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by Dan Ritchie When we last left Silver Squirrel, the eponymous odd-duck hero of Dan Ritchie’s debut novel, he and his intended mate, Sandy Brown, had just escaped the enigmatic predator known as The Hawk. Silver is indeed in "uneasy pieces"; you could almost imagine a furred Jack Nicholson from the film alluded to. There’s a delightful play on words in the title, because Silver, although proud of his Spock-like outsider status, yearns for peace to be together with Sandy and for peace between the squirrels and their mortal enemy, the crows, whom Silver has befriended in an endeavor more controversial than the Iraq war. Silver narrowly averts a war, but I predict there may be an all-out conflict in the next book. Silver is one of those Doctor Zhivago/Thomas More idealists who pursues an ideal to the detriment of his own safety and community. Multi-generational-arbor project leader (and Sandy’s stepfather) Timothy Brushtail says, "You’re great with the birds, but you don’t show love for your own kind." Despite this, I couldn’t help liking Silver for his Don Quixote derring-do and his devotion to his mate, Sandy. In my review of the first installment, I referred to Sandy’s mother Beverly as Hillary, but Sandy takes her rightful place as a strong female lead, while a sex segregationist squirrel leader called the Grandmother both complicates and aids Silver’s courtship. If 2006 was the year of the woman, Dan Ritchie, refreshingly, continues to give women, such as Beverly, the Grandmother, Sandy, a Kristin Davis-like squirrel named Tanny May and the likeable crow Morning from the first book, a powerful role. While the first book was all about the battle of the sexes, the second book moves beyond the conflict (despite differences in mating and Sandy’s failed attempt to be "one of the guys") into a deeper understanding and appreciation of the male-female dynamic. One of the squirrels, moving into the role vacated by the Don Bluth-esque Jacob in the previous book, speaks, as does Silver, about grace and love and redemption. It’s a timeless message that, perhaps, may allow Silver to find his peace. |
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Silver Squirrel in Uneasy Pieces