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Watership Down (Watership Down)

4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 · rating details · 154,194 ratings · 5,936 reviews

A phenomenal worldwide bestseller for over thirty years, Richard Adam's Watership Down is a timeless classic and one of the most beloved novels of all time.

Set in England's Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destructi...more

Paperback, 476 pages

Published November 1st 2005 by Scribner (first published November 1972)

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Jul 15, 2007 Rico Suave rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people, rabbits, not for sailors.

Shelves: ricosbooks

oh man, this book totally tricked me! I got a bad haircut one day so I needed to lay low for a few weeks ("Supercuts", my ass! Liars!). I called two of my hardest, most straight-up thug homies (Zachary and Dustin) to bring me some of their books and this was one of them. I had just watched a show on A&E about WWII naval battles so I couldn't WAIT to read Watership Down! I love sea stories, "man overboard!" and "off the port bow!" and "aye aye cap'n!" all that stuff so I pulled my hat down an...more

538 likes · like · see review

Sep 01, 2007 John rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People who like a good story or who have a vague interest in rabbits

Shelves: favorites

Ok, so it's a book about a bunch of rabbits traveling through a small stretch of English countryside. As such, it doesn't seem like something that would appeal to anyone but a preteen. But the fact of the matter is this is a great story, full of rich characters, a deep (if occasionally erroneous) understanding of things lapine, and it can reach moments of depth and profundity that the movie of the same title does not even begin to hint at. I was actually introduced to this book in one of the bes...more Ok, so it's a book about a bunch of rabbits traveling through a small stretch of English countryside. As such, it doesn't seem like something that would appeal to anyone but a preteen. But the fact of the matter is this is a great story, full of rich characters, a deep (if occasionally erroneous) understanding of things lapine, and it can reach moments of depth and profundity that the movie of the same title does not even begin to hint at. I was actually introduced to this book in one of the best ways I can imagine: a friend recorded the entire book on tape, and for a couple months I played the tapes of her reading a chapter or two just before I fell asleep each night. My slow exposure to the book under ideal circumstances may have influenced my perceptions, but I can say on each subsequent rereading of the book I've come to appreciate it more. You can read the book just for the story: apparently, the author wrote the book from stories he would tell his children, and it still can easily serve that purpose. But the richness of his characters lead to many interesting analogies to human life. For instance, from Hazel you can learn profound things about leadership. Throughout the book you feel that Hazel is the natural-born leader of his group of rabbits, but Richard Adams was very careful to develop this impression through character features rather than power-relations. The contrast is clearly intentional since the other leaders of the book achieve leadership status through very different means. Many people think the book takes a strong stance against a particular kind of authoritarian rule, but it is important to recognize the book gives this impression not through structured diatribe or through argument, but rather it evolves out of character considerations, and out of the story itself. This means that the result is far more complex than a simple argument. For instance, although General Woundwort may be seen as the main enemy that Hazel has to deal with, and the authoritarian rabbit is portrayed rather negatively at times, Adams quite intentionally adds some details that make him admirable to the other rabbits, even to the very end. A diatribe would not be so complex. Fiver is another great character. He adds an element of magic to the story, and it allows Adams to link the rabbits he describes to a mythical world that enters into the story quite frequently. One can almost see Fiver as a manifestation of imagination in this world. Big-wig is another likable character, and the story of this rabbits experience in Efrafa is one of the highlights of the story. Besides the characters, the descriptions of England are also quite acute. You can actually track the course of the rabbits on maps, since Adams was careful to describe real places and things. That attention to detail is often missed in reviews of this book. Finally, the thing that brings all these features together and makes the book more than a mere story, or an account of human characters, or a diatribe against fascism, is the fact that Adams is quite conscious of the fact that he is telling the story from the perspective of rabbits. The challenges they face are rabbit-sized, the ideas about the external world are rabbitlike, the philosophical insights seem rabbitized, and Adams brings many of our anthropomorphized ideas of rabbits together with the reality of rabbits in a surprisingly coherent fashion. I suppose the book can be seen as a cultural study of an imaginatively rich but realistic rabbit world. I realize as I write this review that many other readers may not feel the same way about the book as I do. It does have some shortcomings. For instance, female characters only make a few appearances in the book, although I think Adams does show some sensitivity in their depictions. But, even with the limitations, I would recommend the book to anyone who likes a good story and who is willing to think deeply about a children's story.(less)

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Sep 17, 2012 Terry rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, fantasy

I think there are generally two classes of people when it comes to this book: those who see beyond the surface and love it, and those who just don't get it and wonder how anyone can praise a silly book about talking rabbits.

Given my rating of it, I obviously fall into the former group. On the surface this is an engaging tale about a group of outcast rabbits who leave their warren at the promptings of one of their fellows who is able to foresee a great catastrophe on the horizon. Their adventures...more I think there are generally two classes of people when it comes to this book: those who see beyond the surface and love it, and those who just don't get it and wonder how anyone can praise a silly book about talking rabbits.

