Watership Down

[Harukami 19]

I absolutely love this book, I have re-read it a few times as well. I also have the follow-up Tales from Watershipdown which tells you what has been happening with everyone since the day they settled down after their long journey. I wish there were more books like these. There is always that feeling of reading a book for the very first time which you can't get back no matter what. The way I felt when I read both of these books for the first time well is probably magical and uplifting.

[lisalynn]

Watership Down is a beautiful book. The world-building of the rabbits' realm is fantastic and drew me in, to the point that I could believe they live like this. It's a book that made me misty at the end.

[lettiebeth]

I'm afraid that I wasn't impressed with Watership Down. Maybe it was because it just didn't live up to all the hype for me, but I had to force myself to keep reading. I failed to care too much until about the last third or so of the book, when I finally became invested in the story.

[Cardui]

My mom read this book to me as a kid and I remember it being very disturbing. Maybe I would like it better if I re-read it now. Has anyone seen the movie?

[lwahls2]

I read this book years ago and after reading this discussion, want to pick it up again. The author masterfully creates a world that parallels our own. I remember rooting for the tiny mammals and enjoying it thoroughly though I can't recall the plot now.

[Thea Frederick]

Really neat book! Very engaging and interesting

[Lady-of-Literature]

I've always been afraid to read this book because how dark and heart wrenching it is, but its topic is true to realty.

[DATo]

My niece (grown woman) walked into my office one day, threw the book down on my desk, pointed to it and said "READ IT!" *LOL* Well, I didn't want to read what appeared to be a kid's book so it sat around for about six months. I told her I was probably not going to read it and tried to give it back to her. She said, "I will not take it back till you read it." So I did - and it was one of the most satisfying experiences of my literary life. Now it is probably my favorite fantasy book. It was originally written for children and it didn't do well. So these books were laying around in homes and parents started to pick them up and look them over and before long it was a best seller among adults. ~~~ Go figure ~~~ but actually I can see why. It is an excellent read.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!!!

[Grace Bela]

I've enjoyed reading these comments. The last time I tried to read it I didn't get very far. What y'all have said makes me want to try it again!

[Koltrast]

I've always been afraid to read this book because how dark and heart wrenching it is, but its topic is true to realty.

I’ve read it, and I won’t lie about how truly dark it is. It’s probably one of the scariest books I've read, and yet it’s also incredibly beautiful and hope-giving.

I believe Adams wrote the story for his grandchildren (please correct me if I’m wrong). So it’s written for children. Maybe kids in those days had more guts than we do today...

[Astrolorraine]

This book introduced me to Richard Adams - the man is a genius! His books are hard to find so I don't have them all yet, but I loved Shardik too. Such great imagination!

[Bigwig1973]

Probably one of my favorite books. I first heard about the movie when some neighbor kids told me I just had to come watch the movie with them and since my family didn't have a television at the time, I thought sure. Sometime later, I found a copy of the novel at a garage sale in my hometown and my aunt bought it for me. I wrote a paper on it in high school regarding the totalitarian aspects of it, which is, of course, a standard interpretation. The characters in the novel are wonderful. As one of my dads (long story) was in the military and as I am part Italian (Italians get the most interesting propaganda), I remember thinking that someone had turned my dad into a bunny. Great. He also looked like Kenny Rogers but with darker hair, a little like Peter Falk, and Geppetto from Pinocchioand as he had law enforcement connections, he seemed to me like Nero Wolfe. As our home had a lamppost in the front yard which was rare for our town, I was kinda hoping for Narnia, but figured I could deal with being the daughter of a militaristic rabbit! After all, one of my relatives and I had been driving around in a white Volkswagon rabbit (Alice in Wonderland), why not continue with the rabbit theme. In my youth, I didn't realize that Italy had been somewhat totalitarian under the leadership of Mussolini, in a stretch and so the book became more interesting on a much more personal level. The characters are wonderful - I love that they have a god, psychics, and heroes that they tell stories about, that Woundwort functions as a sort of a boogieman. I found their language fascinating - I loved Keehar - my family doesn't promote cussing and so, Keehar was quite the bad fellow, but kind. Bigwig was interesting. The most intriguing character to me was Blackavar - I always wanted to know more about him. I've also read The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams and I liked that quite a bit. He is a very good writer.

[R Lefler]

I'm also so far seeing a bit of parallel to The Odyssey - not exactly in the reason for the journey, but in the building of character, the value of intellect, ingenuity, and story-telling.

That was intended by the author. I read about it in the introduction. Mythology, especially the Aeneid and the Odyssey, was a major source of inspiration for the book. It was also partially inspired by Lord of the Rings, in that both hobbits and rabbits are unlikely heroes. This makes them seem more interesting as underdogs.
I'm glad you're enjoying it, it's one of my favorites.

[HPastorella-03]

I am a newbie to the group. Watership Down was recommended by a friend who said his wife read it and really liked it. It is the next must read on my list!

[Vannaskivt]

This was the first book I remember being read out loud to me. I was young, couldn't possibly grasp the depth of the story, but, it was so memorable and vivid at the time. I simply couldn't wait to hear more! I'd love to go back and read this again as an adult...perhaps my next endeavor.