Watership Down

The Basics

Hazel and Fiver’s current home is soon to be demolished, but the way in which they know this involves Fiver’s psychic powers, so it’s kind of hard for them to get anyone to listen to them. They gather what few compatriots will follow and set out for a safer home, and many adventures ensue that threaten their very lives. Oh yeah, and they’re all rabbits.

My Thoughts

Most everyone has heard about this book. They’ve heard the phrase, “it’s like Lord of the Rings with rabbits!” And there has been dubious eyebrow raising and scoffing laughter, I can well imagine. I wheedled about it myself.

Well, stop it. Stop that judgmental crap right now and go read this book. Rabbits or no, these are some of the richest, most show more well-written characters to grace literature. This book is beautifully paced and absolutely worthy of the cliche “page turner”. It’s a fantasy world as fascinating as any I’ve read and steeped in its own mythology and legends with its own language. If you love fantasy, this book is for you. If you’re an animal lover, this book is for you. If you love literature and classics, this book is for you. I can’t think of anyone who should pass this up.

Adams does something noteworthy here. He makes rabbits relatable and human. Yet he also makes them just alien enough that it never occurs to you to picture them as anything but rabbits. He balances these two in such a way that neither overwhelms the other. Their world is tangible, and as a reader, you won’t question it. But it’s not our world, and you’ll feel that, too, and want to learn more. Out of all the fantasy races I’ve seen over time, Adams manages to make rabbits one of the most well-thought-out of the bunch.

My last thought is to parents of small children. Stop giving your kids this book. Unless they’re very mature kids, which some are, granted. It’s actually kind of dark and scary and violent. Just because the protagonists are rabbits doesn’t mean it’s something sweet and fuzzy. Rabbits are prey to pretty much every, other animal, and this book deals with that in spades. You read it. You’d like it. But don’t give it to your kids.

Final Rating

5/5 show less

Most reviews I write just for the hell of it, for my own records and if some people like them I am just happy as a lark. For Watership Down however, I am just a little bit more ambitious. I would like to convince people who feel averse to reading a novel for children about rabbits to drop their preconception and give this book a chance. This is not a book about cute little bunnies running around eating carrots and being adorable 24/7. This is one of the most badass books I have ever read, and I have read books by [a:Joe Abercrombie|276660|Joe Abercrombie|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1421267339p2/276660.jpg] and [a:George R.R. Martin|346732|George R.R. Martin|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1351944410p2/346732.jpg]. More importantly show more this is simply one of the all time great reads (in my humble estimation of course) that will stay with the readers for the rest of their days. Why, I have a memory like a sieve and I still remember it after all these years (OK, I have just reread it so that helps!)

It all starts with a psychic bunny (stop laughing back there!) called Fiver who has a vague premonition of impending death and destruction coming to his warren. He convinces his best friend Hazel and a few other rabbits to leave the warren for a safer place to live (their attempt to start a total evacuation is quickly nixed by the Chief Rabbit). The first half of the book tells the story of the rabbit motley crew’s (or mötley crüe if you prefer) difficult journey from their warren to find a safe location to start a new warren. The second half is about their defence of their new warren against an older bigger warren ruled by a despotic dictator called Woundwort who is something of a monstrous mutant mega rabbit. Interspersed between the chapters are charming and wonderful folk tales about the adventures of a legendary hero called El-ahrairah.

Plot, world building and characterisation are brilliantly balanced in this book. Even at almost 500 pages there is never a dull moment. Those looking for action adventures should really check out this book. There are hair raising chase scenes, espionage scenes, interspecies alliances, and a bloody fight scene that should be read with Survivor’s "Eye of the Tiger" playing in the background. On the characterisation side it is worth noting that the rabbits in this book are not anthropomorphized animals, they do not wear clothes, drive cars, watch TV etc. Yet there is also much humanity in their rabbitry, they can be compassionate, loving, kind, cruel, egotistical, melancholy etc. These humans traits are believably portrayed as rabbit traits through the incredible talent of Richard Adams. The prose is absolutely beautiful with wonderful metaphors like “an indestructible flood of rabbitry”. I can pick a great passage out of almost every page. Here is one awe-inspiring example:

Many human beings say that they enjoy the winter, but what they really enjoy is feeling proof against it. For them there is no winter food problem. They have fires and warm clothes. The winter cannot hurt them and therefore increases their sense of cleverness and security. For birds and animals, as for poor men, winter is another matter.

