# Watership down....Anyone ever read it? what did you think?



## Arabiansnob (Nov 29, 2010)

Watership Down is my all time favorite book i have ever read so far in my life!!  tell me what you all think of the book?


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Nov 29, 2010)

About a hundred times!!  My favorite book growing up.


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## Beekissed (Nov 29, 2010)

Same here!  Genius!  One can never really read it too  many times.


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## txcarl1258 (Nov 30, 2010)

Loved it.  Read it when I was a kid.  Need to find a copy to read it again, its been a while.


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## a7736100 (Dec 4, 2010)

around 500 pages of small print.


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## Dutchgirl (Feb 28, 2011)

I loved it! We named our litter of bunnies after it.

1. Blackberry (My favorite)
2. Hazel (Actually a girl, our current rabbit)
3. Strawberry (also a girl)
4. Pipkin
5. Acorn
6. Dandelion

I loved them! Blackberry was gray, Hazel's brown, Strawberry was white with a Rex coat, Pipkin was white w/ black spots, Acorn was a gray/brown color w/ a Rex coat, and Dandelion was white. They were all beautiful.

Watership Down was so extraordinary... I've never before read a book that transforms mere rabbits into humans in an epic novel for adults.


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## Roll farms (Feb 28, 2011)

That book / movie was my favorite as a kid....awesome!

Bigwig was my favorite...


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## theawesomefowl (Feb 28, 2011)

I didn't like it...it didn't interest me at all. The names were cool though.
I don't like rabbits, anyway.


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## rabbitgeek (Feb 28, 2011)

I laughed. I cried. It moved me.

Have a good day!


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## dewey (Mar 1, 2011)

theawesomefowl said:
			
		

> I didn't like it...it didn't interest me at all. The names were cool though.
> I don't like rabbits, anyway.


 There must be some mistake.


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## tortoise (Mar 1, 2011)

I read it when I was a kid.  Did not like.  Then again, I have no interest in fiction of any kind.


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## rabbitman (Mar 1, 2011)

Sounds interesting I just orded me a copy. Hope its a good book!!!


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## flemish lops (Mar 1, 2011)

I have never read the book but I liked the movie. I guess I should read the book once.


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## chinbunny1 (Mar 3, 2011)

This is one of my favorite books. If you have seen the movie, but never read the book, you are missing out on a lot! the movie left out a lot of characters,and changed some of the stuff that happens in the book. I like the movie too. The book is so much better. 

I happen to be on the richard adams yahoo group. There is an artist on there, that personally knows richard adams. He is working with him on getting a illistrated book published to celebrate the fortieth anniversary. Sadly peguin books, his publisher in the uk refused to publish the illustrated edition. But, they may be working with a publisher in the US to get it published. I have seen some of the artwork. Its beautiful. 

You can get the non published version on amazon.com

Did you guys know Richard Adams will be 91 years old this year?

I also recommend reading the plague dogs, and tales from watership down, also by Richard Adams.


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## nogoatsyet (Mar 5, 2011)

I loved the book!  But the movie scared me as a kid.


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## gocrow77 (Apr 5, 2011)

Bigwig was my favorite too - had a mini rex buck named after him many years ago!  Great read.


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## rabbitman (Apr 7, 2011)

Yeah I am reading the book as we speak. I like Buckthrown haha I named my little buck after him. So far it is an interesting book. Can't wait to get my hands on the movie


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## Okie Amazon (Apr 7, 2011)

OMG, the movie of "The Plague Dogs" will _haunt_ you!  Very powereful!   I think you can actually watch the whole thing on-line on youtube.


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## rabbitman (Apr 7, 2011)

Is that the name for the Watership Down movie? Its scary hahahaha


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## foxywench (Apr 11, 2011)

loved the book loved the movie...made me cry though.
pipkin was one of my faves lol

its a whole new thing reading/seeing it as an adult too...

his work isnt realy for children.


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## rabbitgeek (Apr 11, 2011)

I liked the movie too. But the movie may be too intense for kids under 12 years old. 

Have a good day!
Franco Rios


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## bethany83 (Apr 22, 2011)

Would this book be okay for an advanced elementary school aged child? 10 years old/5th grade? He's also read Percy Jackson & The Olympians and Harry Potter series.


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## nogoatsyet (Apr 22, 2011)

bethany83 said:
			
		

> Would this book be okay for an advanced elementary school aged child? 10 years old/5th grade? He's also read Percy Jackson & The Olympians and Harry Potter series.


That's about when I read it the first time.  If he's okay with the later books of those two series I think he would be fine.


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## chinbunny1 (Apr 24, 2011)

The name of the watership down movie is watership down. The plague dogs is another book written by richard adams. Its about a couple of dogs, that escape a lab. They are thought to carry the bubonic plague. Harder to read then watership down. very good book. They also made of movire of that one too. You can order the dvd on amazon.com.Much better then watching them on you tube.


