Unleash the hounds

When I was a child in the late seventies the overly sentimental theme song from the cartoon version of Watership Down seemed to be on the radio constantly.  The saturation coverage was so complete that for a good long while, past adolescence into at least my thirties maybe, I avoided the work of Richard Adams like the, ahem, plague.

First published in 1977 this lesser known of his novels is a reminder that I was missing out on engaging with a remarkable talent. He has much to say about subjects far beyond sentimentalised rabbits that is still relevant today.

Telling the story of the escape of Rowf and Snitter, the titular plague dogs, from a government experimental facility in the Lake District the novel touches on serious themes. These include the conflict between nature and civilization; the staggering capacity of humans to be cruel and our occasional contact with something like our better nature. Like any good escape story, it has its share of thrills and some moments of genuine pathos.

Adams writes with real perceptiveness about the self- serving machinations of the civil service and the weary stoicism of soldiers sent on some thankless task by their political masters. He is also good on the way the media manipulates public opinion, playing both ends against the middle in the name of getting a good story.

There are unquestionably some aspects of this book to which time has not been particularly kind, Adams’s prose style tips uncomfortably towards the purple occsionally and his characterization of what he perhaps saw as ‘amusing provincials’ is decidedly patronising

A reader willing to make the effort can easily get past these flaws to enjoy a narrative that asks serious and relevant questions about our treatment of our fellow creatures, most of which do not have comforting answers.

The Plague Dogs

Richard Adams

(Penguin)