Given my rating of it, I obviously fall into the former group. On the surface this is an engaging tale about a group of outcast rabbits who leave their warren at the promptings of one of their fellows who is able to foresee a great catastrophe on the horizon. Their adventures are varied and engaging, both while they trek to the place they will eventually call home (the eponymous Watership Down), and as they attempt to search for does to help re-populate their new warren from the militaristic Efrafa.

Adams does a neat trick in dealing with his rabbit characters. They are not quite humans and the way they try to puzzle out the world around them in a very animal-like way makes them more than just people in bunny-suits, though at the same time they are human-like, and varied, enough to engage the reader. They have their own language (with words and concepts derived from their understanding of the world), and perhaps most engagingly, they tell stories and myths based on their beloved folk-hero El-ahrairah. These stories, peppered throughout the book as chapters, are some of the most enjoyable parts of the tale and add a depth and interest to the rabbits and their 'culture' that is very endearing.

The rabbits themselves fill certain archetypal roles (the leader, the warrior, the seer, the scientist, the villain) while at the same time retaining individual characters and even developing as the story progresses. This is definitely not a children's story of 'fluffy wabbits' even if only taken at surface level; and when looked at below the surface it is a satisfying and fulfilling tale well worthy of the title "classic".

Re-read, September, 2012: Yup, this is still a fantastic read. Man, that ending always gets me *sniff*. I think what really makes this story sing are the layers. Everything builds on all that came before it, whether it's plot, character, or theme. We grow to love a group of characters that may at first have seemed rather silly and what had started out as a simple here-to-there quest turns into, for me at least, something much more. Oh and one other thing: Bigwig is the man, his last stand against Woundwort is an amazing moment, but there's a reason why Hazel was Chief Rabbit.(less)

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Jul 02, 2012 Jeffrey Keeten rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"El-ahrairah, your people cannot rule the world, for I will not have it so. All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed."

When Fiver, a seer, is overcome with a vivid dream of mass destruction. He tries to convince the rabbits in charge of the validity of his vision. The...more

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Sep 17, 2010 Mariel rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: let's pretend we're bunny rabbits. we'll do it all day long

Recommended to Mariel by: Harvey

Watership Down is not a children's book. It's a everyman's book. Every animal, too. (Anyone with a pulse and a beating heart that gives a shit about what is around them.) There's a lovely intro in a newer edition about how he "wrote" it with his children (the stories started out a spur-of-the-moment thing when prompted to tell them a story). It's meant to be interactive in a makes you think and makes you feel way. I certainly lose myself in this world whenever I reread (it's funny how quickly I...more Watership Down is not a children's book. It's a everyman's book. Every animal, too. (Anyone with a pulse and a beating heart that gives a shit about what is around them.) There's a lovely intro in a newer edition about how he "wrote" it with his children (the stories started out a spur-of-the-moment thing when prompted to tell them a story). It's meant to be interactive in a makes you think and makes you feel way. I certainly lose myself in this world whenever I reread (it's funny how quickly I can disassociate with the dangerous men). I did not get the impression that he disrespected his kid's input in any way either. They were his first listeners (as all past and future readers are, as well). The age of the reader is moot, just as the species of the characters is.
I found fascinating also how Adams researched how rabbits really behave, to keep it as close to their true natures as possible. Respect, again.
I feel the point of those efforts was dignity. One of the many things that Watership Down is about is the right to live with dignity.
Aren't some things what everyone could still use at any time? What is too much to pay for freedom? What is the cost of ignoring atrocities because it makes things easier for you (sounds like world affairs for like always)? Love, brotherhood, government, spirituality, what you need to hold on, adventure (Watership Down is also one of my favorite adventure stories), self respect. If you care about the essentials for another, then how can Watership Down ONLY be for one thing? How is giving a shit for kids only?
I'm not sure why the kid statements bother me (other than just being wrong). Maybe I feel it is meant to take away dignity from those rabbits. Put a genus tag on the book and file it away for the past.
Maybe it's the feeling of wonder before cynicism can kick in. But I was always cynical! Hard on the inside and soft on the outside like Paul McCartney. Or hard on the outside and soft on the inside like John Lennon. Hell, people are more complex than that. (So are rabbits!) Something else Watership Down has in no short supply is magic.
Because the world is bigger for them. It's easy to forget that it is still big when you get bigger.

(less)

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Apr 16, 2012 Lyndz rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mypod-audiobook, reviewed

I started this book about 2 months ago, got through the first 10 pages or so and I was not interested in continuing. I put it down. In all honesty, it seemed like it was going to be too babyish for me. I mean come on, bunnies though? Seriously?

About a week ago I got to a point where I didn’t have anything else to read so there I was, staring pensively at my obese bookshelf, thinking about reading Lord of the Rings for the 12th time, when I noticed Watership Down poking its cute little bunny fac...more

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Feb 20, 2009 Manny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: story-review

It's got nothing much to do with this book, but I want to tell my rabbit story. Feel free to disbelieve me if you must, but it's actually true. I know the person it happened to quite well, though I have changed names and other particulars in order to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent.

