Watership Down: A Review

Today I have a classic for you. A good classic. Now, when I recommend this to people, usually the first objection I hear was that the show traumatized them. But this is nothing like the show.

Perfect for fans of The Wind in the Willows, Redwall, the Mistmantle Chronicles, or The Green Ember, Watership Down follows the journey of a pack of young rabbits leaving their warren and searching for a new home, then securing and establishing it.

A worldwide bestseller for over thirty years, Watership Down is one of the most beloved novels of all time. Set in England’s Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of brothers, they journey from their native Sandleford Warren, through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, and toward the dream of a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society.

Amazon Blurb

Amazon makes it seem a bit more… political than it actually is. Adams was a Christian, and you can see that reflected in the way his characters hold fast to their virtues. Now, this isn’t to say that political allegories can’t be drawn from it. In fact, the other warrens the rabbit band encounters are in a way reflections of different ways our society is swinging and skewing, though that, of course, is a reflection of decreasing morality. Ultimately, allegories both political and spiritual can be drawn from this simple children’s classic.

I discovered this book in my tweens, and while I found the action a bit slow in coming, I kept reading on because of the style and the simple friendliness of it. Forgive me if that sounds highfalutin or vague, but I’m doing my best to describe it. You connect almost instantly with the characters, and you also learn a lot about rabbits along the way. Relax, it’s nothing like Moby Dick, where entire chapters will be spent describing and poetically ruminating on a fin or blubber. Descriptions are integrated smoothly into the storyline, and it’s a fun suspension of disbelief to go into the minds of the rabbits and see the human world — things such as roads or cars — as they do.

This book is fairly clean, though I understand why it might scare some more sensitive readers. One rabbit gets caught in a snare. There are several instances of biting and fighting, as well as descriptions of roadkill or getting shot with a bullet that are made more paranormal and horrifying by the rabbits’ simple perspective. Also, a seagull character has a sailor’s tongue — this book may be better as a read-aloud, or if a parent is concerned, they could read it first and put a strip of washi tape over any language, a trick I use. A graphic novel edition was recently published by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin, which may be more suitable for younger readers.

But despite the presence of evil, in rabbits and in men, there are powerful themes of good as well. Courage, chivalry, and ingenuity are praised, and the coming-of-age-story, if well done, is always powerful. There are also spiritual themes disguised among the stories the rabbits tell each other. This story, I think, fits quite well with Mr. Beaver’s famous line:

“Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.”

Children’s stories can’t always be perfectly exempt of any frightening elements or truly evil characters. If they were, how would the child learn to overcome his own fears? A child needs to see heroes overcoming wickedness and obstacles, as C.S. Lewis would say himself. This is one story that I think embodies this need and meets it well.

Anyone else read Watership Down? Any thoughts? I’d love to hear them. Have a wonderful week. Auf Wiedersehen!