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Watership Down by Richard George Adams
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Watership Down (original 1972; edition 1974)

by Richard George Adams

Series: Watership Down (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
24,768472137 (4.21)5 / 907
Classic Literature. Fantasy. Young Adult Fiction. HTML:

Fiver could sense danger. Something terrible was going to happen to the warren; he felt sure of it. They had to leave immediately. So begins a long and perilous journey of survival for a small band of rabbits. As the rabbits skirt danger at every turn, we become acquainted with the band, its humorous characters and its compelling culture, complete with its own folk history and mythos. Fiver's vision finally leads them to Watership Down, an upland meadow. But here they face their most difficult challenges of all.

A stirring epic of courage and survival against the odds, Watership Down has become a beloved classic for all ages. Both an exciting adventure story and an involving allegory about freedom, ethics, and human nature, it has delighted generations with its unique and charming world, winning many awards and being adapted to film, television, and theater.

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… (more)
Member:Inkthief
Title:Watership Down
Authors:Richard George Adams
Info:Penguin (1974), Mass Market Paperback
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:None

Work Information

Watership Down by Richard Adams (1972)

  1. 2511
    Redwall by Brian Jacques (Alliebadger)
    Alliebadger: Both wonderful stories about woodland animals that are good reads for young people, yet with so much more meaning to older readers.
  2. 122
    Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien (bookel)
  3. 71
    Duncton Wood by William Horwood (bookel)
  4. 61
    Beak of the Moon by Philip Temple (Aquila)
    Aquila: Similar quest story about keas (NZ's alpine parrots) but very much its own book.
  5. 72
    The White Bone by Barbara Gowdy (kelsoli)
    kelsoli: A survival quest about elephants.
  6. 85
    Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann (Bcteagirl)
    Bcteagirl: Adventure from the point of view of animals written for adults! A group of sheep discover that their shepherd has been murdered and decide they will have to find the culprit themselves. I loved this book :)
  7. 31
    Urchin of the Riding Stars by M. I. McAllister (al.vick)
  8. 31
    Frost Dancers by Garry Kilworth (peptastic)
    peptastic: It's about hares trying to find a new home after being plucked for hare racing.
  9. 32
    Empire of the Ants by Bernard Werber (guyalice)
  10. 10
    Journeys to the Heartland by William Horwood (Vonini)
    Vonini: Likewise a book about a group of animals on a journey told from the animal point of view.
  11. 10
    The Cold Moons by Aeron Clement (J.Sealy)
  12. 65
    We3 by Grant Morrison (kristenn, questionablepotato)
  13. 21
    The Bees by Laline Paull (unlucky)
  14. 10
    Jennie by Paul Gallico (Cecrow)
  15. 21
    Fifteen Rabbits by Felix Salten (bookel)
  16. 21
    The Battle for Beaver Lake by Geoffrey Malone (bookel)
  17. 10
    The Song of Pentecost by W. J. Corbett (bookel)
  18. 22
    Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams (Cecrow)
  19. 66
    The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (aethercowboy)
    aethercowboy: Two great examples of fine English fantasy.
  20. 00
    Fifteen Dogs: An Apologue by André Alexis (Cecrow)

(see all 39 recommendations)

1970s (1)
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» See also 907 mentions

English (451)  Spanish (5)  Italian (4)  Finnish (4)  French (2)  Dutch (2)  Czech (1)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  German (1)  All languages (471)
Showing 1-5 of 451 (next | show all)
I've had this book on my "want to read" list for well over 5 years and am SO GLAD I finally read it! It has a similar feel to Brian Jacques "Redwall" series and Kenneth Grahams "The Wind in the Willows", which are two of my other favorite stories. This book is lyrically written, has some of the most fascinating and lovable characters, and is just flat out engrossing. Somehow it reads like both a folktale and an adventure story, blended together seamlessly.
I read the author's forward and particularly took liking to the fact that he said that "Watership Down was never intended to be some sort of allegory or parable. It is simply the story about rabbits made up and told in the car." The fact that Adams wrote this for the purpose of entertaining his children and not providing some big, hidden narrative just really makes me like this book even more.
Without a doubt I'll be buying my own copy of this and rereading it in the future.
(Also I just want to be honest and say I literally cried like three times while reading this. Yeah, I'm a woman in my twenties crying over fictional rabbits. It be like that sometimes. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ ) ( )
  deborahee | Feb 23, 2024 |
This story about human struggle in an epic quest is disguised as a children’s book about rabbits. In his introduction, author Richard Adams says that this work began as a series of stories he spun for his daughters, but it is far deeper and more complicated than that. Nevertheless, it is certainly still a story for children, at least with some parental guidance. Adams imagines a rabbit language, which he calls lapine, although it is used sparingly, and there is a great emphasis on storytelling throughout. Memorable characters abound, from the visionary Fiver, the wise Hazel, the fearless Bigwig, to the violent General Woundwort, and these rabbits infused with human consciousness and some primal need for heroic stories full of acts of bravery, purpose, and honor. ( )
  bschweiger | Feb 4, 2024 |
Independent Reading Level: 4th-5th Grade
Awards: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee (1975), Guardian Children's Fiction Prize (1973), Audie Award Nominee for Best Male Narrator (2020), Boston Globe-Horn Book Award (1975), California Young Readers Medal for Young Adult (1977), Carnegie Medal (1972)
  isabelcleveland | Dec 6, 2023 |
A delightful book, even better the second time around.

