Watership Down
- Downloads：9222
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-05-17 15:16:34
- Update Date：2025-09-24
- Status：finish
- Author：Richard Adams
- ISBN：0141354968
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Librarian note: An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here。
Fiver was only a young rabbit， but he had a sixth sense and foresaw that disaster was about to destroy the warren。 Few believed him。
Led by his brother Hazel， a small band of rabbits sets out on a dangerous journey to find a safe home…
Fiver was only a young rabbit， but he had a sixth sense and foresaw that disaster was about to destroy the warren。 Few believed him。
Led by his brother Hazel， a small band of rabbits sets out on a dangerous journey to find a safe home…
Reviews
Liam || Books 'n Beards
，
"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。" Best book about anthropomorphised rabbits to exist。Hazel and Fiver are brothers and live in the Sandleford Warren - Fiver， an odd rabbit who has premonitions - he forsees great danger coming to the warren， and they flee looking for a place high， lonely， and safe - Watership Down。I've been itching to re-read WATERSHIP DOWN ever since my first read i "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。" Best book about anthropomorphised rabbits to exist。Hazel and Fiver are brothers and live in the Sandleford Warren - Fiver， an odd rabbit who has premonitions - he forsees great danger coming to the warren， and they flee looking for a place high， lonely， and safe - Watership Down。I've been itching to re-read WATERSHIP DOWN ever since my first read in 2015。 I had seen the 1978 animated film more times than I can count， and in a lot of ways it is an incredibly faithful adaption of the book， but there is obviously a lot of depth that can't be carried over into a film。The amount of thought Adams put into Lapine society （as the rabbits call it） is impressive。 Their language and naming conventions makes sense， and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he had a full lapine dictionary in the tradition of JRR Tolkien。An unfortunate cut from book to film was the stories of El'Ahrairah， the archetypal rabbit of legend， with the exception of the creation myth of the rabbits which the quote at the top of the review is from。 These stories add so much depth to their history and read as utterly believable legends。I think the thing that makes WATERSHIP DOWN stand out is that the rabbits， for all their sapience and intelligence， still come across believably as rabbits。 They pass hraka without much thought， they get confused and often get lost or wander off， and when they are presented with an abstract concept or idea - such as using a piece of wood to float across a river - they don't understand it or grasp it， and forget as quickly as they learn。 They are also shown as being more than willing to use force， even against friends， and having fairly low emotional intelligence - for sure， they have emotional connections， but there's a certain cynical inevitability about everything they think and do。 Hell， most of them are barely a couple of months old。 Because of the above， there's a bit of a problem with female representation for most of the book - in fact， 'getting does' is the principle objective for the last half of the book。 Female rabbits are viewed as a necessity - and romantic love isn't shown as being something that rabbits especially understand or feel。 However， because of the above， it doesn't read as bad or meanspirited， and when given the chance there are female rabbits who are as interesting and as useful as the bucks - it just takes a while for them to show up。A wonderful story！ More people should read this book。 I could keep going but I don't think there's much to be said that hasn't been by a thousand other people。 。。。more
DivaDiane
，
Review to come
Shirley
，
4/5 stars。 Much like The Plague Dogs， my biggest complaint with this book is it’s often unnecessary wordiness， it I surprisingly like this book even more than the one previously mentioned。 The characters are all distinct and memorable， and the world building is sturdy and intriguing。 The whimsy of this book makes is oddly nostalgic for me， as it’s something very close to what my dad would read to me as a child。 Though this book took me a while to read， I enjoyed the good most of it。
Elizabeth
，
This book was okay。 I read it for a class but it just seemed slow to me。 Compared to books that I normally read， the book was extremely detailed and it went slow。 The characters were neat and it was definitely different reading it from a rabbit's point of view。 This book was okay。 I read it for a class but it just seemed slow to me。 Compared to books that I normally read， the book was extremely detailed and it went slow。 The characters were neat and it was definitely different reading it from a rabbit's point of view。 。。。more
