Tales from Watership Down - Richard Adams

...readers will come away from Tales from Watership Down feeling disappointed and let down.

Tales from Watership Down (TFWD) is a much thinner volume than Watership Down itself, running to under 250 pages as opposed to the 470-plus of the original. No matter, one thinks, as surely that's still enough space for an interesting novel. Would that this were so; in fact, TFWD is split into three parts, only one of which can justly be regarded ...
...taken up mostly with five tales of El-ahrairah, along the lines of those told (mostly by Dandelion) in Watership Down. Two of them ("The Fox in the Water" and "The Hole in the Sky") are mentioned in passing in the first book, and it's nice to see them expanded to full length. It may not be an accident that these are also the two most enjoyable reads of the five; the others are frankly somewhat forgettable, and it's unfortunate ... more

The appearance of a sequel (of sorts) to Watership Down, almost a quarter of a century after the original book's appearance, should have been a cause for wild celebration amongst the many fans of Hazel, Fiver, Hyzenthlay and the rest of Richard Adams' lapine creations. As indeed it was - until we came to read it. Rather unfairly perhaps, given that it is in no way a disastrous effort, many readers will come away from Tales from Watership Down feeling disappointed and let down.

Tales from Watership Down (TFWD) is a much thinner volume than Watership Down itself, running to under 250 pages as opposed to the 470-plus of the original. No matter, one thinks, as surely that's still enough space for an interesting novel. Would that this were so; in fact, TFWD is split into three parts, only one of which can justly be regarded as sequelious to the first book. And regrettably, none of them come close to the standards set by the original, although that was probably always an impossible aim.

Part I is taken up mostly with five tales of El-ahrairah, along the lines of those told (mostly by Dandelion) in Watership Down. Two of them ("The Fox in the Water" and "The Hole in the Sky") are mentioned in passing in the first book, and it's nice to see them expanded to full length. It may not be an accident that these are also the two most enjoyable reads of the five; the others are frankly somewhat forgettable, and it's unfortunate to say the least that the very first chapter, "The Sense of Smell", is perhaps the worst El-ahrairah story Mr Adams has ever written, unmemorable and unsatisfying.

The final two stories in Part I are somewhat different. "The Rabbit's Ghost Story" is not original to TFWD, but first saw the light of day in a 1975 anthology, "Richard Adams's Favourite Animal Stories" and is reprinted here pretty much verbatim. It's a solid enough tale, but most readers are likely to enjoy more the following chapter, "Speedwell's Story", a light-hearted and funny piece of nonsense.

Part II also concerns itself with El-ahrairah, but the four stories found here form part of a larger narrative, recounting some of the great rabbit hero's adventures (with his faithful companion Rabscuttle, naturally) on the long and arduous journey home from their trip to see the Black Rabbit of Inlé, as recounted in Watership Down itself. Again, however, most of the stories seem lacklustre, and really only one - "The Story of the Great Marsh" - rises above the average.

In both Part I and Part II, the stories are presented as though being told by the Watership rabbits themselves, and this is quite effective, but Part III is what most readers will have been waiting for - further tales of Hazel's band, set in the months following the last great battle with General Woundwort's Efrafans. The trouble is that it's all far too short - barely 100 pages all told - and that robs the story of one of Watership Down's greatest virtues: the breathing space necessary to allow characters to grow and develop.

That's not to say that there is nothing worthwhile here; the subplot dealing with the burly and headstrong doe Flyairth and the experiences of Hyzenthlay as joint Chief Rabbit with Hazel are both interestingly explored. However, this merely makes it all the more frustrating when after just a few pages we pack up and move on to the next part of the narrative. Think of the way that Holly comes and goes through the story in Watership Down itself, changing all the while; there's nothing of that order here.

I do want to give a special mention to the final chapter, "Campion", as this is one of the few parts of TFWD when the old Richard Adams magic really does shine through brilliantly. Many people who read Watership Down were impressed and fascinated by Campion's character, and it is wonderful to get to know this complex buck rather better, if only for a few pages. His memorable story makes a fitting and moving end to the book.

The general behaviour and attitude of the rabbits is much as it was in Watership Down itself. Perhaps there's slightly more emphasis on the does, what with Hyzenthlay's joint Chieftainship and Flyairth's significant (and disruptive) influence on the warren, but there are no sea changes in their level of anthropomorphism; we don't, for example, see rabbits suddenly discover the joys of romantic love. And the Lapine language (for which there is a glossary in the back of the book) makes several welcome appearances, although there is only one new word - "thrennion", meaning "rowan berry".

Equally, the characters of the individual rabbits (and a certain seagull!) will be familiar - Dandelion tells the stories, Blackberry has the ideas, Fiver is the seer and so on and so forth. Some rabbits, notably Vilthuril, have expanded roles, and new characters are fairly well outlined within the restricted space available; rabbits such as Sandwort and Stonecrop fit in reasonably well to the Watership society.

On the debit side, however, there are some quite serious inconsistencies with Watership Down. For example, in "The Sense of Smell", El-ahrairah - renowned largely for his trickery and ability to live on his wits - is given artificial assistance almost from the off, and this does not sit well at all with what we expect from the great lapine hero. There is the opening story of Part III - in Watership Down itself, Hyzenthlay clearly has no idea what Bigwig means when he talks about a river, so how can she have known the meaning of word even earlier, as "The Secret River" demands? And rabbits seem to have suddenly acquired the ability to laugh. When Cowslip does so in Watership Down, we are told in no uncertain terms that "the phenomenon of laughter is unknown to animals", and it's presented as a clear sign of the unnatural nature of Cowslip's warren. So what's changed?

Tales from Watership Down is not a terrible book by any means. It's competently put together, and in places ("Speedwell's Story"; "Campion") considerably more than that. But given the existence of its illustrious and brilliant predecessor, it really cannot be considered anything more than a partial success; this book would not have started a global phenomenon. Enthusiasts should read TFWD, but those who have not already fallen under the spell of Watership Down may be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss was about. 

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