Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Watership Down

Watership Down
reviewed on + 1436 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


When I told my daughter I was going to read this novel she was surprised that I never had. Always it has been in the back of my mind to do so. What surprised me was that the cover depicted a resident of a rabbit warren - perhaps even one of the characters in this very book. It's a story with so many messages that it merits being read whenever one needs a pick-me-up. This is a tale of courage, bravery, ethics, love and danger told through a warren of rabbits who seek to live a life of freedom and safety.

Wise Hazel is the leader - calm, methodical and thorough. He cherishes the lives of each and every member of the warren. Little Fiver sees the future or maybe just has feelings about what is to come based on what he observes. As a visionary, his dreams of the future guide actions taken by these rabbits. Bigwig is a soldier or policeman if you will who served in the old warren's Owsla. He defends them all against danger and runs a great bluff, too, when he needs to do so. Dandelion, the speediest of them all, is a fine storyteller who entertains everyone with tales of the past. Blackberry is the strategist - being a most clever planner who comes up with all sorts of ways to forge ahead, avoid danger and provide protection for the warren.

Some feel that this is a children's book and it can indeed be read as such. However, others treat the book as mirror for human society with rabbit characters instead of human. As I began the read, I thought so, too, but I soon found myself moving into the second group. Whichever way you view this novel, it's a wonderful read and one you can return to again and again.