To further distinguish rabbits from other species a little neologism is employed throughout the book, most of the words can be understood from the context they are used, if you want some extra help with these you can check out this Lapine_Glossary. You can even gloss over them without missing a beat of the book.

Reading this book is a little like taking a magic potion and transforming into a wee rabbit. I am not normally all that interested in cute animals but after reading this book I really developed a huge respect for these little guys, the odds are really stacked against them yet they manage to survive and even thrive. Even though the book was written primarily for children, it is certainly sophisticated enough to be enjoyed by adults. I certainly prefer it to all the YA books I have read.

Definitely worth more stars than the Goodreads system can accommodate. show less

THIS IS A REVIEW OF THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION

BOOK DESCRIPTION
A small group of rabbits leave their warren in the English countryside when one of them (a small rabbit named Fiver who has the gift of prophecy) foresees bad things on the horizon. The book chronicles their adventures as they seek a place to build a new warren. Under the leadership of Hazel, the band of rabbits faces many obstacles—from how to cross a river to the lack of does to the penultimate battle with a warren run by the evil General Woundwart.

MY THOUGHTS
I cannot believe that I didn’t read this book until this year!! Originally published in 1972, Watership Down has been sitting out there my entire life and yet it took me until 2012 to read it. All I ever knew was that show more it was a book about rabbits. The simplistic book description is also deceiving. Yet it took only an hour of listening for me to realize that I was in the presence of greatness—a true 5 star read. Watership Down was an incredibly satisfying, rich and magical reading experience—the kind of book that transcends age and time. In my opinion, it deserves a place on the list of best books of all time, and it certainly has earned a place on my list of all-time favorite books.

What makes the book so satisfying is that it works on multiple levels and that Adams strikes the perfect balance between reality and magic. Not only will the book satisfy children looking for a gripping adventure tale and rabbit folklore (the book grew out of a series of stories that Adams told his daughters), it will also satisfy an adult reader, with the rich personalities of the rabbits (we all have a Big Wig in our lives, I’m sure) and how well the rabbits’ lives translate into our human lives. Although Adams talks in the introduction about how the book is not an allegory, it is not difficult to see the differences between the leadership approaches of Hazel and General Woundwart.

Perhaps the best choice that Adams made is that, although these are talking rabbits, he makes them grounded in reality. In the introduction, Adams talks about how he never has his rabbits do anything that a real rabbit wouldn’t do. These are not rabbits who build little houses and wear clothes like Peter Cottontail. They are wild and natural rabbits and they live as such. When faced with an obstacle such as how to cross a river, they come up with a solution that felt realistic, plausible and yet seemed like a huge leap of logic for a rabbit, which is why Blackberry (the “smart one”) had to come up with it.

Adams even gives the rabbits their own language (Lapine), which I found myself easily adopting. (Their word for tractor or car is hrududu, which, when pronounced by an awesome reader like Ralph Casham, sounds just like a vehicle engine as interpreted by an animal.) It became commonplace to hear words like silflay (going aboveground to feed) and know exactly what they meant.

Another wondrous touch was the rich folklore and mythology that Adams creates for the rabbits. One of the ways the rabbits keep their spirits up and adapt to their surroundings is by repeating the stories of El-Ahrairah, one of the first rabbits, whose exploits and trickery are woven throughout the book. I adored these stories about El-Ahrairah and enjoyed seeing how the rabbits would adapt the story to their present situation.

The other thing I loved about this book was that Adams doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of life. The rabbits face real danger, including death and injury. Yet these moments are leavened by moments of triumph, peace and sweetness. There were also moments of comic relief (the pidgin talk of the gull Keehar and Big Wig’s take on the world just tickled me). In addition, Adams writes one of the most beautiful and satisfying death scenes I’ve ever read in literature.

Nothing I can write can really capture how wondrous and satisfying and pleasing this book was. If you’ve not read it yet, please get a copy (either in print or on audiobook) and read it as soon as possible. You don’t want to miss this book like I almost did. It is brilliant on so many levels, and I applaud Adams for creating such a wondrous work of literature that hits all the right notes.

ABOUT THE NARRATION
Ralph Cosham was the narrator I listened to, and he was pitch perfect. He captured the voices of each character perfectly—from Pipken’s timidity to Big Wig’s warm-hearted bluster. At 15+ hours, this was relatively long listen but I never once tired of it and could not wait to immerse myself in this world over and over again. It was with a real sense of loss that I finished this book.

