Review: Watership Down by Richard Adams

Watership Down by Richard Adams
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I don't exactly know how to rate this book.   I actually feel bad that I didn't immediately fall in love with it.  It was recommended so many times and it is well loved by so many.  I chose it to fulfill a book mentioned in another book challenge.  I recently finished up The Waste Lands by Stephen King, and one of the main characters mentions Watership Down.  They also mention Shardik, which Richard Adams also wrote.  As this was recommended many times for the 2017 reading challenge and it was available at the library I took a chance.  I had no idea what it was about, but I think I expected more of a fantasy and this really doesn't have any fantasy elements.  There is no magic or fantastical creatures, and Adams is very clear in the forward that he doesn't make the rabbits do anything that an actual rabbit can't do physically.  You can tell he went to great lengths to portray rabbits and their actions accurately in their natural habitat.

I didn't particularly enjoy Watership Down, but it was beautifully written. I think a younger version of myself would have really loved this book, but adult me just didn't connect with a story about rabbits and told from the perspective of rabbits. And that's is the basic plot line of this story, a group of rabbits takes off from their home or warren because one of the rabbits gets premonitions. This premonition leads them to face many hardships and find a new warren. This leads to new premonitions, and more hardships. All of the hardships that the rabbits face are typical things a rabbit in the wilderness would face weather, humans, predatory animals, hunger, the need for shelter, etc. Once they establish a new home, they come to realize there are no female rabbits in their group, so they figure out a way to explore the lands around them. This leads to a clan war with a nearby warren. The small group of rabbits face many challenges before their adventure is over. This is not a cute, fluffy bunny story. There is danger and violence, and can I just say I had no idea that bunnies could fight like that. I learned a great deal about rabbits from this book.

You can tell that Adams put a ton of work into his research, and you can tell alot of love went into the construction and telling of this story. I really loved the rabbit mythology he created and the stories the rabbits told each other. This definitely gets an A+ for quality of writing, character development, visual description, and plot development. The writing is excellent, and I can see why many love it and it is a favorite. I actually think my boys,would really enjoy this as it is an adventure story, and I think they are at the right age to fall in love with this story. While I didn't love it, I think I might enjoy sharing it and reading it with them.

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