Pork and Others

While not a children's book, this was one of my favourites growing up. It contains 11 excerpts from the lives of some of Britain's wildlife. A mixture of fantasy and genuine animal behavior, this book follows in the footsteps of Watership Down or Dunston Wood. As in the real world, the creature's lives are often all too grim and brief. In spite of this, there is an undercurrent of hope, of triumph, and of the unending quest for something more than mundane life. My only complaint was that so few illustrations were included. The delicate drawings perfectly captured the animals he wrote about.

Pork and Others is one of my favorite books. The language is spare and crisp, the structure of each story is logical and well-constructed, but even so, they take you by surprise. Freddi proves himself a masterful writer, but best of all, a gifted story-teller, clear of sentimentality, who places you in the forest, seeing the world from a vole's-eye view. Freddi's world may not be a pretty place, but it is challenging and invigorating. Bambi-lovers will hate it, intelligent and sophisticated readers will cherish it. I hope he writes more.

Pork is a collection of short stories about animals living in the forest. It is an in depth look at nature and how it could be perceived if the animals had personalities. The stories can be quite chilling and disturbing. Sometimes, the meaning of each story is not clear, but you will find it if you look hard enough.