Watership Down

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Summary: Must Read List! A tragic parody of all our lives. Hoorah!
Review: Excellent novel! Read in one sitting. **for the college buffs...this book takes an anthropomorphic dive into our own existence of morals and ultimate survival.** FOR THE REST OF US...extremely impressive look at our own lives through the non-offensive, universally appealing, rabbit. This book has it all! Survival and the continuing struggle for the right to see tomorrow...freely. Adventure abounds and involvement of the reader is impossible to restrain (I still speak 'rabbit' when the occasion warrants). The parallels are neverending to war, life, desire, suppression, on and on and on. Beautifully written and an absolute thrill to read. I've seen the movie..doesn't/can't compare with the book. Read first then rent the flick. This, I would recommend, should not be a book for the younger crowd nor for those immature in thought. I have told everyone about this book..those that love to read and those that do not. Did I say yet that this book has it all? FANTASTIC!!! p.s. amazon should make an exception and allow the critic to give '6' stars!

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Summary: A wonderful tale
Review: of courage, cleverness, heroism, and love. The characters are a group of brave rabbits trying to start a new way home. It may sound like a kiddie book, but Watership Down has something for everyone.

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Summary: Great, Exciting, and Fun from Sandleford to Efrafa
Review: An apocolypse for rabbits tied in with war, friendship, compassion, rivalry, and spellbounding excitement. I read it through without pausing. A masterful role played by Richard Adams. From the Sandleford Owsla to General Woundwort, it was a great piece of literature that every child needs to be introduced to.-Evan Howard, age 12

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Summary: TOOO good 2 miss!!
Review: If you don't read this book, either you are very busy or very mistaken! I read this book this year in English class had a HUGE test over it & loved every minute of it! I loved the way way Adams gave the rabbits names, character & attitudes. I loved reading the book out loud in class, taking notes & whining to the teacher about letting us skip math class so we could read more! So read this book for the pure enjoyment of the book & life from a different point of view.

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Summary: An excellent read, though somewhat lacking in complexity.
Review: When I first picked up this book, I nearly put it right back. Who'd want to read a book about rabbits? However, it turned out to be a remarkably original book. It managed to give human feeling to animals, without becoming a "kiddie" book. It does lack the sophistication, complexity and sublety that the more jaded reader might be used to, but it more than makes up for this with the excellent writing and character development, especially that of Hazel. It is unfortunate that modern readers might feel distanced from the cold war and ecological underthemes of the book.

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Summary: A book that changes your view.
Review: I first read Watership Down in the summer before 4th grade. I still love it!!! Watership Down is amazing.

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Summary: An epic novel of the search for the promised land
Review: This is the first book I ever read. At or about age four, my father (an english teacher) read it with me. I give a lot of credit to Richard Adams and his novel (and my dad, of course); he gave me a benchmark with which to compare fiction. This is a story with many levels, and I'd suggest it for MATURE readers of any age. It's a story of a group of rabbits that escape certain death when their warren is destroyed by a land developer. They set out across the english countryside in search of the promised land. Fiver, the runt of the litter, and his friend Hazel organize a midnight escape when the chief rabbit ignores Fiver's premonitions of doom. With Bigwig, a brave and powerful veteran of the warren's "police" team, Hazel's gift of leadership, Fiver's insight, even a sarcastic seagull named Keehar, and others, they pursue a dream. There are analogs here of Nazi Germany and Communist Russia. Mr. Adams paints quite a picture here; common places and things assume different, often darker qualities when viewed from just 4 inches off the ground. Of course, Watership Down is a place that really exists. During a recent trip to England, my dad finally had a chance to visit Watership Down. He was taken by the site, and says it looks much like he'd imagined it, only better. Anybody that says they didn't like this book must either be very shallow, or extremely attention deficient.I've read this book well over 20 times, and I STILL can't put it down. If you HAVE read this book, then read THE PRIVATE LIFE OF THE RABBIT. It's the nonfiction/reference book Adams read to prepare for Watership Down. He refers to it by name in his novel, and it's a very interesting follow-up read if you enjoyed Watership Down. Also, don't miss out on his other novels, like The Plague Dogs, Traveller, and others. The former is a tale of two dogs that escape from an animal research center. The latter, the life and times of Traveller, the horse that General Robert E. Lee rode in the American Civil War, as told! to a housecat by Traveller himself. Civil War buffs will definitly get a kick out of Traveller's take on the war, and it's aftermath. Watership Down is still my all time favorite book, hands down. Give it a chance, and you will be mezmerized by a world you'll want to visit again and again, I promise. Heck, someday I want to go to the real Watership Down myself.

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Summary: Some people just don't get it
Review: There are ONLY two kinds of people who didn't enjoy Watership Down. The first were too young to understand it--I'm talking maturity here, not chronology. The second were those who were disappointed that a book about rabbits didn't have more to do with sex. The former should stick with Goosebumps and Sweet Valley High until they're a little older. The latter should invest in a subscription to the smut magazine of their choice.

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Summary: Changed my view of the world!
Review: Having just read it for the second time, Watership down is by far my favorite book. When I was a child my aunt brought over the movie version of this book and I was always facinated by the story and the mythology of the rabbits, but when I tried to read the book it just didn't interest me. So, a few months ago I decided to give it another try as an adult and I am SO glad I did. This is a beautifully written novel about friendship and trust between this group of rabbits and I love it for the story of their exciting and sometimes terrible journey to find a new home. But I also love this book for the way it changed the way I look at the world and nature. I was absorbed into the culture, the attitudes, the language and the spirituality of these animals and now everytime I look at nature I feel that there is a life there which I never realized existed before. Watership down is a must read for all people living on this earth. Afterward, maybe people will think twice about destroying the wildlife that share the land with us!

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Summary: One of the most amazing books I've ever read
Review: I got the Idea to read this book when I saw it mentioned on the back of Brian Jacques Redwall books. And I have to say it's an amazing book. You will love Hazel Fiver Bigwig and the rest of the bunch. Don't be folled by the number of pages. I am 12 years old and I read it all. I think it's a great book for any ages. This book also inspired me to write one of the longest Amazon reconmendations I have ever done.