This classic tale has something relatable for everyone. While yes the characters are rabbits, the overall tale is one that can easily be applied to people as far as a tale of survival and perseverance.

The story shows the resilience and determination. Sensing danger a brave group dares to set out and build a new home. Just as many refugees, the rabbits have their struggles yet their legends and myths help guide them and by sticking together they succeed.

There are lessons throughout this book that can teach us all something. ( )
  TiffanyCutshall | Dec 3, 2023 |
Entertaining, but surprisingly gruesome. Hard to believe he wrote this for his daughters given his consistent disparagement of the rabbit does.
  FKarr | Nov 29, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 451 (next | show all)
Watership Down offers little to build a literary cult upon. On the American-whimsy exchange, one Tolkien hobbit should still be worth a dozen talking rabbits.
added by Shortride | editTime, Melvin Maddocks (Mar 18, 1974)
 
This bunny-rabbit novel not only steers mostly clear of the usual sticky, anthropomorphic pitfalls of your common garden-variety of bunny rabbit story: it is also quite marvelous for a while, and after it stops being marvelous, it settles down to be pretty good- a book you can live with from start to finish.
 
It simply isn't possible. At this date, you cannot write a story about rabbits, 413 pages long, and hold a reader riveted. But Richard Adams has done exactly that in Watership Down (Rex Collings, £3.50). This is a great book, establishing a more than plausible and totally fascinating psychology and physiology for its rabbits, together with their own mythology and language. It sounds formidable, perhaps; yet what one's aware of, reading, is a story of the most exciting kind, remaining taut over all those pages. It's set in a precise part of Berkshire (map provided) – the hejira of a group of rabbits who accept a clairvoyant companion’s prophecy that their warren will be destroyed; their establishment of a new home and their search for mates – this leading to war with a warren ruled by the protectively totalitarian General Woundwort. A whole world is created, perfectly real in itself, yet constituting a deep incidental comment on human affairs.
added by Cynfelyn | editThe Guardian, Peter Parker (Dec 7, 1972)
 

» Add other authors (14 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Adams, Richardprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Baynes, PaulineCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Capaldi, PeterNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Cosham, RalphNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Fullbrook III, JohnDesignersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Galli, AldoIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hallqvist, Britt G.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hemmett, MarilynCartographersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Juva, KerstiTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lawrence, JohnIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Paolini, Pier FrancescoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Parkins, DavidIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pekkanen, PanuTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rostant, LarryCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Schuchart, MaxTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Strohm, EgonTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Tucker, NicholasAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Webb, KayeEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

Awards

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Original title
Alternative titles
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People/Characters
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Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Master Rabbit I saw
Walter de la Mare
Dedication
To
Juliet and Rosamond,
remembering
the road to Stratford-on-Avon
First words
The primroses were over.
Quotations
"Who wants to hear about brave deeds when he's ashamed of his own, and who likes an open, honest tale from someone he's deceiving?"
"A rabbit who does not know when a gift has made him safe is poorer than a slug, even though he may think otherwise himself."
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC
Classic Literature. Fantasy. Young Adult Fiction. HTML:

Fiver could sense danger. Something terrible was going to happen to the warren; he felt sure of it. They had to leave immediately. So begins a long and perilous journey of survival for a small band of rabbits. As the rabbits skirt danger at every turn, we become acquainted with the band, its humorous characters and its compelling culture, complete with its own folk history and mythos. Fiver's vision finally leads them to Watership Down, an upland meadow. But here they face their most difficult challenges of all.

A stirring epic of courage and survival against the odds, Watership Down has become a beloved classic for all ages. Both an exciting adventure story and an involving allegory about freedom, ethics, and human nature, it has delighted generations with its unique and charming world, winning many awards and being adapted to film, television, and theater.

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No library descriptions found.

Book description
AR 6.2, Pts 25.0

Fiver could sense danger. Something terrible was going to happen to the warren – he felt sure of it. So did his brother Hazel, for Fiver’s sixth sense was never wrong. They had to leave immediately, and they had to persuade the other rabbits to join them. And so begins a long and perilous journey of a small band of rabbits in search of a safe home. Fiver’s vision finally leads them to Watership Down, but here they face their most difficult challenge of all.
FI:"Viikka ja Vatukka, Voikukka ja Mansikka, Pähkinä ja Hopea ja muut kanit, Ruohometsän koko unohtumaton kansa tässä elokuvassa, joka on valloittanut maailman. Kertomus pikkukanien uhkraohkeasta pakomatkasta ihmisten jaloista kohti uutta, turvallista kotiseutua - on tarina kaikenikäisille. Jännittävä, liikuttava ja tiemastuttava koko perheen elokuva, jonka suosiosta kertovat myös monet suuret kansainväliset palkinnot."
Haiku summary
Rabbits find a home.
They find others on the way
and fight to stay safe.
(marcusbrutus)

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Average: (4.21)
0.5 6
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1.5 10
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Penguin Australia

2 editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia.

Editions: 0241953235, 0141341939

 

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