Watership Down
Title: Watership Down
Author: Richard Adams
Pages: 496
Yearly Count b: 66
Awards: Carnegie Medal in 1972 , Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 1973. In The Big Read, a 2003 survey of the British public, it was voted the forty-second greatest book of all time.
A classic, no question. I have read Watership Down twice, and both times I finished with the same conclusion, insane good. Watership Down is the tale of a group of unlikely rabbits who escape death because of the premonition of one unwavering Fiver (a small but very competent rabbit). The group learns of the destruction of their colony and becomes a wandering group of rabbits, keen on finding a home of their own, females to increase population and overcome numerous enemy rabbits.
Hazel, the leader is by far my favourite rabbit, however Bigwig is a close second. I had no idea that rabbits were so complex, that they talked to each other, and told stories of ancient god rabbits! :) If you are under any impression that this book has anything to do with a kids book, or warm fuzzies or dumbed down prose you are stinkin' mistaken. I read this with a book club of women and long before half way NONE of us even remembered that we were reading about rabbits! You see, Richard Adams writes of warriors in rabbit costumes, heroes with long fuzzy ears and little pink noses. There is nothing bunny about Watership Down. Nada.Watership down reads much like an adventure novel, however the writing is excellent and the interwoven plot is sublime.
Watership Down receives my own Stellar Five Chicken Book Award....clucking away about this classic!
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I (adoringly) HEART—>
October 11th, 2008 - 15:07
I read this years ago and came away from it loving it. It’s on my all time favorite books list.
Must reread….
October 11th, 2008 - 16:12
Gosh…it has been years since I read this book…I remember that I loved it! I am going to see if I can pick it up from the library! Thanks…
October 11th, 2008 - 16:31
I’d seen the cartoon when I was little, and I remember it terrifying me – all of those bunnies in danger and dying! I finally read the book about five years ago and yup, loved it.
October 11th, 2008 - 19:18
my least favorite high school English teacher assigned this as summer reading, and while I remember not particularly liking it, I also remember that it wasn’t as painful as I’d expected.
and even though I’m probably basing my dislike of the book on my dislike of that teacher, I have no desire to revisit this book.
October 11th, 2008 - 21:53
debnance-me too!!! yes, this would be on my all time fave list for sure.
ronda’s rants- Oh, I thought it was so much better the second time!! I missed tons of stuff in my first reading.
fyrefly- I really should watch some sort of film of Watership….I see there have been a couple of them! :)
jena- that is too bad that that teacher was allowed to ruin something so neat.bummer.
October 11th, 2008 - 21:59
Oh!! It sounds AWESOME.
I am hunting for a copy of it right away :o)
Thanks Bethany, I really want to read this book :)
October 11th, 2008 - 22:01
veens- oh, I hope you love it too!! It is an exciting book. Let me know what you think of it!!! I am so glad you are going to read it. :)
October 12th, 2008 - 06:25
aha…
seems like good…
would try n hunt for it…
October 12th, 2008 - 13:14
I’ve never read this book but I’ve always meant to!
October 12th, 2008 - 17:15
I’ve never heard of this book but the way you describe it makes me think I need to check it out. Thanks for one more to add to the list Bethany. lol. I like the cover too although it seems to contradict the adventure story you describe withing it’s pages as it looks quite peaceful.
October 14th, 2008 - 00:29
I also read this book many years ago and loved it. It’s about rabbits but it could just as easily be about people, I remember some of the story as being quite tragic.
October 24th, 2008 - 16:53
Is it bad that I’ve never heard of this book? :O Sounds interesting, though.
–Anna
Diary of an Eccentric
March 28th, 2009 - 13:01
This is one of my all-time favorite books. I wrote about it way back when my blog was new, here.
November 13th, 2009 - 12:20
very grateful to Richard Adams for this wonderful gift, I read it twice 25 years ago and hoped one day I might read it to my kids as i heard Adams did to his daughters, i now have 2 daugthers and recently bought a copy and am reading it to them,all the wonderful characters are coming back to life… fab!