Watership Down is an extraordinary story that illustrates how companionship and adventure can change lives. The story is base around a group of rabbits that have left their warren to find a new one that is safer. That is their mission, but natural predators and traps beset their journey.
Richard Adams' "Watership Down" is a brilliant book of epic proportions. One of the rabbits, Fiver, who appears to be clairvoyant, has a vision of a field of blood and of impending doom to their warren. This doom comes in the form of a land development team at the hands of men, whom the rabbits think, "Will never be happy until they've ruined the Earth."
The book presents a tale that is set in our world, but told from the point of view of the rabbits, complete with a creation myth and animal heritage original to themselves. Throughout the story, we hear the rabbits' own tales about their creator and El-ahrairah, a rabbit of myth and legend. El-ahrairah is a rabbit of long ago which all other rabbits respect, look up to and admire.
Through the stories told by Dandelion (the rabbits' master storyteller), the rabbits are given strength and encouragement to face their adventures. Their adventures lead them from "a dog loose in the woods", to taming a Kehaar, an injured birdwith low patience, from the big water. Unfortunately, though, not all of the rabbits make it through all of the adventures alive, and a few are injured along the way.
Eventually, Fiver leads the rabbits to a hill higher than the rest, one that allows the rabbits to see everything around them. Therefore, under the tree at the top of this hill they start to create their own Owlsa. Unfortunately, the rabbits had forgotten one major necessity, which Hazel soon realizes- there are no does.
In their search for some does the rabbits come upon a dictatorship run by the very deadly and stern General Woundwort. Fleeing for their lives and ultimately fighting to save their promised land, the rabbits concoct a very smart plan that allows them to keep the does they needed and to live happily and quietly on the Honeycomb.
"Watership Down" has been one of my personal favourites since I was little. I remember watching it nearly every Christmas, and I would never grow tired of the story line. It is such an original story, and I have not come across one quite like it since. I found reading the book rather addictive. In fact, I had to have it confiscated off me a few weeks before I was due to sit some exams, because instead of revising I was sat out in the sun reading "Watership Down". I was really quite surprised at how many more little adventures and stories there are in the book compared to the animated film that was shown on television. It was a lovely surprise and the story never wore thin on me. I hope everyone likes it as much as I do. I have read it twice now and would not think twice about reading it again when I get a bit of spare time. "Watership Down" should appeal to both children and adults.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Shows what life is like for real wild animals in the world around us. Disadvantages: Some parts seemed a bit too gory for my personal taste.
Advantages: Involves the reader incredibly deeply in the fortunes of usually ignored or depised creatures Disadvantages: Some of the writing is a little old-fashioned
Mar 17th, 2006
(Mar 29th, 2006)
helpful by (72%):
somewhat helpful by (28%):