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## Roll farms (Apr 24, 2011)

This discussion gave me the itch to see it again...so I put it on my Netflix list.  
BigWig is still my fav. and General Woundwart still scares the hraka outta me.


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## Okie Amazon (Apr 25, 2011)

Make sure to have a large box of kleenex close at hand when watching
"The Plague Dogs".


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## CYGChickies (Jul 12, 2011)

Watership Down is hands down my favorite novel of all time. I was seven years old the first time I read the book and have read the book six separate times during my life. As a person who read dozens of "literary" books through college, I have to say that there is no novel to even compare. I had no idea there was a film until I was eighteen years old. It doesn't even compare to the book, but it's how I've shared the story with friends throughout the years. For anyone who hasn't read Watership Down I highly suggest it. There is nothing childish or cheesy about this book. It is stirring and haunting and once you read it the characters and stories from the book will always be in the back of your mind. 

I probably sound like a dustjacket review but I absolutely adore this book and the gentleman who wrote it!

CYG


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## Genipher (Oct 9, 2011)

I read it as a teen and then after I got married my husband and I read it aloud together.  I tried to talk hubby into naming our new buck El-ahrairah or The Black Rabbit of Inle but he was not keen on the idea. 

I thought the "creation" stories of the animals were...interesting.

Watership Down is one of my favorite books.


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## woodleighcreek (Oct 9, 2011)

I have never herd of this book...what is it about?


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## CYGChickies (Oct 10, 2011)

To say it's about talking rabbits doesn't do it justice. It's an epic tale you must read.

CYG


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## Ms. Research (Oct 10, 2011)

CYGChickies said:
			
		

> To say it's about talking rabbits doesn't do it justice. It's an epic tale you must read.
> 
> CYG


Read it a long, long time ago.  Maybe it's time to read it again.


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## Beekissed (Oct 10, 2011)

I have to say I love BigWig the most, with Hazel coming in a close second.


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## CYGChickies (Oct 10, 2011)

My double-maned Vienna Lionhead buck is BigWig and my New Zealand Red buck is Hazel. However I always loved Blackberry and Dandelion the most! We have a NZWhite doe named Strawberry as well haha.

CYG


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## SillyChicken (Oct 12, 2011)

I read it when I was a kid, but I want to read it again... since I've grown up my perceptions have changed on alot of things, so I'm not sure if I'll have the same opinion of the book today.


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## codymax2 (Oct 12, 2011)

Love it!!! I have the sequal too and though it isn't half as good it was still nice to read


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## KDailey (Dec 15, 2011)

Loved that book! I read it in 6th grade and hadn't read it since until I remembered it about 6 months ago. So I bought an app on my ipod that I could read books on and bought it on there and re-read it. LOVED it yet again! Genius


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## Queen Mum (Dec 15, 2011)

Read it, can't remember a thing about it.  So it must not have been that memorable for me.


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## Ms. Research (Dec 16, 2011)

Queen Mum said:
			
		

> Read it, can't remember a thing about it.  So it must not have been that memorable for me.


lol, have to say that about half the required reading in High School.  But I did like reading Animal Farm.  

Should try it again.  Maybe this time could catch your attention.  Definitely need to stop by the Library and pick up a copy.  Enjoy picking up a book I'd enjoyed in the past and reliving the adventure.   Maybe even Animal Farm.  

K


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## secuono (Dec 16, 2011)

Never heard of it. How old are you guys, maybe it's a generation thing...or possibly your location? Idk..
I read Through Wolf's Eyes, huge book...took forever, what a pain. More annoying how people just repeat what they've written over and over...ugh.


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## Queen Mum (Dec 16, 2011)

Ms. Research said:
			
		

> Queen Mum said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I should try reading it again.  I know I enjoy kids books more now as an adult than I did as a kid.  I read them endlessly.


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## Ms. Research (Dec 17, 2011)

secuono said:
			
		

> Never heard of it. How old are you guys, maybe it's a generation thing...or possibly your location? Idk..
> I read Through Wolf's Eyes, huge book...took forever, what a pain. More annoying how people just repeat what they've written over and over...ugh.


I'm 50.  Plus homeschooled my son so read lots of children's book.  It's always nice for me to go back and read something as an adult that I read as a child.  Plus it was on the list my son was to read.  I guess it's just me.  Not a generation thing or a location.  

Never heard of Wolf's Eyes either.  Will have to look into it.  I'm a Stephen King fan so used to huge books.  And some of his took forever and where a pain to get through too.  

K


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## Jupiter (Jan 5, 2012)

secuono said:
			
		

> Never heard of it. How old are you guys, maybe it's a generation thing...or possibly your location? Idk..
> I read Through Wolf's Eyes, huge book...took forever, what a pain. More annoying how people just repeat what they've written over and over...ugh.


