Watership Down

Rating:
Summary: Nothing so Great about this book
Review: People nowadays use the words 'masterpiece' and 'classic' maybe a little too much. There are only a few fiction books I really love among all the ones I have read; this is not one of them.

People have said ther is suspense in this book, but bewarned its only at the very verye end. In the beginning I was almost put to sleep by the rabbits and their endless journeys. I enjoy intellectually mature books- even long descriptive books (e.g. Tolkien, Les Miserables)- but I couldn't get myself involved in this story to much of any degree. It just required too much energy to stay focused on this book because it didn't offer up anything interesting. The rabbits just kept going from place to place to place looking for a warren.

If you have to read this for summer reading, be prepared for a long mundane tale. otherwise, just skip it.

Rating:
Summary: Riveting Classic
Review: Do yourself a favor and read this book. I guarentee if you not only enjoy this book and learn from it as well. As previous reviews have stated, Watership Down is an enjoyable book. This book also has a lot to teach anyone about friendship, loyalty and leadership. Having been in the military for four years a can attest that the leadership principles subtly interwoven throughot the book are true wisdom. This book has a lot to teach anyone in the bussiness of leading others. If you have kids read it to them for the story, they will love you for it. If not, read it for yourself, these rabits have a lot of good stuff to say.

Rating:
Summary: Favorite Book
Review: Never Judge a book by its cover! You may like the look of a Bunny book, you may not. If you don't, don't throw this book off your list Because this a wonderful book. It was my favorite and still is. Its about how a small group of rabbits/bunnies that are driven away from their warren, many were killed. Its about how they survive and travel on to find a new home. Let me warn you though the first page is not the best. Don't stop when you read the first page. because the rest is the best. This story will pull you in. its like your acttualy there. You won't be able to stop reading! Trust me. I won't lie to you. try this book. You'll love it!

Rating:
Summary: Wow, the best book I've ever read.
Review: I have been a fan of the Redwall books, and on each book it said on the back cover or somewhere, dedicated to Watership Down. I checked out the book and fell in love with it, I read it in a day it just completely captured me and swallowed me up in the ever suspenseful story. Talking rabbits? Don't be so skeptical. Read it, because trust me, you'll love it.

Rating:
Summary: Touching Classic
Review: When first being introduced to Watership Down I was nothing but skeptical. Talking rabbits seemed like a great thing to read if you had nothing better to do. I was dead wrong. I thought (at first) that I was wasting my time reading about talking rabbits. When I got into probally about the 3rd or 4th chapter I began to really get into the book. The bond between the rabbits is extraordinary. Their bond of friendship is unbreakable. Being a lover of many novels I highly recamend this classic. This story is unforgetable and is by far the best book that I have ever read.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Rabbit-lore!
Review: Watership Down tells the story of a bunch of rabbits (Hazel and his brother Fiver, Bigwig, Silver and others) who are forced to leave their warren as Fiver's sixth sense tells him great danger is coming. As they look for a place to settle down, not only do they encounter many enemies along the way, but also other rabbits with different ways of living, and who can sometimes be particularly unfriendly.

They finally find an idyllic place to live: on Watership Down. As they settle down, they suddenly realise they've forgotten about something: females!

The story goes on to describe their raids to capture does and bring them back to their new warren. They first manage to get a hutch female rabbit from a nearby farm, but soon realise that just one female is not enough.

So they make for Efrafa, a warren not far from theirs, only to discover it is run by a certain General Woundwort, a tyrant who thinks of his rabbits as an army. In fact, these rabbits are prisoners, unhappy and unable to escape.

So Hazel, Bigwig and their friends devise a plan to rescue some does, risking their own live in the process.

From this brief outline of the plot and even from the cover of the book, Watership Down may look like a children's book. Do not be fooled: this book is full of violence and cruelty, not just between rabbits and their natural foes, but also among themselves. And you realise early on that, somehow like in George Orwell's Animal Farm, it's fundamentaly a critical view of our own human society, a way of showing us how we also can behave in a barbarous way.

Anyway, I think the book is still suitable for children who will love this great adventure, as Watership Down is aslo full of suspense and once you've started, it's "unputdownable"! Moreover, its characters are very interesting and well developed, and in the end it's extremely amusing, especially when these rabbits take a look at us human beings...

This book is not just for bunny lovers so hop along and get yourself a copy quick! And don't forget it's companion: Tales from Watership Down.

Rating:
Summary: Give it 3 chapters.
Review: This is the greatest book I have ever read. I don't make statements like that lightly. A book about talking rabbits is going to be a tough sell to just about anyone but I'll try. I have read hundreds of books and my tastes generally lead me to fantasy novels (Moorcock, Weis & Hickman, R. A. Salvatore, etc...) most of these books really aren't five star material (I tend to be an incredibly tough rater) but they're fun and exiting to read. SO IS THIS BOOK! I can't emphisize that enough. But please don't get the idea that this book is just for people who read fantasy. I don't know of another book that will appeal to every type of reader as well as this one does. There was a review for this book from the St. Louis Post that states "anyone who can read english should read this book". This is not just flattery. It has wonderful character development and the adventures that they go through is so well written that you will find yourself turning to the next page or so to see how things turn out, that is if you remember that you are just reading and not living the story. I don't know of a better compliment for a book. So give it 3 chapters. I'm sure that it will turn into 4, then 5, and so on. At first the book may seem like a marathon given its size, but everyone I know who has read the book thinks that it was too small. So will you. I promise.

Rating:
Summary: Taliking rabbits? - That's right, and one darn good story.
Review: This book is entirely about and told from the point of view of rabbits. Don't laugh, it's definitely more than I bargained for when I first picked it up. A group of rabbits is evicted from their warren and must find a new home. Traveling is not easy for rabbits because they are so skittish and nervous. In their travels, this troupe of rabbits discover many different types of warrens, all which resemble familiar types of governments (democratic, communist, and dictatorship). They have to traverse all of them, avoid their pitfalls and even fight for their lives. The groups of rabbits have their own legends and moral tales that they pass on from generation to generation by word of mouth. This novel was also made into an animated feature of the same name, though it's definitely not for children. The cute 'lil bunnies can be vicious and brutal to each other (many parents may have made the mistake of bringing their kids to the animated feature when it was first released) and some bloody scenes are included. It may sound weird, but this classic novel is one everyone should read.

Rating:
Summary: Quite Simply the best book I've ever read
Review: What's amazing about this book is that you can be anyone to enjoy it. If your a reader from the age of 13 to 95 you will find it hard to put this book down. The characterization of these rabbits are more multidementional than humans in most fiction. A well thought out, wonderfully paced book that will pass from generation to generation. Give this book to your children and grandparents alike. No one should miss the opportunity of reading this wonderful tale.

Rating:
Summary: OOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Review: Wow, what a great read!! I heard about this book many years ago but never got around to read it, not really interested in a story about rabbits. Was I wrong!!! I finally bought it and have enjoyed it inmensely, it is definitely one of the best I've read this year. It starts off a bit slowly, but the story soon picks up pace as the adventures of Hazel, Bigwig and the rest start to unfold. This is more than an adventure story, not only it is exciting, but the author manages to convey a certain depth to the story and to the characters. He pulls this off nicely by sprinkling the book here and there with stories and legends about mythological rabbits. I particularly liked the part when one of the rabbits is telling a story and sudddenly he stops, because a fox was coming. I found it very realistic.

In our current world dominated by computers, traffic and money, it was really refreshing to read this story about a bunch of rabbits who simply want to find a place to live. This book should certainly appeal to everyone. Enjoy!