Richard Adams "Watership Down" 8 / 10

Trebor1503 · Post by **Trebor1503** » Wed Aug 20, 2003 12:58 pm

This book is a little like "the Odessey", a little like "the Hobbit", and a little like Assop's tales.

Watership Down is the story of some rabbits who leave their warren in search of a better place to live. They must conquer quite a few obstacles along the way including man, nature, and rival rabbits. The characters act human and talk to each other, and the story progresses quickly along as a tale of adventure.

The feel of this story is similar to that of an Assop fable where animals are used to make a point about society. But this is a relatively small part of the story and is not overdone or hammered into you. I also thought alot about the story "Secret of Nim" while reading this book. They are in the same vein.

This is a good read for older children (may be too much for anyone under say7) and for adults wanting to understadn why this book is listed on many highschool "must read" lists.

Superenigmatix · Post by **Superenigmatix** » Wed Aug 20, 2003 1:56 pm

Hmm - I would rate this far higher. In fact it should probably be in the British Lit thread.

Time may have reduced it's impact perhaps - it's rabbit-orientated viewpoint was fairly radical in it's time.

Of his other books I would also recommend The Plague Dogs and then Shardik - I haven't read any others.

I have a problem with how we are rating books anyway - probably should start a thread to discuss it - when kilt's back maybe - I'm a touch busy at the moment

sE

Post by **Darb** » Wed Aug 20, 2003 2:35 pm

I saw the animated adaptation a long time ago, when it first aired on TV. Totally loved it. At the time it was a 10 outta 10 for me, but that was a long tine ago - not sure what I'd rate it today, but age and maturity probably wouldnt cause it to dip much below say, 8 of 10.

I own the book, but I haven't gotten around to reading it - the fact that I've already seen an adaptation automatically demoted it to 'b' list priority

Trebor1503 · Post by **Trebor1503** » Sun Aug 24, 2003 7:57 pm

Brad ... The only plus to the book is that it was written before the movie. I always demote books written from screenplays to the bottom of my stack but I never trust a adaptation of a book for anything less than entertainment value unto itself.

btw...Watership Down is available on DVD

bob k. mando · Post by **bob k. mando** » Sun Aug 24, 2003 9:43 pm

treb
ummm, you are aware that 2001: a space odyssey was written from the screenplay right?

definitely not a book that belongs at the bottom of any stack....

Trebor1503 · Post by **Trebor1503** » Mon Aug 25, 2003 12:08 pm

Actually...I did not find 2001 or 2010 that enjoyable. I think it was the writers style or my frame of mind at the time. So that would not exclude from MY rule pertaining to myself.... but yes BKM, there are always exceptions.

Superenigmatix · Post by **Superenigmatix** » Mon Aug 25, 2003 4:54 pm

The book and the movie were written at the same time - there is a whole book about the writing of the screenplay/book with lots of fascinating alternative plots.

Basically both book and screenplay were written by Clarke/Kubrick but they decided (for whatever reason) to split the writing credit so that one got the book and one got the screenplay - which I think makes sense as that was their respective strengths and probably reflected who contributed the most to each version.

sE

Trebor1503 · Post by **Trebor1503** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 10:53 am

OK...enough side bar.... back to Watership Down discussion...

Post by **Darb** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 11:14 am

Yes, but the sidebar is more interesting

- The Al Asra Thread Hijacker's Brigade (AATHB)

MidasKnight · Post by **MidasKnight** » Tue Dec 30, 2003 1:24 am

I need to pass hraka

harryhermionerw · Post by **harryhermionerw** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 9:02 pm

I liked this book. It's a really good book, actually, and when I was first told to read it, I thought I wasn't going to like it. Goes to show you how you shouldn't judge a book by the cover... or the summary on the back =P

But I gotta disagree with you Brad. I didn't like the animated adaptation a'tall. I much, much, much prefered the book.

Evaine · Post by **Evaine** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:51 pm

I cried at the end of the book.

I enjoyed the film, but it was simplified a good deal. Call me sentimental if you like, but I did like 'Bright Eyes'.