
Revisited: Watership Down - benbreen
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/11/06/watership-down/
======
danso
Richard Adams's passing was not too long ago, just December of last year:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13265256](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13265256)

Another great article: [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/04/richard-
adams-...](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/04/richard-adams-
watership-down-interview)

Was blown away to discover that Adams had written WD, his first attempt at a
book, at the age of 52, and that it all came from an impromptu story he made
up during a car ride: [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/04/richard-
adams-...](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/04/richard-adams-
watership-down-interview)

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jgable
My favorite book of all time, bar none. Adventure, bravery, friendship,
loyalty, love, life, and death. Written with a vividness and tenderness that
brought me to tears. It sounds trite, but it's so true. If you haven't read
it, do yourself a favor and do so.

~~~
itronitron
Like the author of the article, I also don't think of WD as an allegory but a
story about rabbits. It is one of the first books I read that really pulled me
into another world. Later I read 'Plague Dogs' which is a different animal and
a bit perplexing.

~~~
JoeDaDude
Like Watership Down, Plague Dogs was made into an animated film, which can be
found available on the intertubes.

[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084509/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084509/)

~~~
benjohnson
Warning: The Plague Dogs film is so viscerally traumatic that even if you're
an adult the imagery can travel back in time and ruin your own childhood.

~~~
indigochill
Man, I had nightmares from the Watership Down movie as a kid. Now I feel like
I have to watch Plague Dogs just to balance things out.

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JoeDaDude
Casual Trivia: Watership Down inspired one of the earliest role playing games,
Bunnies and Burrows.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunnies_%26_Burrows](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunnies_%26_Burrows)

~~~
lostboys67
Yes I always wished that I had had a chance to play that - Mouse Guard is a
more modern RPG with similar theams

~~~
lmm
My impression was that Mouse Guard was a lot more _Redwall_ -esque - is that
wrong?

~~~
novembermike
Mouse Guard is basically the rangers from the Lord of the Rings in mouse form,
with cats and owls as monsters.

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brownbat
"My younger siblings had seen the animated adaptation and had told me there
was a lot of blood."

I too always associated this story with violence before I read it. The
violence in the adaptation has really shaped the reputation of the story.

The story has some intense moments, but there are far more memorable bits,
like the language and the puzzles and the relationships.

The movie feels like Miike or Tarantino in comparison.

~~~
erasmuse
The 1978 movie adaptation is superb and deeply memorable. Voices actors
include the great John Hurt and Richard Briers. Here's a taste:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGyQmH9NZcw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGyQmH9NZcw)

There's at least one thing about the film, though, that I find mysterious. It
was given a 'U' rating in the UK (which means universal, i.e. suitable for all
ages). Yet many people find it scarily unwatchable -- why?

 _SPOILERS._ True, there's blood, which is unusual for a children's animation.
The enemy warren, savagely run by General Woundwort, is terrifying. But I
think the real objection seems to be the perception that vulnerable little
rabbits are being picked off one by one as our group journeys across the
countryside. Yet, if you look closely, you notice that only one member of the
group, a minor character, is actually killed (Violet; by a bird of prey).
Bigwig escapes from the snare, Hazel recovers from being shot, and so on.

 _UPDATE_. I think I've figured it out. Because of the beautiful song 'Bright
Eyes' (sung by Art Garfunkel), we have mourned Hazel even though he was only
wounded. So it _feels_ as if he has died, even though he hasn't.

~~~
richardjdare
Don't forget the scene where the rabbit warren is gassed. Imagine you are
~five and you see that for the first time:)

What really hit me was the haunting, archetypal imagery surrounding the rabbit
mythology and the Black Rabbit of Inle. When you are a kid just figuring out
that you and your loved ones will die and you see that kind thing it has an
impact.

Honestly, the emotional music and expressionist death imagery combine to
create almost an initiation-like experience for the unsuspecting kids who sit
down to watch a cartoon about bunnies!

~~~
erasmuse
_> Don't forget the scene where the rabbit warren is gassed._

Good point and you're not the first to point this out to me today. I may have
to amend my thesis...

