I finished reading Richard Adams’ Watership Down last night. It was definitely a great book. It’s about a group of rabbits who leave their warren on a premonition that something terrible is about to happen to it, and the adventures they have while trying to find a new place to live. On a deeper level, it’s a story about how heroes are created and how different people adapt to survive in a dangerous world.
The author did a great job creating a simple mythology and various cultures for the rabbits. At no point did the story every become tedious or boring. After going through the entire book, the epilogue was especially moving.
I would certainly place this book on that short list of books that everyone should read during their time here on earth.
Oh, and as for the title: Watership Down is a place. A “down” is hill, and “Watership” is its name. It can be a strange title for those of us not born in southern England.