‘Rabbits live close to death and when death comes closer than usual, thinking about survival leaves little room for anything else.’These rabbits don’t just fuck, they fuck each other up. I mean this is an absolutely wild, banger of a novel. When caught up in the action and anxieties of an epic tale, we, the reader, often find ourselves feeling epic as well. It’s a marvelous feeling, the whole world seems to hum with purpose and while we feel there is danger closing in all around we also feel emp...

An adventure about rabbits.....This is a tale about a group of rabbits, mainly Bigwig, Hazel, and Fiver, who leave their initial warren which has been slated to become a new housing development. They tried to find the best place to settle, but they have many obstacles along the way. They encounter other rabbits and other animals, forming both friendships and enemies. Interspersed among the tale are short stories about El-ahrairah, a very clever rabbit. This is another book on the 100 Books to Re...

Slowly watching the new Netflix show! Don’t want to cry too much at once! Re-read on audio is great. Still truly wonderful & sad. OMG! I can't believe it has taken me all of these years to read this book! It was such a wonderful book. There were some sad things, but I was able to get through it. I loved getting lost in this world of rabbits, where they talked of their fears, of things they needed to get done, the great camaraderie between each and every one of them. They were all so brave. I...

I don’t give a shit what Richard Adams says about his book because it simply isn’t true. According to him, in the preface of my edition, this is just a story about rabbits. Its intended purpose was to entertain his children in the car, that’s fair enough, but he also says there is no intentional allegorical meaning whatsoever. I find this hard to believe. The allegories in here are rich and meaningful. They don’t just allude to simple problems. They’re complex and purposeful. So if he didn’t int...

I remember when Watership Down was first published in 1972. It was a novel by an unknown English author, Richard Adams. All of a sudden the book Watership Down was absolutely everywhere and people were reading it on buses, trains, park benches — all over the place. It captured everybody's imagination. Six years later the animated film came out, and it all happened all over again! If, glancing at the cover, you asked any of those readers "Is this a book about rabbits?" the answer would be a hesit...

"El-ahrairah, your people cannot rule the world, for I will not have it so. All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed."When Fiver, a seer, is overcome with a vivid dream of mass destruction. He tries to convince the rabbits in charge of the validity of his vision. The...

I read this book an age ago. Maybe 40 years ago the first time.Lots of authors have written animal stories but they tend to be cute little tales where the level of anthropomorphism is such that the rabbits or whatever are practically, or literally, wearing waistcoats and top hats. We only need to look to Wind in the Willows or Beatrix Potter for examples.Obviously *some* level of making the animals human is required. I suspect a rabbit's true inner monologue would be rather dull even if it could...

In memory of Richard Adams (1920 - 2016):-------Some books have an amazingly unexplainable ability to transcend the purpose of their creation and take a leap into being an instant timeless classic. “All the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand enemies. And when they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you; digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. Be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed.” Watership Down began as an i...

A classic on so many levels; I've included in my Goodreads because it really influenced me as a teen writer.

ETA: reread decades later in 2025, and pleased to say it still stands up. Interesting to note the differences in me as a reader; I have less patience for the action sequences of the final act and far more appreciation for the deft character building in the long slow first act.

oh man, this book totally tricked me! I got a bad haircut one day so I needed to lay low for a few weeks ("Supercuts", my ass! Liars!). I called two of my hardest, most straight-up thug homies (Zachary and Dustin) to bring me some of their books and this was one of them. I had just watched a show on A&E about WWII naval battles so I couldn't WAIT to read Watership Down! I love sea stories, "man overboard!" and "off the port bow!" and "aye aye cap'n!" all that stuff so I pulled my hat down an...