So, many years ago, my friend (let's call her Mary) used to have a dog (let's call him Rover). She lived next door to a family whose five year old girl (let's call her Anna) had a rabbit (let's call him Fluff...more It's got nothing much to do with this book, but I want to tell my rabbit story. Feel free to disbelieve me if you must, but it's actually true. I know the person it happened to quite well, though I have changed names and other particulars in order to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent.

So, many years ago, my friend (let's call her Mary) used to have a dog (let's call him Rover). She lived next door to a family whose five year old girl (let's call her Anna) had a rabbit (let's call him Fluffy). Anna was extremely fond of Fluffy, and spent a lot time playing with him, feeding him lettuce, and doing other stuff five year old girls do with their pet rabbits.

One weekend, Anna's family were going off for a day to visit relatives. They had only been gone an hour or two when Mary's little sister bursts into her bedroom, close to hysterical. OMG, OMG, Rover has killed Fluffy! Mary comes downstairs, and it's true. There's Rover, looking very pleased with himself, and there's Fluffy. He's not just stone-cold dead, but Rover has for some reason dragged him home through the dirt, rather than carrying him carefully in his jaws the way dogs usually do. He's a total mess.

So for a moment both girls are indeed pretty hysterical, but then Mary calms down. She can see a way out of this. They take Fluffy's corpse back to Mary's room, and get out a bowl of warm water, shampoo and a blow-drier. They do a pretty good job of cleaning him up, so he looks more or less presentable. Late at night, they sneak out with a flashlight and put him back in his hutch. They figure that with a little luck they've got away with it.

The next day, the neighbors come back. Shortly afterwards, the doorbell rings. It's Anna's father, who looks like he's near to losing it altogether. At first he can hardly speak, he's so angry, and then he explains what's happened. They were just going to leave, he says, and Anna had gone out for a last check on Fluffy. She'd found him dead, and was, predictably, heart-broken. Despite everything, she'd insisted that they go and bury him properly at once, which they'd done. And then... while they were away... some bastard, some sick fuck had gone and dug up poor Fluffy! and put him back in his hutch!! How could anyone do such a thing!!!

My friend told me she'd looked him in the eye and said she couldn't understand that either, and it was the hardest thing she'd ever done.

*********************************************************

I just got mail from Eric_W, who pointed out that a variant of this story is described as an urban legend at http://www.snopes.com/horrors/gruesom...

I heard this story from my friend, who is very reliable, early in 1987, which predates any of the references quoted... the Snopes article claims it started circulating the following year. I believe my friend's account, and I think she actually is the original source!
(less)

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Apr 11, 2013 Kathleen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, fantasy-scifi, reviewed, childrens, display, audio

For the love of lagomorphs, who live each day on the edge. I listened to this fantastical, action-packed and emotionally charged story on an app by Blackstone Audio, for $9.99. The narrator is Ralph Cosham, a British journalist who changed career in favor of theater. Nicely done narration.

I liked it so much I listened again. Then bought the book and read it. Again and again. In parts and in whole.

For children? The book is classified as adolescent literature, but like the Harry Potter series, it...more

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Jun 27, 2011 Joel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: BUNNIES!

Shelves: classics, favorites, personal-collection, grade-school-books, seen-on-film, 30-day-book-challenge

If you made a Venn Diagram of the longest books I read as a pre-teen and the books I reread the most, this one would be smack dab in the middle. I've read it at least five times, which is a lot for me, and listened to the audiobook more than once on family road trips.

Despite the fact that the story is deeply silly on the face of it (a bunch of rabbits move from one field to another... wow, what an adventure...), it's actually pretty thrilling. A soothsaying crazy rabbit has visions of a rabbit d...more

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Aug 23, 2007 John rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone

It was the summer of 1986 when, rumaging through the long unused bedrooms of my grandfather's house, I stumbled upon the book Watership Down. At twelve, I was at that wonderful age when any book was a source of fascination rather than embarrassment, and so I sat upon my uncle's old bed and, in the dusty sunlight streaming through the window, began to read a book which would stay with me years later.

Fiver, a small and nervous rabbit, is plaugued by visions of the coming destruction of Sandleford...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Devlin Scott rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-recommendations, the-path-to-wisdom, banned-books-challenge-2012

Fiver is a rabbit. He has premonitions. Hazel, his older brother, listens to him. A handful of the other rabbits in the warren listen to Hazel. Thus begins an amazing journey as some of the rabbits pay heed to Fiver’s warning of impending doom and seek out a new home. Along the way you will learn about rabbit life and history. You will hear many great stories about rabbit cunning as they recite the ancient fables and stories of their gods. You will enjoy their exploits, revel in their triumphs a...more

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Apr 12, 2009 Kirsty (Blatant Biblioholic) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, young-adult, classics, favourites

Well... who knew that the life of rabbits could be so engrossing?!