Drosophila Swag
，
I wanna be a rabbit so bad💀
Zig
，
Nice story for young adult readers about rabbits gamboling across the English countryside。 The book endeavors to depict Oryctolagus cuniculus in a realistic fashion。 Consequently， numerous rabbits are eaten by other animals or local farmers。 Most notably， several rabbits are shot by a zealous land developer to make room for a shopping project。 The book is replete with deep， slightly ambiguous themes。 The protagonist rabbit， who after living a lengthy （by rabbit standards） and fruitful （breeding Nice story for young adult readers about rabbits gamboling across the English countryside。 The book endeavors to depict Oryctolagus cuniculus in a realistic fashion。 Consequently， numerous rabbits are eaten by other animals or local farmers。 Most notably， several rabbits are shot by a zealous land developer to make room for a shopping project。 The book is replete with deep， slightly ambiguous themes。 The protagonist rabbit， who after living a lengthy （by rabbit standards） and fruitful （breeding like rabbits comes to mind） life undergoes some kind of weird metamorphosis and has presumably expired。 。。。more
Amy Best
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Second time through with my husband reading aloud to us。 Delightful！
Rachel Powell
，
I have just finished this wonderful story on audioDespite the fact that the cartoon terrified me as a child， I know I would have fallen in love with this book in whatever medium I read it， but hearing it read by the brilliant Peter Capaldi has made the whole thing even more amazing。 It did take a chapter or two to 1） grab me and 2） stop picturing the cartoon， but suddenly I was in and completely invested in these rabbits and their lives。 I can't think of any part that I didn't enjoy， and I loved I have just finished this wonderful story on audioDespite the fact that the cartoon terrified me as a child， I know I would have fallen in love with this book in whatever medium I read it， but hearing it read by the brilliant Peter Capaldi has made the whole thing even more amazing。 It did take a chapter or two to 1） grab me and 2） stop picturing the cartoon， but suddenly I was in and completely invested in these rabbits and their lives。 I can't think of any part that I didn't enjoy， and I loved the characterisation of the rabbits， the descriptions of their surroundings， their language and their stories。 Capaldi further brought the story to life， capturing the emotions with his voice and making each character unique。 This is an excellent story and I fully intend to read a tree copy sometime in the future :） 。。。more
VJK
，
I liked this book a lot。 It’s a young adult fiction but written well enough for adults to enjoy。 I loved how the rabbits behaved like rabbits （not humans） but could talk and communicate。 The story kept me interested。 I wanted to find out what happens to the very end。
Cristina
，
Engaging。
Booker-Garet Feniks
，
I've never picked this book up as a kid， despite how much I've heard about it。 And， as a bunny parents， boy， was I missing out！ I adore this book to pieces。 I love the prose， however weirdly some things may be framed because of the century this was written in， but that hardly takes away from the enjoyment！ I adore the majority of characters， in particular Dandelion， Bigwig， & Fiver。 I love the parts where Dandelion tells the other rabbits of El-ahrairah & his tales， I adore the lore surrounding I've never picked this book up as a kid， despite how much I've heard about it。 And， as a bunny parents， boy， was I missing out！ I adore this book to pieces。 I love the prose， however weirdly some things may be framed because of the century this was written in， but that hardly takes away from the enjoyment！ I adore the majority of characters， in particular Dandelion， Bigwig， & Fiver。 I love the parts where Dandelion tells the other rabbits of El-ahrairah & his tales， I adore the lore surrounding the culture of the rabbits。 The moment where the point of view switches from Hazel to Bigwig during the third part of the book， Efrafa， was my favourite section， & I loved how tense it could get！ I was basically binking at the bus stop， so excited to see if the warren managed to escape or not！ All in all， an amazing book， a very pleasant read （despite the violence & brutality， but I'm not one to be phased by such things） & I highly recommend it for people who like other stories about animals going on big adventures， like， what was it again， Warrior Cats？ Like that， & equally as brutal， I would say （view spoiler）[（especially in the description of how the Sandleford warren was gased。 My stomach turned。） （hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Andrea Maino
