Watership Down (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

"The primroses were over. Towards the edge of the wood, where the ground became open..." - Richard Adams, Watership Down.

The title about says it all. I have cried at this book more often than I can remember; I get a shiver up my spine just hearing those opening words. I currently have four copies of the book, in varying states of disrepair, and on VHS video and DVD. There is just no other book like it. I apologise for the bad writing of this review, but it is impossible to be even slightly objective about something which has affected you so much growing up. By the age of 12 or 13, I had already read it numerous times.

Adams' simply gorgeous description of the countryside and the true beauty of the world is fantastically balanced with the grim and evil reality the humans bring to the world of the rabbits. I cannot quite place why I love this book, it is just something which exists so perfectly in your soul. If you are sitting on a crowded commuter train, or you are on the eve of a fated deadline, or more down in the dumps than you have ever been, you can pick up Watership Down and immediately escape into a world where the only things that matter are survival and the bonds you make with close friends going through traumatic and dangerous experiences. These rabbits do not know of human "troubles", and this is what makes this story so appealing: the INNOCENCE of it all. The pure pleasure of not caring.

The film has much the same effect, however I do feel it focuses on a different part of the story. The portrayal of Fiver's troubled mind is often chilling, and I would not recommend the film for very young children (as I know it scared me when I was younger!). However, the beautiful animation by Martin Rosen and his team fits the magnificence of Adams' writing perfectly, and the voices of such legends as John Hurt, Richard Briers and Roy Kinnear really bring these noble characters to life.

To all of those who knock this book for being "too simple" and the level of reading "too easy", it is because when you read a book it is more than just your eyes moving over the text. You take from a book only what you think yourself. What is wrong with simple? This book has a deep meaning which is very, very simple: the world is beautiful, if you look long enough. There is nothing better than that.

"Watership Down" was Richard Adams' debut novel and was first published in 1972. He originally told it to his children to help pass the time on long car journeys. It won the Guardian Award and the Carnegie Medal in 1973 and is set in Berkshire, where Adams was born in 1920. It is, of course, about rabbits, and was made into an animated film in 1978 - the soundtrack of which featured "Bright Eyes", by Art Garfunkel.

The book opens at Sandleford Warren in May, with Hazel, a yearling, and his brother, Fiver, feeding at sunset. Although brothers, the pair are very different. Fiver was the runt of the litter and, as a result, is a lot smaller and much more nervous than his brother. He is, however, also something of a seer and - not long after the book opens - foresees the destruction of their home warren. The pair bring the prophecy to the Threarah, their chief rabbit - who, despite Fiver's success rate, refuses to accept it. The brothers decide to leave anyhow, and mean to bring whoever wishes to come along with them. A number of others join them, including two Owsla members : Silver, a nephew of the Threarah, and Bigwig. Although they have little idea of where they're going, Fiver knows what they should be looking for and have an excellent leader in Hazel.

This book has so much going for it, it's hard to write a review that will do it justice. Bigwig was a great character - an all-action rabbit (yes, really !!) whose name comes from the strange tuft of hair between his ears. However, he's not the only star. Other notable characters include General Woundwort, the leader of another warren and the baddest rabbit in England. (A vicious character, he'd leave your average bunny-boiler with badly burnt fingers and causes our heroes a great deal of trouble). Kehaar, a somewhat foul-mouthed (or is that foul-beaked ?) seagull, provides a certain amount of humour. He also helps the rabbits establish themselves after they arrive at their new home. The story is very engaging and is very well told. Adams explains the way rabbit society is structured, for example, including the role of a Chief Rabbit and his Owsla. As the story progresses, he includes a few words of the rabbits' own language and a few of their myths : these are very much centred on the great rabbit hero, El-ahrairah. An excellent book, and highly recommended.

'Watership Down' is the exciting and emotional tale where a group of rabbits are forced to leave their Sandleford homes when Fiver, who often sees visions of the future, tells them that their warren is in danger from humans. The group is then lead by Hazel and Bigwig as they make their way through the fields of Hampshire as they come face to face with danger from other animals such as rats, foxes, cats, dogs and owls as well as humans and cars. As the story goes on Hazel and the group of rabbits try to rescue some rabbits from a farm; help a bird, who in turn then helps them; join another warren of rabbits and also try to steal does from a much bigger and powerful warren known as Efrafa, leading to a shocking and brilliant finalle. Along the way tales are told of El-ahrairah (prince of a thousand enemies), which gives more insight into the beliefs of the rabbits in their own world.

As someone who usually mainly reads crime fiction and horror (and have also never seen the movie adaption), I never thought that I'd enjoy a book about a bunch of rabbits but after a strong recommendation from my girlfriend, I gave this a try and once I started it I couldn't put it down. Immediately I fell in love with Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig, Pipkin, Dandelion, Speedwell, Blackberry, Silver, Buckthorn, Holly, Bluebell and Strawberry. Each and everyone of them has their individual characteristics and I found that I actually cared quite a lot what happened to them, and got quite emotional at certain points in the story.

Although this dubbed a children's novel, I found it to be quite complex at times and also quite gruesome and horrifying in parts, which I could imagine may be quite disturbing for younger readers. Overall though this is a brilliant read that took me no time at all to get through it's 480 pages and is one that I'll definitely read again. Without a doubt this is a classic that everyone should give a go, even if you think that a book about rabbits wouldn't be your kind of thing.