This book was a joy to read. The author used beautiful imagery to the point where I could imagine every little detail of the scenery and surroundings. He definitely has a way with words and I loved how he interspersed the writing with 'Lapine' (rabbit-talk) to make it that bit more believable. His writing made me want to keep reading and I would have happily read another 500 pages. I was sad when the story ended.

I loved the chara...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Rabbit lovers and anyone with a soul

Shelves: children-s-books, favorites

Rabbits, English countryside, Adventure, some more rabbits, Murder and betrayal, heroism, another rabbit, edge of the seat - will they/won't they escape, weird alliances with non-rabbits, a few more rabbits, intimations of romance so inevitably likely to be yet more rabbits, a couple of dead rabbits and then a big scrap between a ginormous rabbit and a dog (that bit was really clever) and then ...well you can probably guess.....Come on for Heaven's sake, what is there not to like. The only down...more

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Apr 21, 2008 Loren rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Adapted from ISawLightningFall.blogspot.com

Watership Down has a lot in common with the ancient epics. In it, a lone warrior leads a band of harried outcasts into the wilderness in search of a home. They’re aided by a seer who can touch the future with his dreams. They face perilous quests and hair-breadth escapes, ferocious foes and desperate siege assaults. But unlike the works of Homer and Virgil, Watership Down is also about rabbits. Which is appropriate, as almost all of its characters are r...more Adapted from ISawLightningFall.blogspot.com

Watership Down has a lot in common with the ancient epics. In it, a lone warrior leads a band of harried outcasts into the wilderness in search of a home. They’re aided by a seer who can touch the future with his dreams. They face perilous quests and hair-breadth escapes, ferocious foes and desperate siege assaults. But unlike the works of Homer and Virgil, Watership Down is also about rabbits. Which is appropriate, as almost all of its characters are rabbits.

Most four-footed protagonists in literature have been little more than humans with fur. (Think Stuart Little or Redwall.) But Adams takes a very different tack, which is evident from the get-go. The tale begins with two young rabbits named Hazel and Fiver living in a peaceful warren ruled by an old veteran named the Threarah. Scrawny, meditative Fiver has premonitions of doom falling on them all, a doom that will stain the fields with rabbit blood. But when the Threarah ignores Fiver’s counsel, Hazel decides to rouse anyone he can and flee. The two are joined by Bigwig (a massive bruiser once part of the Threarah’s personal guard), Dandelion (a storyteller par excellence), Blackberry (the smart-as-a-whip innovator) and Pipkin (a loyal but timid runt). When the Threarah’s minions discover their plans, the motley crew must plunge into the wilds under threat of death.

Adams’ break with Disney-esque anthropomorphizing becomes even more apparent in the culture he created for his rabbits. Much like Tolkien did in The Lord of the Rings, Adams created a language with its own detailed grammar and vocabulary. An example: Fiver’s true name, Hrairoo, comes from hrair, the term for any number over four, which is how high rabbits can count. They call these greater sums "thousand," and Fiver's name literally means "little thousand." He was so christened because he was small and one of the last born in his litter. Other words that crop up -- including elil (“predators”), silflay (“to graze”) and narn (“something good to eat”) -- possess equally detailed explanations. Frith, the word for the sun, is particularly interesting since it contains religious connotations. The rabbits, you see, are sun worshippers. They adore Lord Frith and the first rabbit he created, El-ahrairah, whose mischievous exploits get recounted several times in detail and who would put Odysseus to shame with his inventiveness.

Part of the joy of reading Watership Down lies in not only in its mythological color, but in letting yourself be carried along by every twist and turn of the plot, which is half adventure and half thriller (with a smattering of British botany, warren geography and seagull dialect thrown in to keep things interesting). If you find it hard to believe that it could be a coherent read with so many disparate elements (much less an entertaining one), join the crowd. It took months of nagging from a friend to get me to crack its cover. But it most certainly works, which is a testimony to Adams’ skill, as is the fact that when you reach the final page, you’ve begun to feel that Hazel and his friends are every bit as courageous as Achilles or Aeneas -- no matter the length of their ears.(less)

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Jan 06, 2008 Ernest rated it 5 of 5 stars

Probably the greatest fantasy/adventure book I have ever read just happens to be for young adults and is about talking rabbits in search of a new home. I initially thought I'd be overcome with unintentional laughter and an inability to suspend my disbelief. I thought wrong. By the book's end, when this ragtag collection of refugees from the obliterated Sandleford warren reaches the end of their journey, I was figuratively elevating Mr Adams to the gold medal platform of fantasy writers, just abo...more

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Jan 07, 2008 Mick rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hate-it, fantasy

While I was trying to put together a preliminary list for the books I was going to try to read this year I came across the title Watership Down a hundred times. I’ll admit that when I first came across it I thought it was going to be a space adventure. Much like the movie Ice Pirates, I thought it was going to be about a over laden supply ship crashing in enemy territory with the only know water supply that existed in the galaxy, or at least something like that. As it turns out the book contains...more While I was trying to put together a preliminary list for the books I was going to try to read this year I came across the title Watership Down a hundred times. I’ll admit that when I first came across it I thought it was going to be a space adventure. Much like the movie Ice Pirates, I thought it was going to be about a over laden supply ship crashing in enemy territory with the only know water supply that existed in the galaxy, or at least something like that. As it turns out the book contains a children’s story – about bunnies.