，
Un gruppo di undici conigli decide di lasciare la conigliera in cui vive per andare in cerca di un luogo più sicuro in cui prosperare。 Durante la loro ricerca si inbatteranno in numerosi pericoli e nemici e dovranno agire con coraggio e astuzia per raggiungere l’obiettivo prefissato， la libertà e la felicità。I conigli sono caratterizzati perfettamente: hanno una propria lingua， una cultura， miti e costumi che raccontano e si tramandano， utilizzandoli anche come arma per combattere e sconfiggere Un gruppo di undici conigli decide di lasciare la conigliera in cui vive per andare in cerca di un luogo più sicuro in cui prosperare。 Durante la loro ricerca si inbatteranno in numerosi pericoli e nemici e dovranno agire con coraggio e astuzia per raggiungere l’obiettivo prefissato， la libertà e la felicità。I conigli sono caratterizzati perfettamente: hanno una propria lingua， una cultura， miti e costumi che raccontano e si tramandano， utilizzandoli anche come arma per combattere e sconfiggere coloro che cercano di ucciderli。 Nonostante sia considerato un classico della letteratura per bambini e ragazzi， io lo ritengo più adatto agli adulti affinché si colgano certi riferimenti e sfumature。 Una splendida favole di amicizia， collaborazione e coraggio per raggiungere ” la terra promessa”。 。。。more
Shelley Redlinger
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I never thought I'd find myself so invested in a story about rabbits。 I never thought I'd find myself so invested in a story about rabbits。 。。。more
Christina
，
Read this in elementary school。 Absolutely loved it。 I sometimes think about rereading it。
Sydney Conrad
，
A very cute and enjoyable book reminiscent of Wind in the Willows， but better written for a more mature audience。 The book started a little slow。 It took a little while to get used to the rabbit language （thank you Adams for the glossary） and to get to know the different rabbit personalities。 However， one quickly comes to love the main characters and wants to eagerly follow their many adventures。*** spoilers ***This book follows the adventures of Hazel， Big Wig， Fiver and their companions as the A very cute and enjoyable book reminiscent of Wind in the Willows， but better written for a more mature audience。 The book started a little slow。 It took a little while to get used to the rabbit language （thank you Adams for the glossary） and to get to know the different rabbit personalities。 However， one quickly comes to love the main characters and wants to eagerly follow their many adventures。*** spoilers ***This book follows the adventures of Hazel， Big Wig， Fiver and their companions as they are forced to leave their comfortable rabbit warren by a disturbing vision of Fiver's。 He predicts death for the entire warren and tries to warn their Chief Rabbit that they must flee。 Their concerns fall on deaf ears and they decide to leave on their own with any others who will listen and follow。They successfully escape their warren and fight against their nature to travel above ground in a group to a new， safe location to start over。 At the first place they stop， they soon meet new rabbits who offer to share their warren with the new comers。 Hazel and team gladly accept with the exception of Fiver who is reticent to join the new rabbits。 Once below ground， they quickly learn there is something strange about this new rabbit warren。 They have lost some of their wild ways and rely on a nearby farmer for most of their food。 The group quickly discovers the farmer has placed snare traps throughout the woods to catch the rabbits。 The warren has accepted this as a trade off risk for easy living and being fed， but this has cost them many of their rabbits and does。 Big Wig himself is caught in a snare and is only saved by his calm head and friends who work to quickly free him。 Hazel and crew quickly depart， realizing the danger they are in and that they were only invited so they could be sacrificed to the snare traps instead of the existing rabbits。 They travel beyond this warren to a place where they can build their own warren。 They quickly dig out a new home for themselves。 Along the way they make friends with some local animal friends by saving their lives。 This includes a field mouse and a seagull called Keehar。 They quickly realize if they are to survive， they will need to obtain some does as their group consists of only bucks。 While considering how to solve this problem， they are met with a small group from their original warren。 Soon after they left， a group of men sold the land and wanted to develop it。 To ready the land， they gassed and killed all of the rabbits living there。 