RECOMMENDED FOR
This is as perfect as a book can get and I recommend it to everyone. If you haven’t read it yet, I strongly urge you to do so. I shall definitely be reading/listening to this one again, and I cannot wait for my son to be ready for it. show less

This is my second reading. The first was in 7th grade over 40 years ago when I read the entire book in a single long day. I don't remember any of it so decided to try again a bit slower. Of course it is a classic thus 5 stars. It's heavily influenced by The Hobbit which Adams said it was - the world building, language, history, epic scale, fantasy, quest stories.(It's not nearly as well written as the Hobbit.) Both are the products of wartime experiences. They offer a lesson of learning to work together with other animals/creatures/people outside your home community/country/species for a collective goal of peace and prosperity. It's kind of old-fashioned in a socialist way, no accident the bad guys have fascist overtones. These books show more can't escape the context of the times or authors. Still, they are powerfully imaginative and influential. Unlike The Hobbit, there is a good chance I'll never read it again, but happy to have had two while young and sort of old. show less

This second reading -- perhaps 35 years after the first and prompted by a Netherland Dwarf doe joining the family -- as good as I dared hope. That's rare & fine, though I seldom revisit even favourite books.

Of my first reading, I recollect only being strongly impressed by a quality superior to my usual novels, and that the plot was a journey prompted by Fiver's vague premonitions of danger. This second reading affirms the literary achievement, it's a compelling story and notable as well for the naturalist's observations, the peek into the rabbit's social community, and the beguiling narrative voice.

About that voice: Adams gently addresses the reader but avoids infantilising, uses invented lapine mythology and language yet remains a show more human observer. Placenames are human (which the rabbits could never know and so never use), but apart from the map and the narrator noting arrivals and departures, landscape descriptions are from a cunicular perspective, not human.

This reading (and I recall, my first) had a very strong sentimental dimension. It's not clear precisely why, though that may sound daft to anyone not having read it: "Anthropomorphic rabbits looking for a home and escaping danger, what's surprising about the sentimentality?!" It's not that sort of sentimentality, though. The experience is more akin to reading myth or capturing the finer aspects of social good, friendship, and a sense of beneficent nature. I'm reminded of my intention to read more deeply into Hutcheson's arguments regarding moral sentiment, and related aspects of the Scottish Enlightenment.

Watership Down is an example of incredibly efficient storytelling, especially the first third. So much happens in very few pages, yet the pacing is never crazed nor the plot labyrinthine. Revisiting the characters and especially, the world they live in, was so pleasing I'm uncertain whether I should continue with the series (which unusually I never did when originally reading the novel), or leave it on the shelf for another visit in ten years' time. show less

I had this tattered old book on my shelf for years, after obtaining it after my primary school library was being cleared out. About 10 years later, at the age of 19 I decided to read it. I was expecting this book to be more aimed at children than anything, but the writing is truly first class, and I would recommend this book to anyone of any age. It made me think, (like some adult books don't even try to), and the rabbits were conveyed in a way that made them identifiable with, yet I wouldn't say humanised, as they are characterised so well as rabbits. I didn't imagine them as human to understand it, I imagined myself as a rabbit, in the brilliant rabbit world created by the author. Some of the themes dealt with were surprisingly dark, show more compared to what I was expecting, and this leaves the book the better rounded for it. I tried to think of other books written from the point of view of an animal, and couldn't name any, I imagine that this is because authors know they cannot match this excellent book. show less

This book was read to our class by my fourth grade teacher, and I had such fond memories that I was afraid to go near it again. I did finally begin reading it to my son recently, and was soon racing to the finish on my own. It is just that good, then and now. Richard Adams captured an animal's perspective in a manner that I think stands as the model for all time and against which many, many others pale. There's of course some personification that stretches credibility, but these rabbits don't wear clothes or smoke pipes, etc. They live as real rabbits do. The author built a world around them that coincides with the world we know, but drawn from the rabbits' perspective in a most convincing way that feels more immediate than artificial. show more For added depth he grants them a mythology, and these myths alone are worth the cost of admission, a key ingredient that hung in my memory and lived up to it again. The rabbits are as well drawn as human characters and their lives become yours, for the space of time that you spend between the covers. The threats they face are real, and there is often violence to contend with; this is no gentle pastoral that a teenage boy could sneer at. It's a novel that commands respect. To top it all, it has one of the best endings ever written. I knew precisely what was coming and it still got to me again even so (perhaps even more so, with the years behind me), the kind you have to pause over afterwards before starting another. Read it and read it again. show less