Of course – they aren’t your normal rabbits. These guys can talk, and have feelings, and some can even see into the future. With abstract thought and freethinking comes the ability of others to oppress those things that make them human – or ahem – bunnies. That is the essence of the story.

Two brother rabbits are sitting around eating on some leaves, and a bigger meaner rabbit comes and takes the best leaves away. The bigger and brighter of the brothers is like “this sucks!” but the little pussy brother is like “We are all going to die, this place sucks ass, we must flee!” Keep in mind the little one is a 'seer'. So they basically the pack up the truck and they move to Beverly – hills that is. Those hills are called the Watership Down.

There are of course obstacles, dangers and adventures along the way, and then when they finally get there. “Oops you mean we forgot to bring any chicks? Damnit! Well we’re boned now dawg. Unless, yeah! Let’s go steal some bitches!”

The story itself is clever and decent enough, but muck like Jackson’s King Kong remake, it’s so focused on the evils of man that the whole story gets dragged down by it. Every time the group comes across a man he is described by the cigarette smoke he is inhaling, and they all carry guns, and have evil dogs that bite and chomp, yada yada yada. Tractors and cars and trucks are evil. Trains run animals over. Man's Dogs and guns always protect gardens. Don't forget that all the rabbits that show any "manish" qualities die right away. Miliatary Stategy, Art, Poetry, and Culinary Skills are all evil man things that eventually lead to the poor little bunnies doom. Oh how awful it is to live in the constant fear of man. Those darn rascally rabbits!
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view all 14 comments

Michelle I don't think the message of this book was that humans are evil. Men, dogs, cats & other enemies of wild rabbits are portrayed realistically as th...more
Oct 24, 2012 09:25am

Kim DeCina I'll set aside how you're using homophobic, misogynistic language and say you're completely divorcing the "portrayal of Man" from this book away from...more
Feb 20, 2013 12:45pm

May 17, 2008 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Going to read it for Skinner. And I have to do a book project on it. Everyone says it's boring.

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Jun 11, 2008 Alexis rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. this is a great book for nine-year-old boys. i read it last month, so i fail both criteria being neither a boy, nor nine. i ran into a fellow adult reading Watership Down when i was running down to catch the L train and i couldn't believe that both of us were so late in picking up this seemingly required elementary-school reading that i just stood in front of him with my copy until he looked up. we both agreed that the book was riviting, but not very good. here are my gripes with it: as military...more this is a great book for nine-year-old boys. i read it last month, so i fail both criteria being neither a boy, nor nine. i ran into a fellow adult reading Watership Down when i was running down to catch the L train and i couldn't believe that both of us were so late in picking up this seemingly required elementary-school reading that i just stood in front of him with my copy until he looked up. we both agreed that the book was riviting, but not very good. here are my gripes with it: as military allegories go, it's not very sophisticated. a plucky band of rabbits, who leave to excape certain death - okay - but who also kind of want to be their own bosses, have great adventures striking out to make a new life for themselves. but (spoiler alert!) not one of the original group dies in the process, which just seems like unrealistic plot manipulation. they're rabbits, they are constantly afraid of death, but if this is about war (which it completely is; everything is told in terms of chain-of-command and loyalty and following orders and strategy and Hazel is without doubt the fearless, benevolent, and clever general leading this band of ALL MALE rabbits to some promised land) then it seems incomplete to constantly be worried about losing a member of your platoon, but never dealing with the emotions or events that come up when it actually happens. a couple times there is the perception that a rabbit has "stopped running" and some other rabbit says (paraphrase) "too bad, but everyone's gonna get it sometime and right now we have to save our hides." but the reader always knows that the presumably fallen rabbit is actually still alive. i get it that it's a kid's book, but i'm of the school that doesn't think kid's literature should wear kid's gloves. but, whatever.
then: i noticed back on page 22 when everyone was leaving the original warren that there were no female rabbits, so what exactly were these guys thinking? but somehow it took Hazel another hundred-fifty pages or so to figure that one out. this is the main reason i would have hated this book as a nine-year-old. it's all dudes. there are no female rabbits until the very end and even they they're pretty much all pathetic. it just doesn't give my nine-year-old self a whole lot to relate to.
that said: it's completely riveting. even when the plot is moving so slowly and it's so obvious where it's going next that it kindof made me want to crawl out of my own skin, i couldn't bring myself to just skip a chapter and resume after everyone's finally figured out that Fiver's never wrong. i had to read every word, just in case. and i consider that a good sign.
also, the World-of-Rabbit that Adams creates is pretty satisfying. he's invented language, cultural customs, and best of all, a religious/mythic history featuring the Prince of All Rabbits, who's clearly a jesus figure but is also the uber-trickster, since that is a rabbit's greatest strength after running fairly fast. the sections of rabbit storytelling were definitely my favorite and i have to give props to Richard for stuffing so much lore into one volume. that's a fun trick.
anyway, it's a great beach or train book if you haven't read it and it will make you look at rabbits differently. it will not change your life.(less)

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Feb 02, 2010 Hayes rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everybody!

