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Summary: See the world through the eyes and mind of a rabbit.
Review: My wife read me this book ten years ago. It has been an item in my mind since. Fivver the mystical rabbit who understands numbers beyond the kin of normal rabbits is an icon for me. What is the top number for man? 1.8 million people incarcerated in US, 2,100 killed in Turkey today, how many people with AIDS, how many people are out of work, etc Fivver would understand. You should meet him. Read the book.
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Summary: Nothing compares. The all-time greatest book ever written.
Review: This book is without equal, and I pity anyone who can not appreciate it as a masterpiece. It is a story about comraderie and relying on each others' special abilities. Where else would you find the skills of 'story-teller and runner' (Dandelion), 'statesman' (Strawberry), and warrior (Bigwig) given equal billing within a group of individuals. I am a personal friend of Richard Adams and have hiked the storyline from Watership Down four times from start to finish. Yes, that's right -- in case you didn't know, Watership Down is a real place, and all the locations listed on the map in the front of the book are still in place, probably much as they looked in 1972. Another interesting fact, the characters are loosely modelled after officers with whom Mr Adams served during World War II. Hazel and Bigwig, in pacticular, are modelled after two specific individuals. So, how can this be a story about just rabbits? As I have stated above, this story is about a group of individuals who depend and rely on each other. As Richard Adams says, in one of his most eloquent passages, "They had come closer together, relying on and valueing each other's capacities. They knew now that it was on these and on nothing else that their lives depended, and they were not going to waste anything they possessed between them." Sounds like what you'd expect from a group of soldiers in a life-and-death situation, doesn't it? Oh, pity the poor fools who can not comprehend the meaning of this book. "A rabbit who does not know when a gift has made him safe is poorer than a slug, eventhough he may think otherwise himself."
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Summary: Perspective altering
Review: This book will haunt you for days. Characters that you REALLY care about, action, politics, thought-provoking ideas. IT IS NOT JUST A BOOK ABOUT RABBITS!
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Summary: BORRRING!
Review: Like many others, I was FORCED to read it for English class. I got to page 7 and stopped because it was torture. and I didn't get it why not make a story about humans not silly talking bunnies. And read stephen king or micheal chriton instead, I read this book to page 7 and nothing was happening. I HATE THIS BOOK!
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Summary: Dreadful
Review: This book was a complete bore. How could one survive it's tedious descriptions? Go read GIANTS IN THE EARTH or O PIONEERS.
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Summary: A Classic, All-Time Favorite book
Review: I think that this a good book and would recommend it to any one that has the capibility to read such a book. My favorite characters are Bigwig, Keeharr, and Woundwort. My favorite parts are when they go to free the hutch Rabbits, the whole time that Bigwig is in Efrafa, and Woundwort's seige on Watership Down. I also love all the Elhairah stories. This is what makes Watership Down so Good.
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Summary: A SERIOUSLY Misunderstood novel
Review: There seems to be two principal objections to Watership Down. Namely: "It's just about rabbits": I find this interesting, as most of these come courtesy of children whining about having to read it as an assigned book. IF OUR NATION'S CHILDREN CANNOT UNDERSTAND SUCH A SIMPLE CONCEPT AS "ALLEGORY", I HAVE LOST ALL HOPE. "Go read Stephen King / Michael Crichton / etc. instead": Hmmm.... Is someone trying to sound like they're above this book's level? I've personally read Paradise Lost by John Milton, The Divine Comedy by Dante, The Ring and the Book by Robert Browning, and other such brutally lofty and intellectual works, and I thought Watership Down to be a wonderfully constructed story. TRUST me, It isn't one of the grand masterpeices of world literature, but it's MILES above the pop fiction I've seen advocated in it's place.
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Summary: Enticing, enthralling, enchanting
Review: Watership Down is my favorite book of all time. I read it for the first time when I was eleven and loved it from the start. I've also read it three more times in the past three years. I was completely engrossed in it and lost several hours of sleep, etc. while reading it. It's a wonderful book of courage, faith, preseverence, and humanity. I would reccomend it to anyone. I am a little insulted by the people who say no teenager would enjoy this book because of it's length and characters. I only wish to remind those people that that is sterio-typing, something I think can safely be called morally "wrong" on most any ethical code.
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Summary: A Notable Book
Review: "Watership Down" was brought to my attention by a friend, once I finished the "Redwall" series (by Brian Jaques, fantastic books). The way each rabbit had a specific and carefully portrayed personality had me hook, line, and sinker. I found myself identifying with them. I even caught myself once, saying, "Wow. I'm a lot like this rabbit." A very satisfying read for those who want to find the rabbit in them.
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Summary: Lives Up to the Hype
Review: This amazing masterpiece by Adams will captivate readers of all ages. Children will love its characters and adventures, which I feel rival those of Tolkien's 'The Hobbit'. As a baby boomer, I was struck by the definition of leadership as embodied by Hazel, courage as embodied by BigWig, and conviction as embodied by Fiver. A must read for those who can read.
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