Only a few escaped and came to find Hazel and team。 They learn there are only 2 sources of does in the area， a nearby farm with pet rabbits and a large warren several days away。 They send a group to the warren to ask for a few does to join them。 While they are gone， Hazel and a few others dare a rescue attempt at the farm for the domestic rabbits。 They successfully escape with a few rabbits but Hazel is shot in the process and mistakenly thought dead by the group。 Fiver dreams of Hazel's location and they are able to retrieve him and get him home safely。 In the meantime， the envoy sent to the nearby warren returns and they learn that warren is run like a terrifying military camp。 No rabbits that come within its territory are allowed to leave。 The envoy only returned through sheer lucky and trickery。 They are not able to bring any does with them。Still needing does， Hazel devises a plan to infiltrate the warren and escape with does。 Big Wig plays a large role， and works with a team of their rabbits and Keehar to evacuate a group of does from the warren。 They are chase and barely escape by ingeniously climbing into a boat and quickly floating down river。 The rival warren Chief Rabbit gives chase and follows them all the way back to their warren。 He attempts to invade the group and force them all back to the rival warren or die trying。 The group escapes by loosing the dog at the local farm and leading it to the warren woods to catch and maim the rival rabbits。 Some scatter， some die， and some join Hazel's warren after the death of their old Chief Rabbit。 After this， Hazel and crew are allowed to live in peace with their new does and begin families。 The rival rabbits who survive return to their warren and change the way it operates to be a more hospitable place。 。。。more
Rob Campbell
，
Oh， where to begin！？This， story， this masterpiece。 This classic， essential work of art。。。One does not "review" as if you know how to write so masterfully。。 One {instead} stands in awe， of such artistry。。This story is a huge part of my childhood。 I read it for the first （of many） times in grade 5。 I've probably read the book， and seen the cartoon movie at least 100 x And I still love it。 Essential reading。 Oh， where to begin！？This， story， this masterpiece。 This classic， essential work of art。。。One does not "review" as if you know how to write so masterfully。。 One {instead} stands in awe， of such artistry。。This story is a huge part of my childhood。 I read it for the first （of many） times in grade 5。 I've probably read the book， and seen the cartoon movie at least 100 x And I still love it。 Essential reading。 。。。more
Tom Peryam
，
Even better than I remembered from my childhood。 A delight。
Qaiyla
，
Watership Down is a book about rabbits。 I know， I know， a controversial take - the truth is I did have some expectations for there to be more to this book than that， some deeper ideas or themes， but as I read on I realised that this book is in fact， as Richard Adams says himself， nothing more than a book about rabbits。 That being said， it was a very enjoyable book about rabbits。 It's actually a children's book， but I liked it a lot。 Nothing to complain about here， so I'll give it 5 stars。 Watership Down is a book about rabbits。 I know， I know， a controversial take - the truth is I did have some expectations for there to be more to this book than that， some deeper ideas or themes， but as I read on I realised that this book is in fact， as Richard Adams says himself， nothing more than a book about rabbits。 That being said， it was a very enjoyable book about rabbits。 It's actually a children's book， but I liked it a lot。 Nothing to complain about here， so I'll give it 5 stars。 。。。more
Hilary
，
Loved this impressive debut novel。 It has a sense of innocence about it but is not sentimental; in fact it’s dark & violent in parts。 I was immediately engrossed in the life of these amazing rabbits with their unique personalities & their struggle for survival。 A number of novels I’ve read have fallen flat at the end， in my opinion， but the ending of this book was so beautiful & profoundly moving。
Miranda
，
My favorite book。
Berenice
，
Charming and unusual， some events were even frightening。 The mythology and lore around rabbits is what surprised me the most （props to the author， that must have been a hell of a work）。
Ronny De Schepper
，