Recommended to Hayes by: Molly's mom, way back when

Shelves: bc-bookring, read-in-2010, favorites, read-prior-to-2009

I liked this even better the second time. It's an adventure story. But what I liked best about it, and which didn't strike me the first time I read it (or at least I don't remember being struck by it), was the theme of how important it is to be true to your nature.

Rabbits is rabbits, and must be rabbits: they need to live in a dry, clean warren, in peace together. There may be disagreements and some fighting, but no animosity. It is the rabbits that have turned into power hungry warriors, or sem...more

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Feb 10, 2008 Holly Goguen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature, favorites

This is undoubtedly a heroic tale on par with the odyssey. How wonderful it is to so thoroughly enjoy a story for its journey and additionally be swept away occasionally by the unique picture of the world it shows you. As daily life consumes you, you tend to forget to imagine the world as it is seen by the small, but when you revisit it in books such as this, you remember that you spent some time there in the past.

How fondly do I think now of Hlao-Roo and Hrairoo, Hazel-rah and pigvig.... the c...more

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Dec 11, 2012 Andrea Blythe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fic-young-adult, fiction

When Fiver has a vision of great destruction to the warren, he and Hazel and a small group of other rabbits head out for unknown pastures in search of a new home. Along the way they meet with many adventures, from eery and docile rabbits to a great warren ready for war.

One of the many great things about this book is that though this story was intended to just be a story about rabbits, written for his children, it doesn't talk down. It just tells a story with clean, vivid language. This apparent...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Mark Rayner rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was one of my childhood faves, and all of my friends had read it as well. So, you'd think a bunch of 12-year-old boys would find this a laughable premise, a book about rabbits. Au contraire.

For some bizarre reason, the tale of a bunch of rabbits searching for a new home ignited in us a desire to emulate the events of the book. We would find a new abode, and create a masterpiece warren with all the comforts of home, and perhaps even fill it with lovely does. (Hey, we were 12-year-old boys, w...more This was one of my childhood faves, and all of my friends had read it as well. So, you'd think a bunch of 12-year-old boys would find this a laughable premise, a book about rabbits. Au contraire.

For some bizarre reason, the tale of a bunch of rabbits searching for a new home ignited in us a desire to emulate the events of the book. We would find a new abode, and create a masterpiece warren with all the comforts of home, and perhaps even fill it with lovely does. (Hey, we were 12-year-old boys, we had no idea how it worked, but we were interested. Oh, we were interested.)

Finding the site was less of an adventure than the book. Really all we needed was a nice secure spot, open enough to allow us to dig, but with a few nearby trees which we would use for lookout posts. We chose a section of the woods that was open, and half-pasture, but overgrown with grass and scrub bush. It was creating the warren that became the epic.

Digging the first three feet of the "large central room", which would be the hub of our new and magnificent clubhouse was easy. (Our goal was to dig the large room first -- a 10' x 15' space -- and then cover it with sod quickly, so the location of our hideout would remain secret.) In fact, none of our parents had occasion to ask why we were borrowing all the shovels it was going so quickly. It was just dirt we were digging.

Then we hit the clay. It took us a week to get down another six inches. And another week to make it to four feet. Somewhere in there my mother asked me what we were doing with the shovels, and I mumbled something about looking for buried treasure before collapsing into bed.

Week four saw us to four feet and three inches. We were definitely slowing, and the chance that we would keep this monstrous hole secret for much longer was rapidly fading. In fact, there were whispers that we should give up. (Most 12-year-old boys would have given up weeks before and moved onto other adventures.) However, we were a stubborn group, and the clay would have to end soon.

But no. It just kept going. After another full week of digging, we were only down to four feet and seven inches. (Though the optimists among us thought it was four foot eight.) Some discussion of using the massive pile of clay that now surrounded our redoubt to make up the remaining one foot and four inches we needed to finish our planned hole. This idea was rejected as being too avant garde, and besides, the idea was that it would be a SECRET hideout, and even once the grass had finished regrowing, which would now take months, the lump would make our clubhouse too obvious.

The committee was convinced. And it was decided that we would finish the hole this week, in a frenzy of effort. We would spend twice as long digging each day. Three times! No TV! No touch football! It would be done. It's what Fiver would want! Fiver lives!

We returned to our warren, filled with enthusiasm, imagining how sweet it would be when the hole was covered with grass on top, the walls and floor were rendered habitable by shag rugs, and we had some does in there, only to find our magnificent hideout had been co-opted by some local teens.

