Watership Down?

[Yield]

[align=center]Anyone read it? I just started reading it a couple weeks back and I'm currently about halfway through. I had tried to read it over 6 years ago (yes, I've had it but never read it for that long) but I was young and I never got into it.

It was really hard for me to get into currently as well, but now that I'm into it, I ADORE it! I love the characters, I love Richard Adams's writing... I'm totally hooked. I just bought the second book to read afterwards and I'm gunna go find the movie in a minute so I can watch it when I finish the book.

I also bought The Plague Dogs cause I saw that movie a while back and it was great!

I really like Richard Adams- he is a great writer, despite how twisted he can be XD

 

[kirbyultra]

Watership Down was one of those "assigned reading" books from high school, but I never read it then. I picked it up after Stephen Colbert (political pundit) was spotted to have this book in his "non-fiction" part of his book shelf and said it was about, quote, "rabbits at war." I thought to myself, THIS I have to read. It is now one of my favorite books. The adventure is amazing. There's a good reason why it is considered a classic and I am in agreement!

I don't particularly recommend the movie from the 1970s UNLESS you are ok with some gorey graphic stuff that the book describes in gruesome detail.

I also read the sequel that was published some 20 years after the original. Not nearly as good, but had some interesting lore and continuation to the story.

 

[Yield]

kirbyultra wrote:

Watership Down was one of those "assigned reading" books from high school, but I never read it then. I picked it up after Stephen Colbert (political pundit) was spotted to have this book in his "non-fiction" part of his book shelf and said it was about, quote, "rabbits at war." I thought to myself, THIS I have to read. It is now one of my favorite books. The adventure is amazing. There's a good reason why it is considered a classic and I am in agreement!

I don't particularly recommend the movie from the 1970s UNLESS you are ok with some gorey graphic stuff that the book describes in gruesome detail.

I also read the sequel that was published some 20 years after the original. Not nearly as good, but had some interesting lore and continuation to the story.

[align=center]It was never assigned at school for me.. otherwise I would have read it ... I always read the school-assigned books :biggrin:

And yes- I know the movie is gorey. I have seen music videos of the movie and boy, they're always creepy! :shock: But I still want to see it- I saw the Plague Dogs movie and that was gorey and creepy as well. So, I'm sure I can handle Watership Down :big wink: (even if it may be more gorey/creepy than The Plague Dogs)

Oh =O That's a long time after... But I'm eager to see the continuation after I read Watership Down and eager to see if his writing changed at all

 

[kirbyultra]

Lol no, we had choices for assigned reading so I read somethin else. I was a good student!

The writing style was the same but the content simply wasn't as epic. The original is absolutely hard to beat!

 

[jcottonl02]

Loved the book. Read it over and over. Also loved the film.

Just amazing

Jen

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Read it years ago in a college literature class and really liked it. The follow up was good, but not nearly what the original was. Have read it a couple more times in the intervening years too.

 

[MiniLopHop]

I just ordered both of the books. I saw the movie a long time ago and just remember bits. To thoes who have read both, would you suggest I read the second book first? Being short storries I thought it might work better that way?

 

[Yield]

MiniLopHop wrote:

I just ordered both of the books. I saw the movie a long time ago and just remember bits. To thoes who have read both, would you suggest I read the second book first? Being short storries I thought it might work better that way?

[align=center]I know I have not read both, but I feel like you should definitely read the first one... well first. It's the first one for a reason, the first one probably has stuff you should probably know before reading the second one =]

 

[kirbyultra]

MiniLopHop wrote:

I just ordered both of the books. I saw the movie a long time ago and just remember bits. To thoes who have read both, would you suggest I read the second book first? Being short storries I thought it might work better that way?

No, the second book on some level assumes you know the characters already, so it's best to read the first. The second one is like a compilation of short stories and rabbit lore. You don't get a full appreciation of them unless you know what these buns have been through at Watership Down

 

[missyscove]

I read the book as outside reading in high school and loved it. I was impressed with how realistic the rabbits came across.

 

[Azerane]

Just wanted to add my two cents in here.

I absolutely love Watership Down, my first introduction to it was the movie when I was perhaps 9 or 10 years old. I saw an animated movie with rabbits at the video store so had to borrow it. I don't remember it scaring me, but I remember it being very compelling. I forgot about it for a while, and a few years later, saw the movie again, fell in love with it and managed to find the book. I devoured the book, and have read it many times since along with the sequel. I think my favourite characters would have to be Bigwig and Hazel-rah. I also love the lore in the book, El-ahrairah is fantastic.

To this day, Richard Adams is my favourite author, his book Traveller and Plauge Dogs being my two other favourites of his, and I really admire the movie. It has it's own charms and there's something nice about seeing the characters brought to life. I draw fan-art from the books/movie from time to time and more recently I set up a forum based on Watership Down. After all, it's the reason I love rabbits so much in the first place and I did name my bun Hazel-rah. =)

Also, for the member who mentioned ordering both books but wondering about which to read first (if you haven't already done so). Definitely read the original book first, it gives you an in-depth background to the characters and also to the rabbit of their folklore and their beliefs, which is really assumed knowledge in 'Tales from Watership Down'

 

[MiniLopHop]

I did read the first book and we are starting into the second. I loved it! I think part of what made it so special for me is that I would read a couple chapters a night laying on my office floor. I have a pair of shy bunnies that I'm trying to bond with and I read out loud to them. Cinderella in particular liked the book (she would nibble on the corners). There's something great about reading a bunny book to a bunny.

 

[Azerane]

Great to hear that you loved the book, I don't see how any bunny lover could not. It's great that you would read it out loud to your rabbits too!

 

[MikeScone]

There was a thread about the Watership Down books last year -you can find it here.

British Heritage magazine had an article in July 2005 called "Journey to Watership Down", which discussed and showed the actual countryside described in the book - yes, all of the locations are real, from the original Sandleford warren and Nuthanger Farm to the Down itself. The actual distance traveled from the original warren to the beech hangar is only a mile or so - but to a bunny, that's quite a trek.

Sandleford Warren is south of Newbury, and Watership Down is near Kingsclere in the county of Hampshire, England. Here's a link to a [ame=http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&q=51.310398,-1.287633&ie=UTF8&ll=51.310398,-1.287633&spn=0.039328,0.067806&z=14]Google Maps satellite view of Watership Down[/ame]. If you're going to find yourself in that area, Google Books has a book with a walk pointing out locations from Watership Down.

Here's another, called "Once Upon a Time in Great Britain", with good descriptions of how to find the locations.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat: Thanks for that reminder Mike, I saw it and checked it out last year too.

 

[Azerane]

That's strange, as I did a search and didn't see that result, only this thread. That's the reason I did a search, so I didn't start a new one when there already was one

The actual countryside of watership down is beautiful. I've not been, but an online friend of mine went recently and shared his photos, it was absolutely gorgeous, they did such an amazing job of transferring it to the film. But it is simply beautiful scenery.