Book

Author:	Richard Adams
Title:	Watership Down
Publisher:	Macmillan
Country:	USA
Date:	1974
Format:	Paperback
Total Editions:	8
Rating:	Rate
Collection:	I Own It I Want It
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Comments and Reviews


Magic Marmalade 11th Jan 2023		Rated 9/10 Pure magic! (Another one off my: "To read" list - Really read a lot this last year, which surprises even myself!) In essence, this is to The Lord Of The Rings as Wind In The Willows is to The Hobbit... ...In that, as a tale told from the point of view of anthropomorphised animals (we do seem to like this literary tradition in England!), The Wind In The Willows and the Hobbit, are comparatively light reading smaller books, aimed at the younger reader... ...Whereas he Lord Of The Rings, and indeed this, are both chunkier volumes with more advanced, epic themes and scope, more suited to a slightly older reader (and adults! :) who have perhaps graduated from reading those earlier works. It is a grand story of a journey, taken by a handful of rabbits, to escape the destruction of their warren by man and his machines, to find a new home in some far and distant, and as yet unknown land, and who's outcome is uncertain (very Moses like!) The journey is perilous, as the rabbit is the natural prey of a multitude of enemies, both wild and tame, as well as man-made, and there is danger and adventure at every turn. At the centre of which is a very close and intimate portrayal of the rabbit characters, and their relationships, giving it a certain warmth, as well as being interspersed with rabbit mythology in the tales of the Black Rabbit, and the Rabbit "Gods" and heroes in the form of the stories they tell each other in their more subdued moments (Rabbit Culture), which really lend the work an air of mysticism and legend (in the same way that LOTR does). It deals, rather matter-of-factly with certain realities of the lives of wild animals, in kind of the same way that a nature documentary does, but deftly avoids being too graphic or lurid about them. It may, for this reason, as well as both the more advanced language, and the sheer size of the book (487 pages!) be a little too much for 11 year olds (as per comments below) but young adult, say only year older or so, at 12-13 years may be a better able to grasp, understand, and appreciate it fully, as well as being slightly less disturbed by some of the concepts and scenes here. (Any Brits reading this will remember, and appreciate how personally devastating watching the animated movie adaptation at such a young age was! - burned into our brains from that moment on!) But this is a richer experience than the movie version, and carries you along effortlessly from first page to last with it's incredible magical charm. (Another book I read some time back along these lines (I forget the author) of a story told as from a Fox's point of view, is Hunter's Moon* - well worth seeking out if you like this.)* (this review is from another edition of this book) ✔︎ Helpful Review?



KingEdward SUBS 2nd Oct 2020		Dimensions: Height: 8" Width: 5-3/8" Depth: 1-1/8" Weight: 14 oz. (this comment is from another edition of this book)



Bodston SUBS 27th Jun 2020		Hmm. recommended reading age of 11, and not a kids book? (this comment is from another edition of this book)



23skidoo 27th Jun 2020		I would dispute categorizing this in the Kids genre. It's not a Charlotte's Web by any stretch of the imagination. (this comment is from another edition of this book)

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Other Editions

Book

Richard Adams - La Collina Dei Conigli - Rizzoli - Anthology - Italy (1977)

Book

Richard Adams - Watership Down - Penguin Books - Hardcover - UK - 072265197X

Book

Richard Adams - Watership Down - Puffin - Paperback - UK - 0140306013 (1974)

Book

Richard Adams - Watership Down - Penguin Books - Paperback - UK - 0140039589 (1976)

Book

Richard Adams - Watership Down - Puffin - Paperback - UK - 0140306013

Book

Richard Adams - Watership Down - Puffin - Paperback - UK - 0140306013 (1983)

Book

Richard Adams - Watership Down - Scribner - Paperback - USA - 9780743277709 (2005)