The deep hole and surrounding wall of clay rendered any campfire perfectly safe and invisible to observers in the woods. (It even absorbed some of the sound of teenage revelry.) The remains of a genius campfire lay in the center of the warren. Beer bottles and cigarette stubs decorated the well-trodden clay.

So instead of becoming a secret hideout, filled with sweet-eyed does and brilliant rabbit wannabes, it became the best-known place to partake of jungle juice; it became the Pit. In retrospect, it probably saw more action this way then our clubhouse ever would have, doe-wise. (less)

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Dec 20, 2012 QS rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, reviewed, favorites, fantasy, classic

Honestly, I don't have very much to say about this book...mainly because it's pretty much my most favorite book ever written. But I'll attempt a coherent review anyway (because I promised myself I'd do more reviews).

Watership Down is not a book that, upon first discovering it, anyone in their right mind would think they'd like. I picked it up for the first time in fifth grade at a booksale my school was having, when I was at the right age to see a book about bunnies and absolutely have to read i...more Honestly, I don't have very much to say about this book...mainly because it's pretty much my most favorite book ever written. But I'll attempt a coherent review anyway (because I promised myself I'd do more reviews).

Watership Down is not a book that, upon first discovering it, anyone in their right mind would think they'd like. I picked it up for the first time in fifth grade at a booksale my school was having, when I was at the right age to see a book about bunnies and absolutely have to read it. Fifteen years later, I have yet to regret the purchase. I read it at least once every year, and every time I fall a little more in love with the characters. This time around, I even found myself admiring Hazel (the main character and Chief Rabbit), and I always felt rather ambivalent towards him. Every time I read this book, every year I grow older, I find myself appreciating different aspects of the book that I never gave thought to before.

Now, an important thing to remember about the characters is that, despite the fact that they're just rabbits, each one has a very distinct voice and rather memorable personality, but they still act undeniably like rabbits would. They don't use objects--such as boats--the way a man would, and concepts like cars and trains absolutely elude them. Throughout reading the book, no matter how sucked in to the world you get, you are never able to forget that they're rabbits. This, I believe, is my favorite thing about the book; the characters aren't miniature humans, they're rabbits whose 'language' is translated into English. The only time I get annoyed with the dialogue is when the humans are speaking, but that's only because I have a difficult time reading accents (as most people do).

The rabbits' sun-based religion is fascinating, and the mythological hero rabbit El-ahrairah is everything you could want out of a hero. Throughout the story, the rabbits (most often one named Dandelion) tell stories about El-ahrairah that are put into the book as separate chapters. While these stories have little to do with what's going on in the book itself, they are not the annoying sidetracking passages that you'd expect them to be. The hero's stories are just as interesting Hazel's. The only one I was never very fond of was the last one, the story of the Fairy Wogdog. This may be more because of the characterization of the (incredibly stupid) dog than anything else, though.

The geekiest part of my heart loves the Lapine language. Adams explains each word he adds in so well that they tend to stick in your memory and by the end of the book, when one character talks back to character entirely in Lapine, you can actually understand what he's saying without much thought. I'm actually rather fascinated by the fact that this man created a language just for the use of rabbits. It seems rather superfluous, doesn't it?

All in all, if I had to make any complain about this book whatsoever, it's that Adams sometimes goes way too into detail about the setting. Yes, yes, we get it: the grass is very green and there are little flowers everywhere. Lovely. Can we move on with the story? (He also has a habit of calling each plant by name, which can get frustrating since I'm not familiar with most of them. I don't pay much attention to weeds to know each one by name.)

On top of that, there's plenty for the people who want to read into the story as well. You can learn a lot from these rabbits about morality and humanity and, in a way, how important it is to stand up to the people who would keep you down. Once you're away from them, you never know what you can do.

And all this from a guy who made up the story to tell his kids.

(My apologies if this review was as awful as I think it was. I really am hopeless at reviews. But anyway: I love this book, and I pretty much recommend it to everyone I ever talk to, whether they're a reader or not.)(less)

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Jun 06, 2012 Rob Hermanowski rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, audio-book

I first read this magnificent novel in sixth grade, and was totally blown away by how good it was. This was my first experience with being entirely captivated by and absorbed in a book - I remember wandering around the house for a few days depressed because I was finished with the book. If I have one absolute favorite on my shelf, this is it!

After re-reading the book several times, I wrote to Richard Adams in the U.K. to tell him how much I loved it. I received a postcard from him which, unfortu...more

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Feb 28, 2009 Peter added it

Richard Adams is surely versed in country things.

Watership Down is the story of an unlikely group of young rabbits that break away from their warren and head out in search of a new home. They venture across the English countryside, through copses and combes, across rivers, and in and out of back yards, and their encounters on the way test their strength, cleverness, and resolve. It’s The Lord of the Rings meets Animal Farm, but without the deliberate political allegory.