N。a。v。 het Chinese nieuwjaar heb ik het nog gehad over mijn grote voorliefde voor konijnen。 Het spreekt dus ook vanzelf dat ik destijds een grote fan was van het boek “Watership Down”， het verhaal over een kleine groep konijnen die na een visioen van één van hen overhaast hun kolonie ontvluchten en na veel omzwervingen de perfecte locatie voor een nieuwe kolonie vinden op Waterschapsheuvel （Watership Down）。 Het boek is verschenen in 1972， maar ikzelf heb het in Nederlandse vertaling gekocht in 1 N。a。v。 het Chinese nieuwjaar heb ik het nog gehad over mijn grote voorliefde voor konijnen。 Het spreekt dus ook vanzelf dat ik destijds een grote fan was van het boek “Watership Down”， het verhaal over een kleine groep konijnen die na een visioen van één van hen overhaast hun kolonie ontvluchten en na veel omzwervingen de perfecte locatie voor een nieuwe kolonie vinden op Waterschapsheuvel （Watership Down）。 Het boek is verschenen in 1972， maar ikzelf heb het in Nederlandse vertaling gekocht in 1973 （later heb ik me ook de originele Engelse versie aangeschaft）。 Ik heb het gebruikt in de klas， ik heb er （later） uit voorgelezen aan mijn kinderen， ik heb uiteraard de tekenfilm gezien， ik heb zelfs een tijdlang met dat vreselijke nummer van Art Garfunkel （“Bright eyes”） gedweept。 Kortom， ik was er zo weg van dat ik me meteen ook maar “Shardik” （1974） en “The plague dogs” （1977） heb aangeschaft， al ben ik er niet zeker van dat ik ze ook helemaal heb uitgelezen。 Auteur Richard Adams geeft in interviews grif toe dat de dierenportretten in “Winnie-the-pooh” van Alan Alexander Milne hem hebben geïnspireerd bij het schrijven van zijn dierenboeken。 。。。more
Audrey Webster
，
Good listen， but extremely long。
Shawn
，
DNF need to check it out again。
Louise Cowell
，
I bloody loved this book… even more so the audiobook read by Peter Capaldi！
Georgina
，
I read this S-L-O-W-L-Y with my daughter。 There were moments I liked and moments I found charming but overall I just thought it was too long！ I wonder if I had read it on my own at a quicker pace （and skimmed most of the descriptive sections） I would have liked it better。 It’s like an ethnography of anthropomorphized rabbits。 Mildly interesting。
Samantha Webster
，
4。5/5really engaging and overall fun， i loved bigwig and fiver and i thought the world building was very creative， i’d recommend。
Jamie
，
I know I am in the strong minority here， but I just did not like this book。 It's nearly 500 pages of descriptions of grass and flowers and the breeze and how the flowers and grass sway in the breeze and the scents that are in the breeze。 It just wasn't for me。 It felt really long winded and not really exciting enough to keep my attention。 I know I am in the strong minority here， but I just did not like this book。 It's nearly 500 pages of descriptions of grass and flowers and the breeze and how the flowers and grass sway in the breeze and the scents that are in the breeze。 It just wasn't for me。 It felt really long winded and not really exciting enough to keep my attention。 。。。more
Jafet
，
Este libro lo ubico por una pelicula que fue muy contoversial por la crudeza en la que reflejo la historia aqui narrada。 Nada mas crudo que ma realidad， una gran historia de esas que lamento no haber leido hace años。 Muchas cosas que aprender y persojes mas humanos que muchos humanos que conozco。
Elliott Malik
，
Some tales written for children defy age and enchant every reader。 Some tales have an ability to lift the reader from the present and transport him into the soft warmth of a distant memory。 For me， Watership Down did both。Sometimes derided as a mere book about rabbits， it is much more。 It is a classic example of an adventure tale， though the protagonists are rather furrier than usual！ Set in the fields of northern Hampshire， I was constantly called back to my youth spent in the county。 Through a Some tales written for children defy age and enchant every reader。 Some tales have an ability to lift the reader from the present and transport him into the soft warmth of a distant memory。 For me， Watership Down did both。Sometimes derided as a mere book about rabbits， it is much more。 It is a classic example of an adventure tale， though the protagonists are rather furrier than usual！ Set in the fields of northern Hampshire， I was constantly called back to my youth spent in the county。 Through allegory and the myths of the rabbits， we are shown of the best and worst of human nature。 The descriptions of the seasons， plants， and wildlife were tangential， yet also the most beautiful parts of the book。 More emotively， this book unfurled with the tenderness of a grandfather sitting his grandchildren around him and telling them a tale。If you decide to travel to the real Watership Down after reading this， look out for rabbits - the descendants of Hazel， Fiver， Bigwig and the other characters are all around。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Watership Down
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Watership Down&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Watership Down&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0