A review by roach
Watership Down by Richard Adams

adventurous dark funny inspiring 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? No

5.0

 

The story over, the demands of their own hard, rough lives began to reassert themselves in their hearts, in their nerves, their blood and appetites. Would that the dead were not dead! But there is grass that must be eaten, pellets that must be chewed, hraka that must be passed, holes that must be dug, sleep that must be slept.

I've seen the 1978 movie years ago and loved the gritty tale of rabbits on the search for a new home. Eventually, I became curious to read the original book as well and it drew me in very quickly.
Knowing that Adams' book won several awards including the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, I genuinely had a good chuckle when I opened the book and the first chapter started with a quote about a blood sacrifice and the stench of death. It set up the book perfectly and I was excited to read this juxtaposition of cute rabbits going on gritty adventures.

I adore how close the book is to nature. Adams clearly took his research very seriously and incorporated a lot of genuine facts of a rabbit's life into the storytelling right down to the ugly parts. Watership Down isn't really ever violent for gratuitous reasons but simply because rabbits do live a vulnerable life and have to navigate a lot of danger. After all, it's even incorporated in the mystical belief of the rabbits about El-Ahrairah, the so-called prince with a thousand enemies.
I loved how the journey lead the group of rabbits through several really interesting situations which involved different strange warrens of other rabbits, each presented with their own way of life. Their own mannerisms and beliefs or philosophies. There is lots of variety in this book and all of it is connected very well through this adventurous travel. The rabbits strategize their ways through obstacles and it makes for a lot of very engaging sequences.

The characters really grew on me and I cared for their well-being. And some of them are just straight-up badass like the strong and heavy Bigwig that literally tells an antagonist to "eat shit" in rabbit language. That was probably one of my favorite moments in any book I've read.

Death is always around the corner in Watership Down. But so is hope and this story is all about that.

"I couldn't do it again, Hazel," he said.
"You haven't got to," replied Hazel.