Watership Down

Richard Adams

The first time I read Watership Down by Richard Adams was within a year of two of when it was first published in America. I read it at least two more times over the next few years. Then I got caught up in other books and other authors. Eventually my original hardback copy disappeared (and I couldn't afford many hardbacks in the 70's). Then last year my girlfriend bought a new copy for me for Christmas. I picked it up while I'm recuperating from serious surgery. I was charmed all over again by Hazel-rah and his friends.

Fiver has one of his "feelings" and informs his brother Hazel that they have to leave their warren immediately. Hazel is dubious, but Fiver is usually right when he has those instincts. They tried to warn the Chief Rabbit of some unknown imminent danger, but of course he kicked them out.

His premonition is worse, so Fiver and Hazel take off across England to find a new home. They are joined by their two close friends Blackberry and Dandelion, Bigwig, a fighting rabbit of the Chief's guard, Hawkbit, a slow but steady rabbit, Silver, a quieter member of the Chief's guard, and another smaller rabbit, Pipkin. As they are first leaving they are challenged, but then allowed to leave peacefully as long as they never returned.

The rabbits start traveling the direction that Fiver is sure to be their best place for a new home. For rabbits who have never been more than a few hundred yards from their warren, the miles they have to cover are filled with many challenges. Even when they finally arrive after many adventures, they have to settle in and find some does to live with them. This group of rabbits learn about themselves, their strengths, their weaknesses, and their responsibilities as well as their capabilities.

They have a trickster rabbit El-ahrairah who is the star of many of their myths. Story telling is a great way for them to socialize, spend a quiet evening before sleep, or buoy them up when needed. The fables around El-ahrairah are as fun as the story of the rabbits on their quest for a new home.

Here are some of the descriptive words I wrote on the flyleaf as I was reading: adventure, daring do, stalwart, leadership, romantic, persistence, faith, survival, strength, trickster, cunning, realistic, brotherhood, and exile. All of these help describe the book and bring it to the reader. Although these rabbits can think and talk, they have the physical capabilities of real rabbits, They don't have any fantasy super powers - other than perhaps their cunning.

In the introduction to this edition, Richard Adams tells how Watership Down began as a car story to keep his children occupied on long trips. It also became a bedtime story. His children kept telling him he should write the story down and publish he. He finally listened and Watership Down was first published in a small print run in 1972. It hasn't been out of print since.

Notice: Non-graphic violence