The Borribles

The Borribles is the first book in a young adult/children's fantasy series written by British author Michael de Larrabeiti. It was published in 1976 and was a source of some controversy, owing to it's casual depiction of violence and it's somewhat subversive attitudes. As a result, the book was kind of buried after it's initial publication and it's sequels never really got released into the mainstream book market. In 2002 the three books were bound together as a trilogy and finally given a proper release... they're considered 'classics' but they aren't really all that well known. I picked up my copy of the trilogy omnibus in a bargain bin last year.

The Borribles are creatures who live side by side with human society. They look like children but have long pointed ears, and Borribles are created when a child has 'a bad start' and runs away to join the other Borribles. Borribles live on thievery, love crowded areas and dirty cityscapes, hate the country, and have a more than healthy disdain for authority and all things materialistic. They are governed by anarchy and the only way for a Borrible to get a name is to earn it in an adventure.

The principle (or initial) hero of this story is Knocker, a Borrible scout who sights a Rumble deep in Borrible territory. Rumbles are child-sized rabbit/weasel-like creatures who live in luxury outside of the city. They are the sworn enemies of the Borribles. Knocker catches the interloping Rumble and the Borribles decide to form a crack squad of assassins to send to kill off the Rumble High Command in the hopes of nipping an imagined invasion in the bud. Eight un-named Borribles are chosen from the various Borrible tribes and Knocker becomes their trainer... what follows is high adventure.

I have to say, I wasn't terribly impressed with this book. The back cover blurb made it sound fantastic, and a lot of the ideas within appealed to me, but I just wasn't sure how to take it. I wasn't sure if this was a book aimed at children or at adults - normally I'd say it doesn't matter, but a lot of it felt really dumbed down. This normally wouldn't bother me if it was a book primarily for younger readers (which I assume it is), but some of the content didn't really feel all that in tune with the book's tone. As I mentioned earlier, there's a lot of casual violence - and it isn't done in a cartoonish way like a Bugs Bunny cartoon or a clever way like a Roald Dahl book. It just felt childish, in the sense that it felt like it was written by a fourteen year old boy.

Also, the text felt rather clunky and awkward at times, the author seems to struggle when it comes to exposition and, to a lesser extent, dialogue. Dumbing something down is one thing, but poor writing is another. The whole thing just seemed kind of shallow, and the plot made little sense at times too - for instance, the mechanics of the Borrible mission to the Rumble High Command were contradictory. Why send only eight Borribles if you are going to purposely warn the Rumbles they are coming? Also, the final battle at the Rumble High Command stretches credibility a little thin as well.

It's not a completely bad book, there's a definite emphasis on adventure and action, and there's something to be said for the book's anti-capitalist and pro-anarchy themes, and I'm sure bloodthirsty teenage boys would like it. I just hope the second and third books pick up the game a bit, the first has it's faults (along with the aforementioned flaws, it also ends all too abruptly) but it does have a sense of fun about it and I liked the idea of the Borribles and their networks throughout London. It'll be interesting to see where else the author takes his story in the rest of the trilogy.