Watership Down by Richard Adams (1989, Paperback, Reissue)

This is one story that I wish I didn't take so long to read. It is a story of courage, faith and trust in your fellow rabbit, leadership, bravery and survival.

It starts with about 11 rabbits that decide to leave their home, called a warren, when one of them has a horrible feeling that something very bad is about to happen.

During their travels, they meet an unusual warren of rabbits that live with a terrible secret. Continuing on, they also meet and make some unlikely, but as fate would have it, invaluable new friends.

While reading of their journey and adventures, you also learn of life in a warren, life as a rabbit and are entertained with legendary stories of their cleverest rabbit, named El-ahrairah.

Shortly after they find the perfect place to call home, the little band of adventurers are horrified when they hear the story of the demise of their previous habitat; but the biggest test of all, comes at the hands of the tyrannical General Woundwort from the neighboring warren.

Ideals and tempers collide which results in a perilous battle between the two warrens that threatens their very existence!

The Epilogue of the story is both sad and inevitable, but also peaceful in a spiritual way.

This is a very good book and well worth the acclaim of being a classic.

IF YOU FOUND THIS REVIEW HELPFUL PLEASE VOTE. THANK YOU !!

Likes: A small group of rabbits in the English countryside leave their home warren and experience many trials as they travel into the hills to establish a new warren. Purely fictional entertainment, with thought provoking situations as they would apply to human relationships and attitudes. Or you can read it purely for fun! This book is totally different from the average novel, definitely a stand out, with its own rabbit vocabulary. Very well written, with well-developed characters and scenery.

Dislikes: Extremely anthropomorphic, and as such, someone of the PETA-type mindset may grab the thoughts of characters and embrace them as gospel, while this was not the intent of the author.

Why I bought it: This is one of those nice long books that are comfortable to read over and over, with enjoyable storylines and interesting characters. You can re-read it every year, and it won't get old. The author also wrote "The Plague Dogs", which was written in the same style, but is a touch unpleasant as it leans toward animal abuse themes.

I bought this because my old copy was getting faded. Was missing the cover and some pages.

I have been reading this book since I was in seventh grade. This is a classic. It one of the best written novels you will ever read. Its about a group of wild buck rabbits, that leave their home in search of a new one. After their first was destroyed by man. They have many adventures, including ending up in a conflict with another warren called Efrafa in the end. After they have liberated some of their does from them.

Despite the title, this is not a childrens book, since there are some adult themes in it.

I love the movie version of this book; it is one of my favorite films, and I had the fortune of watching it at a young age. It was the first animated film that I had seen that didn't try to cover up anything or make everything peachy and nice--it told it the way it was. The book is great; I have read part of it and could not find a library in my area with a copy, and had to finish it. It is fairly long (almost 500 pages) but it is worth it. The book portrays a lot of societal issues and concepts through a neutral body in the rabbits. It doesn't cover up anything or try to make everything great. Adams tells it how it is, including the central idea of a socialist society, whereby a small group of rabbits led by Hazel succeed in a socialist-like community, whereas Chief Woundwart and his warren on a more massive scale fail in its attempt at a socialist society. In terms of literature, its one of the better novels I've read, one that I'd compare with the likes of Moby Dick and Robinson Crusoe in both nature and pursuit of an ultimate goal.

By far, one of the best adventure fiction stories ever written.
Books are like pizzas, what tastes good to you may not be what someone else may like. Normally, I never recommend books to anyone for that reason. This book is the only exception.
I have bought over a dozen of these books to give away in the past. Without exception, everyone liked it.
This purchase was for Maggie, the girl across the street that takes care of our animals when we take a trip.
I know she will love it and will pass it along to others.
If you like animals and adventure, I highly recommend this book.