What makes it work is Ada...more

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Dec 06, 2008 Dana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Dana by: my mom

Shelves: must-read

I remember when I was a little girl, my mom told me how much she loved this book. She even bought my brother and me a videotape of the animated version, to introduce me to the characters. (The movie's great...but I would *not* recommend it for little kids...)
I bought Watership Down at Powell's when I was eleven. I proudly paid for it with my allowance, and proceeded to read the whole book in a matter of days.
On first reading, a few of the more existential allusions in Adams's work were lost on...more

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Jun 18, 2008 Aerin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: litrachur, childrens, fantasy

A friend gave me this book several years ago, and it had been sitting on my bookshelf, unread, ever since. How good can a book about talking bunny rabbits be, I wondered.

Turns out, really quite good. Although there's no denying that this is a book about talking bunny rabbits, it's closer to Lord of the Rings than Peter Cottontail. It's a fantasy adventure novel with its own language and mythology, and although it's long it never gets boring.

When young Fiver has a premonition that their home will...more

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Jan 08, 2011 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: remarkable-reads, animals, fiction, own-in-book-format, better-than-the-movie, to-re-read, read-more-than-once, anthropomorphic-fiction, nature, epic-fantasy, family-relationships, friendship, kindle-format, read-in-2010, reading-challenges, read-in-2011

Watership Down is the story of a small group of rabbits traveling across the English countryside in search of a new home. Their tale begins when Fiver, a small, nervous rabbit, senses an unnamed future danger for the warren in which they live. Fiver has the gift of prophecy, and when he speaks, his older brother Hazel listens. After taking their concerns to the Chief Rabbit and trying in vain to make him believe and understand that they are in great danger, Hazel and Fiver plan an escape from th...more Watership Down is the story of a small group of rabbits traveling across the English countryside in search of a new home. Their tale begins when Fiver, a small, nervous rabbit, senses an unnamed future danger for the warren in which they live. Fiver has the gift of prophecy, and when he speaks, his older brother Hazel listens. After taking their concerns to the Chief Rabbit and trying in vain to make him believe and understand that they are in great danger, Hazel and Fiver plan an escape from their warren. The brothers, along with a group of like-minded individuals, leave the warren and go through several adventures in search of a safe place to live.

To give anymore of the plot details away would remove some of the enchantment from this incredible book, and I refuse to do that to you. Watership Down is a story of great beauty. As I have stated before, it is my all-time favorite book. I first read it when I was just 12 years old, almost 20 years ago. I have read many other wonderful books over the years, but there is something special about Watership Down, a certain magic that not even time can erase. I have read it many times, and have vowed beginning this year to re-read as my first book of each new year from now on. You may say that life is too short to re-read books, but I say that life is to short not to enjoy your favorite things.

Richard Adams began Watership Down as a story told aloud to his two daughters on a long car trip. In creating his fantastic world of wild rabbits, Adams constructed a new language, a complete culture, and an imaginative folk history for his characters, all of which add incredible depth to the story and to the characters themselves. The rabbits of Watership Down act with human characteristics such as bravery, loyalty and ingenuity. However Adams has written them with a naturalist's eye for real rabbits - the reader is left with the impression that this is simply how rabbits behave.

Watership Down is a marvelous tale of adventure, the breathtaking story of a journey which leads eventually to the safety of a new home, as well as a keen understanding of the outside world and all its perils. If you'll allow yourself to get lost in the story, you will not regret it. Rich in detail and with a compelling and entertaining plot, Watership Down is truly a timeless masterpiece, a modern day classic that is beloved by many (including myself - in case I have not made that clear.)(less)

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Feb 04, 2008 Joshua rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone looking to rekindle their love for books

Shelves: classics, favorites

There are many holes in my life when it comes to memory, holes that one can fill with a Buick. I don't remember my first kiss. I don't even remember all the places I've visited and lived in. Yet, I do remember the film that sparked my love for movies (Indiana Jones), and the one book that made me a life-long reader. Watership Down is that book. Even 15 years later, I remember how I felt when the "unimportant" Hazel lead a group of rabbits to a better and new life. I remember the bravery and sa...more

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May 29, 2008 Wesley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone.

There have been many good reviews of this book and I won't attempt reiterate them. I just want to point out two errors that people often make about this book.

1: This is a novel for young people.

If you examine the vocabulary and sentence structure of this book you will find that it is deceptively complex. The reading level is at the top end of the high school range. It is so brilliantly written that it seems like an easy read, but it really isn't.

2: The novel is about rabbits.

The characters are r...more

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About Richard Adams

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Adams was born in Newbury, Berkshire. From 1933 until 1938 he was educated at Bradfield College. In 1938 he went up to Worcester College, Oxford to read Modern History. On 3 September 1939 Neville Chamberlain announced that the United Kingdom was at war with Germany. In 194...more

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“Animals don't behave like men,' he said. 'If they have to fight, they fight; and if they have to kill they kill. But they don't sit down and set their wits to work to devise ways of spoiling other creatures' lives and hurting them. They have dignity and animality.” — 196 people liked it

“All the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand enemies. And when they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you; digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. Be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed.” — 152 people liked it

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