religion of 'the Stone' is central to the lives and destinies of every character in its story. The Stone refers to the megaliths found throughout England, most famously at Stonehenge, at which Horwood's moles worship. The Stone is the all-encompassing life force, resembling Brahman in Hinduism. All moles come from the Stone, return to the Stone and are one in the Stone, as is the entire natural world. This is essentially pantheistic. Even the focal story of Bracken and Rebecca's love is ultimately significant because they discover in the Stone the unity of their beings. The Stone itself is impersonal and, well, stony. It is unknowable, it is essentially defined by its silence. However, while hatred and darkness are presumably also part of the Stone, the Duncton series describes the struggle for ascendancy of love and light. At the same time, Duncton Wood draws on mystical and contemplative expressions of Christianity (Horwood himself is an ex-Christian). This is seen in the use of terms like 'grace' and the monastic activities of the scribemoles. Altogether there is a flavour that is a curious mixture of New Age and churchiness.

Many of the themes of Duncton Wood will have some immediate appeal to Christians, like redemption, sacrifice, weakness, suffering, healing, and spiritual struggle. As the series continues, Horwood's religious scope broadens to include sectarianism, inquisitions and extreme persecution, even featuring a messianic mole complete with passion narrative! Throughout, Horwood's writing vividly depicts something we could call the coin of life, with twin sides of beauty and frailty. It is this which perhaps defines his novels in general, and it is not hard to see how these works have appealed to many amidst the apathy of our society. For Christians however, the underlying philosophy of the silent Stone is pretty grim. Speaking as a Christian, it is so good to have a personal, caring, speaking God! In God's family, we are not absorbed but defined and nurtured. We can depend on God in everything because he cares personally for us (1 Peter 5:7). Echoing David's words, God has rescued us because he delighted in us (Psalm 18:19).

I've been wondering, how is it that animal fantasy can be remotely interesting to anyone? Doesn't it somehow lack humanity? I find that Horwood's moledom is so intricately woven that it draws us outside ourselves into another world altogether, yet a world so vivid and coursing with emotion that it is at once deeply human. Maybe the Duncton series became a massive allegory on religion but, as the only stand-alone work in the series, Duncton Wood is more simply a captivating story.