Good books never get too old  I loved Watership Down--haven't read it in years though. Through Wolf's Eyes the fantasy book that's part of a series? They are nothing at all alike. I read all sorts of books, but Watership Down is a classic and amazing. TWE is not that memorable and also not that well written---I agree she did repeat herself a LOT and again in the rest of the series. I liked them, but I'm a sci-fi/fantasy fan. Even though Watership Down is fiction, I never really thought of it as fantasy.


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## Beekissed (Jan 5, 2012)

secuono said:
			
		

> Never heard of it. How old are you guys, maybe it's a generation thing...or possibly your location? Idk..
> I read Through Wolf's Eyes, huge book...took forever, what a pain. More annoying how people just repeat what they've written over and over...ugh.


  We're not THAT old!    I'm 45 but I read it first while in grade school.  



> *Watership Down* is a classic heroic fantasy novel, written by English author Richard Adams, about a small group of rabbits. Although the animals in the story live in their natural environment, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their own culture, language (Lapine), proverbs, poetry, and mythology. Evoking epic themes, the novel recounts the rabbits' odyssey as they escape the destruction of their warren to seek a place in which to establish a new home, encountering perils and temptations along the way.
> 
> The novel takes its name from the rabbits' destination, Watership Down, a hill in the north of Hampshire, England, near the area where Adams grew up. The story is based on a collection of tales that Adams told to his young children to pass the time on trips to the countryside.
> 
> *Published in 1972*, Watership Down was Richard Adams' first novel, and is by far his most successful to date. Although it was initially rejected by 13 publishers before eventually being accepted by Rex Collings Ltd, Watership Down has never been out of print, and was the recipient of several prestigious awards. Adapted into an acclaimed classic film and a television series, it is Penguin Books' best-selling novel of all time.[1][2] In 1996, Adams published Tales from Watership Down, a follow-up collection of 19 short stories about El-ahrairah and the rabbits of the Watership Down warren.[3][4]


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## PinkFox (Jan 12, 2012)

see i think anyone reading watership down as a kid is missing out...its NOT a kids book whatsoever.
i grew up witht he book, then the movie (even now i cry) but it wasnt untill i was "all growd up" that the true aspects fo the book (and the undertones of the movie) hit home...its certinaly not a book i think of as a kids book (as a side note im 27 so not entirely sure its generational, but i am origioanllyf rom the UK so mabe its a cutltural generational thing?! lol)


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## Beekissed (Jan 12, 2012)

Nope, not really a kid's book...unless you're a certain type of kid.  Which I was....was reading adult classics while still in grade school and much preferred them to the more age appropriate books.  



> The popular interpretation of Cowslip's warren is a totalitarian society that segregates people into groups (the markings etc) and that it's a denunciation of Maoist communism. They don't worship strange rocks, but rather engage in "art" (the stones pressed into the wall) in order to debunk or de-mythologise the accepted Lapine religion of El-Ahraira and Frith and all that. Laughter goes along with this; they consider themselves superior to Fiver and his "backward, primitive" group and therefore ridicule them.


This is sort of what I got out of it also, even as a youngster, but the author has stated he was merely telling a children's fictional tale.  Sort of an elaborate plot and quite serious for telling small children, don't you think?


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## LadyIsabelle2011 (Jan 12, 2012)

I saw the movie as a kid and was strangely fascinated with it. I loved the characters, and the story was very gripping but almost in a dark and painful way. Many of the scene's still stick with me, particularly that scene were all the warren rabbits are suffocating to death...I remember it being very disturbing to me, not so much that I turned it off but enough so that it stuck with me all these years. That being said its just not one of those movies I can watch lightly and when I do watch it I end up being left with a certain down feeling (even with the happy ending). So, I guess if you measure a story's merit through impact you'd rate this movie as a A+ , though I don't think I'll ever show this to my kids.(oh and I did read the book as well(I think twice). I have to say I liked the book but wouldn't read it again for the same reasons listed above)


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## chinbunny1 (Jan 22, 2012)

Did you guys know they are going to bulldoze in the sandleford area of the book, and build on it? Richard adams and a bunch of people are fighting it. You should be able to find it on google search.


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## SDragon (Mar 10, 2012)

I read it when I was eleven.  I am now fourteen.  This is one of my all time favorite books.  I never knew that there was a sequel, I shall have to get it somketime.  I really need to watch the movie.  That is horrible that they are going to bulldoze and build!


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## SarahMelisse (Mar 11, 2012)

To even out the field a little... I read it in elementary school (5th grade maybe?) and I'm 25. But then again, my mom also read it in school and she's 56. It's just a classic I guess.


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## SarahMelisse (Mar 11, 2012)

Beekissed said:
			
		

> Nope, not really a kid's book...unless you're a certain type of kid.  Which I was....was reading adult classics while still in grade school and much preferred them to the more age appropriate books.


I think you're right... You kind of have to be THAT kid to get into this book. I was.


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## Genipher (Mar 12, 2012)

I read it as a teen. I am now 29. My mom was the one who told me about it.


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