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Summary: More than Rabbits...
Review: This book, pages torn and cover long gone, has been the staple of my library for 15 years. I read it for pleasure long before I was given it to read in school. The story of these simple rabbits tells so much about human society, from our inability to accept what we cannot change to the basic need of a warm, safe place to call our own, that it's morals will not go unheard. I cannot recommend this book enough; it does not matter if you are 12 or 32 or 102, this book shows us all how simple life can be, how even our greatest adversaries are not invincible, and how the smallest inclining and belief can lead to the greatest wonders of all. Their friendship, love and loyalty endears these rabbits to every reader who follows their adventures, marvels at their simplicity, and falls in love with their story.
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Summary: If this book is sitting on your shelf, grab it up!
Review: I had this book sitting on my shelf for years and steered clear of it because it was a 'book about rabbits'. I just finished reading it with my 12 year old son and we both adored it. It is realistic, suspenseful and at times funny. I know both of us will read it over and over. I just ordered the DVD as well.
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Summary: A believable, tragic, exciting, and captivating book
Review: You would think that a book about rabbits would be simple and boring, right? WRONG!!!! This book tells the tale of a group of rabbits who are forced to leave their burrow because a farm is going to be built there. It is the exiting, tragic tale of friendship and the terrors of of rural life as seen by a rabbit. What makes it even more believable is that the various dangers, such as snares and train tracks, are described as how they would be by someone or something who finds the idea incomprehensible. This touching tale is more than just that, though. I also think it is a commentary on how nature has been affected by development. A must read.
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Summary: Suspend your disbelief (and amusement)...
Review: ...long enough to get through the first chapter.Only an adult reader can grasp the entirety of this book. It touches on politics, mysticism, ecology, and the Darwinian struggle to survive. This would be an amazing enough book if its characters were humans. That Adams can make it work from rabbits' point of view is nothing short of incredible. If you give it a chance, it will entertain the most serious reader.
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Summary: The cruelty of humanity from a rabbit's point of view
Review: Don't be intimidated by the aspect of rabbits as main characters, this is a truly brilliant work by Richard Adams! I am very much interested in books involving animals... If you've enjoyed works such as: Poppy, Redwall, Wind in the Willows, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Plague Dogs, and The Dark Portal, then I'm sure you'll love this. The rabbits take on an almost-human role as they fight to survive using their resources and wits after having to flee their home warren on an impulse by Fiver, a runt rabbit with a keen sixth sense. They are faced with many problems on their journey- fear, uncertainty, tricksy predators, and most of all, the desire to return to the safety of their home. A very moving and colorful tale, I recommend Watership Down to any animal or classic literature lover.
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Summary: Watership Down
Review: This is the worst book I have ever tried to read in my entire life. I could barely get past the first 100 pages. If you are thinking about reading it-don't. Despite critic's ranting about how great this book is suppose to be, I think if you read it, you will find your opinion to be contradictory to these statements. It should be taken off all required reading lists. It is pure torture to endure, and is a poor excuse for a piece of literature.
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Summary: A classic and beloved novel of leadership and adventure!
Review: This is a timeless and much-loved novel of leadership, struggle, and adventure! A group of individuals, dissatisfied with the government of their "country," and receiving prophesies of its doom, decide to leave and start a colony elsewhere. The individuals, of course, are rabbits, who are confronted with all the dangers of the "elil." The "elil" means their enemies, known to the rabbits as "the thousand" meaning the infinite number of enemies, i.e. foxes, hawks, etc. who prey on rabbits. The most dangerous elil, of course, is man. This is a wonderful novel that discusses the nature of leadership, teamwork, individual achievement, and struggle, as the protagonists seek to set up a new colony free of dangers from man as well as "elil" and even other hostile rabbits. Their leader, Hazel, is neither the strongest (Bigwig is that) or the cleverest (Blackberry is that) but nevertheless we come to see why he is the emergent leader to whom the others look for guidance and inspiration. This is a fine study in leadership. The novel never loses sight of its main objective, which is to entertain. This is a fascinating, well-written tale. The storyline moves at a brisk pace, punctuated with interesting episodes of struggle and insight, which always add to, rather than distract from, the main plot. The reader will come to care deeply about the various individual characters of the novel, cheer them in success and root for them in adversity. Adams' prose is superb. This book is a pleasure to read. This is a novel that adults will appreciate and young readers will love. It is indeed written at an adult level, but Adams' writing is so clear and crisp that younger readers will also appreciate and enjoy the novel. This is a timeless and classic novel that belongs in one's personal library and which most readers will enjoy reading repeatedly from time to time, and share with the younger readers in the family.
