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gasoline_allie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
There are many times when I'm happy with 3 stars. When you were hoping for 5 stars, however, when the potential is so close--it's right there!--then 3 stars feels like a disappointment.
Watership Down can be described as a lot of things. It's a classic fantasy with a group of adventurers who follow a prophecy to escape disaster and find a new home. It's a model of the hero's journey. It mixes aspects of The Odyssey with shades of Animal Farm. There was complex worldbuilding, including a rabbit language, social hierarchies, vivid mythology, and beautiful descriptions that made a rabbit's eye view of the world come alive. I loved the way the different warrens, particularly Cowslip's and Efrafa, were described. I could feel how twisted and oppressive they were. As a classic fantasy, the pacing was so...very...s-l-o-w, but the story itself was exciting enough that I kept coming back.
Where it completely lost me was the dearth of any interesting or well-developed female characters. It was a shame because the bucks are all well-developed, with distinct personalities, preferences, and relationships. The does in Watership Down are little more than objects, commodities to be found, stolen, fought over, and used to bear young and dig burrows. It was a 600-page book, and I don't know if their dialogue would even fill a single page. They were so boring, they didn't even hold most of the bucks' attention. I think even one interesting or distinctive female character would have made this at least a 4.5-star read for me, if not higher.
As it was, the CAWPILE score was 48, for an average of 6.86 or 3 stars. Boo.
Watership Down can be described as a lot of things. It's a classic fantasy with a group of adventurers who follow a prophecy to escape disaster and find a new home. It's a model of the hero's journey. It mixes aspects of The Odyssey with shades of Animal Farm. There was complex worldbuilding, including a rabbit language, social hierarchies, vivid mythology, and beautiful descriptions that made a rabbit's eye view of the world come alive. I loved the way the different warrens, particularly Cowslip's and Efrafa, were described. I could feel how twisted and oppressive they were. As a classic fantasy, the pacing was so...very...s-l-o-w, but the story itself was exciting enough that I kept coming back.
Where it completely lost me was the dearth of any interesting or well-developed female characters. It was a shame because the bucks are all well-developed, with distinct personalities, preferences, and relationships. The does in Watership Down are little more than objects, commodities to be found, stolen, fought over, and used to bear young and dig burrows. It was a 600-page book, and I don't know if their dialogue would even fill a single page. They were so boring, they didn't even hold most of the bucks' attention. I think even one interesting or distinctive female character would have made this at least a 4.5-star read for me, if not higher.
As it was, the CAWPILE score was 48, for an average of 6.86 or 3 stars. Boo.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
mikki_9's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Infertility, Torture, Violence, Excrement, and Kidnapping
Minor: Miscarriage, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy
agatelee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
What a great adventure. I'm in the "it's not that deep" camp as far as this book goes. The rabbits experience the horrors of habitat destruction, but the book doesn't really examine that as an ongoing theme. It's a crisis that they need to run from, and that is all, as far as I could tell. They also experience the crushing depression of living under an authoritarian regime, briefly, but again, it's mostly just an obstacle to escape from.
The thing I enjoyed the most were the rabbit folklore tales of El-arairah, and how they model his cleverness and trickery in their own endeavors. The thing I enjoyed least was how the female rabbits were characterized as passive, weak, and dispensable. It's a little slow in the first half, but the final section is epic. The final boss is an exciting villain to overcome, and the climax was delightfully chaotic. Because of its rabbit protagonists, the stakes feel much higher than in your average "save the world" story; it has down-to-earth consequences, which feel believable to me.
Overall, I found Watership Down to be an epic adventure with real and consequential dangers, and cool mythology. I recommend it.
The thing I enjoyed the most were the rabbit folklore tales of El-arairah, and how they model his cleverness and trickery in their own endeavors. The thing I enjoyed least was how the female rabbits were characterized as passive, weak, and dispensable. It's a little slow in the first half, but the final section is epic. The final boss is an exciting villain to overcome, and the climax was delightfully chaotic. Because of its rabbit protagonists, the stakes feel much higher than in your average "save the world" story; it has down-to-earth consequences, which feel believable to me.
Overall, I found Watership Down to be an epic adventure with real and consequential dangers, and cool mythology. I recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Minor: Sexism
readerette's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
While unnecessarily long, this is a great adventure story where characters from a variety of backgrounds learn to rely on one another's strengths and build a new home together. It's wonderful to see the world through the eyes of creatures humans commonly call "pests".
It's a bit predictable after the first twist, but I don't think the twists and action are really the point.
My major complaint besides the length is the depiction of female characters, given that this book was written in the 1970s (not 1870s) by a man with daughters. There aren't many females in the book, the rabbit ones have very few thoughts or contributions of any kind besides fear and kittens, and they come across as dispensable considering their death rate relative to the main male rabbit characters. One could argue that this is all simply because of the "natural" way of rabbits, but the male rabbit characters behave in lots of unnatural ways despite the author's research into rabbits, which I'm sure was a deliberate choice. So why didn't he choose to create stronger, more present female characters?
Given the violence, the emotional toll, and the struggles the rabbits undergo, I would suggest this for children 12+ at minimum (more middle grade than children's), but it's a great read as an adult as well.
I listened to the audiobook read by Peter Capaldi, who did wonders with all the different character voices. I listened at 1.75x instead of my usual 2x because otherwise I couldn't catch all the rabbit-language words underneath the accents.
It's a bit predictable after the first twist, but I don't think the twists and action are really the point.
My major complaint besides the length is the depiction of female characters, given that this book was written in the 1970s (not 1870s) by a man with daughters. There aren't many females in the book, the rabbit ones have very few thoughts or contributions of any kind besides fear and kittens, and they come across as dispensable considering their death rate relative to the main male rabbit characters. One could argue that this is all simply because of the "natural" way of rabbits, but the male rabbit characters behave in lots of unnatural ways despite the author's research into rabbits, which I'm sure was a deliberate choice. So why didn't he choose to create stronger, more present female characters?
Given the violence, the emotional toll, and the struggles the rabbits undergo, I would suggest this for children 12+ at minimum (more middle grade than children's), but it's a great read as an adult as well.
I listened to the audiobook read by Peter Capaldi, who did wonders with all the different character voices. I listened at 1.75x instead of my usual 2x because otherwise I couldn't catch all the rabbit-language words underneath the accents.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexism
gabriella_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This made me feel like a little kid again which I know isn’t an easy feat. I was squirming reading this feeling so tense and anxious for battle rabbits in a society some parts even felt apocalyptic. An absolute page-turner this was awesome
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
coffeebean216's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Torture, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Sexism
macliffe's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
My favorite book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Infertility, and Excrement
Minor: Cursing, Miscarriage, Sexism, Torture, Vomit, Car accident, Murder, and Pregnancy
darkefyres's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Sexism, and Murder
Minor: Child death and Miscarriage
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying and Sexism
forestfox's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Auch nach Jahren einfach mein absolutes Lieblingsbuch!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Blood, and Abandonment
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, and Pregnancy