It was no less a literary light than Doris Lessing who brought this book to my attention. She gave it a warm review in "Time Bites," her collection of nonfiction pieces, so I sought it out for the Kindle and gave it a read. She was right. Its a fine tale of a quest that easily bears the comparison with Tolkien that it's often subjected to. In fact, it was written decades before Tolkien wrote his masterpieces, but I have no idea if De la Mare influenced the later writer.
Instead of Hobbits, the characters here are three monkey brothers trying to retrace their father's footsteps in search of their ancestral home. I should say three delightful monkeys, for each is a distinct individual. They journey through a magical landscape as vividly populated with talking animals as any Kipling jungle, and they meet challenges with a mixture of wisdom and foolishness that's all too familiar to us imperfect humans. On top of all the adventure, humor, and wonder lies ravishing language wielded by a poet who loved sounds and words for their own sake. This is one of those rare books that offers you more the more you bring to it. If you have any interest at all in fantasy literature, don't miss it.
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