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Summary: Buy two and give one to your best friend...
Review: My father read us this book (skipping what he thought were the boring parts) when I was in elementary school. I tried to check it out of the library, but was told I needed adult permission to do so (so glad library policies change!). Being the ever devious fourth grader that I was, I plunked down a quarter at the next library book sale and bought my very own second hand copy. I have read and reread that copy and purchased new ones. I think I have three at present. All this to say that this is one of the all time best novels ever written in the English language. Sweeping adventure, personal struggles, mythology, wars & intrigue and wondrous travelogue all in one. If you have ever let the idea that this book centers on a group of "bunnies" keep you from reading it, put that out of your mind. The characters are based on Adams's military unit and they are quite human. At times frightening and at others laugh-out-loud funny, this is a book you will live as much as read. And when you give it a chance it will sweep you away.
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Summary: An Awesome Read!!!!
Review: You will be absolutely awestruck by the world of rabbits portrayed in Watership Down! This has got to be the best novel about rabbits ever, and if there is any book that can remotely rival it, I will be surprised. Hazel's brother, Fiver, was born with some sixth sense that can tell him whether or not there is danger. When Fiver senses that there is going to be danger, Hazel immediatly starts trying to get rabbits to join them. They set out on their wonderful adventure early on in the book, which allows plenty of room for action. My favorite part is towards the end where the does form Efrafa and the rabbits from Watership Down are in hot pursuit by General Woundwort. This is an awesome book, with the animals not in silly roles where it feels like the author isn't repecting the animals enough. Hazel and the rest are great and you shouldn't miss this book for the world!!!!!
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Summary: No one outsmarts the Black Rabbit
Review: Watership Down is an amazing book. That someone could write 429 pages (hardcover version) on a real-life epic about rabbits and make it work is simply incredible, beyond anything I could ever hope to accomplish. You laugh, maybe, that one would want to write any exciting book about rabbits at all, but frankly, you can't imagine it unless you've been there. Watership Down is a story of the journey of a group of rabbits that flee their home warren after Fiver, the runt of his litter, has one of his premonitions of doom. It follows headstrong Bigwig, leader Hazel, storyteller Dandelion, and all the others, in their quest for a mystical hill over the next horizon, Watership Down. Spanning epic length, their passage across the countryside takes them to places darker than the rabbit mind can fathom. Throughout the story, the influence of man upon natural life often intrudes, for good or ill, or, more often, causing inscrutable confusion, like the machinations of a distant god. Even after adjusting to the hardships of life, the rabbits' subsequent search for does bring them to a sinister military rabbit community like no other, the mighty Efrafa. Granted that rabbits are usually stronger, faster, and smarter than other woodland creatures, these guys could kick Redwall to the moon. But seriously, Watership is a powerful book, and, as you've probably read from the better reviews out there, the morals of the lapine societies parallel many ethics and political ideas in the real world. It's a book that can be read on many levels, with the confrontation of death, destruction of the environment, and cost of freedom. I personally think the two great strengths of the book come from the creation of a rabbit culture and the development of the characters. Richard Adams has crafted a world with its own language and customs. The stories of the legendary trickster El-Ahrairah are fit for any book of fables, next to characters like Anansi or Brer Rabbit. They provide a nice parallel to the plot. And like all great stories, our heroes are changed by the experience of the journey. Hazel develops into a true leader of his rabbits and Fiver becomes a trusted, well, psychic prophet. When Bigwig finally stands against the General, we're cheering for him all the way. These are rabbits we care about. Obviously, this book is not for everyone. There will be those who refuse to read it simply because there are talking rabbits. But I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone with enough patience to read a thick book. If you have enough maturity to appreciate the Lord of the Rings for things other than orc-bashing, then by all means, read this!
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