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motiw
I read the book in second grade and the following paragraph has made a great
impression on me and still does

"One day the farmer thought, 'I could increase those rabbits: make them part
of my farm--their meat, their skins. Why should I bother to keep rabbits in
hutches? They'll do very well where they are.' He began to shoot all elil--
lendri, homba, stoat, owl. He put out food for the rabbits, but not too near
the warren. For his purpose they had to become accustomed to going about in
the fields and the wood. And then he snared them--not too many: as many as he
wanted and not as many as would frighten them all away or destroy the warren.
They grew big and strong and healthy, for he saw to it that they had all of
the best, particularly in winter, and nothing to fear--except the running knot
in the hedge gap and the wood path. So they lived as he wanted them to live
and all the time there were a few who disappeared. The rabbits became strange
in many ways, different from other rabbits. They knew well enough what was
happening. But even to themselves they pretended that all was well, for the
food was good, they were protected, they had nothing to fear but the one fear;
and that struck here and there, never enough at a time to drive them away.
They forgot the ways of wild rabbits. They forgot El-ahrairah, for what use
had they for tricks and cunning, living in the enemy's warren and paying his
price? "

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vr46
Such a wonderful book, I read it every single year for about twenty years,
until I misplaced my copy. There's a beautiful walk that takes one by
Watership Down and Nuthanger Farm. Recommended:
[https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/jun/07/watership-
dow...](https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/jun/07/watership-down-
hampshire-walking-guides)

~~~
sideshowb
You can also find the "bridge under the iron road" using the map from the
original book, though there isn't a public right of way to it. It looks a lot
like the one in the film though with trees grown bigger.

Trivia: much of the actual watership down is owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

~~~
vr46
Do you have a maps link?

Edit: never mind, look what I found - all the locations :)
[https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=13rvLA-0vQ5pfBiRjzb...](https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=13rvLA-0vQ5pfBiRjzbRWO2NjCFY&hl=en_US&ll=51.30762181431128%2C-1.3115679999999657&z=12)

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neaden
If you like Watership Down I don't think I can recommend enough H is for Hawk
by Helen Macdonald. While the books are very different, one is a novel the
other is a memoir they both touch on nature, death, life in beautifully
similar ways.

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mmjaa
A seriously traumatising bit of literature, and I'm on the fence over whether
it was a positive influence in my life or a negative one - and whether I want
my own kids to now read it/experience it, or not.

On the one hand, it most definitely highlights the fragility of the human
condition. On the other hand, it definitely highlights the fragility of the
human condition.

In my case, back in 1978 as an 8-year old kid, the movie was definitely a
major cause of upset and trauma. Would I now receive cathartic relief by
introducing it to my own ~8 year old kids? I'm wondering if I'm going to gain
anything by inducing my own children to confront the reality of the mob at
such an age - even if I, myself, went through it and seem to have come out
okay. The conundrum is, perhaps I've become Watership Down, all the while
resisting it ..

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ythn
This book was my first introduction to dystopian societies and I've had a
fascination with them ever since.

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billysielu
What do folks think about this?

"She felt comforted by the rabbits’ straightforward approach to their emotions
and said that reading the novel might actually help neurotypical people
understand autism in a new way."

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marojejian
I felt there was a strong allegory to entrepreneurship in WD. I read it as the
story of a founding team: one visionary who saw things differently, the other
who was able to lead. They escape from their rigid community, and build a
specialized team.

Very deep stuff in there, so well told.

I finally read this as an adult recently, and it is amazing. I'd love more
recommendations for books like it (with non-humans as protagonists).

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peapicker
Great book. Named my Manx cat (with a 'bunny tail') Hazel-Rah. She's never
forgiven me... ;)

~~~
bap
When I was in my late teens and doing security things on the internet
(1992/93) I used the handle Silverweed and everyone assumed it was a pot
reference.

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PeachPlum
Try Shardik too, his next work.

~~~
lostboys67
the Follow up Maia is quite different in tone definatly X rated

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SubiculumCode
A great novel. I'm glad I was reminded of it. I think I will read it to the
kids.

~~~
prawn
I can't quite remember it in detail. What age kids would it be appropriate
for?

~~~
Symbiote
It is (or was) on the official recommended leisure reading list for 7-10 year
olds in England. More recent lists seem to put it for 11-12 year olds. ("Key
Stage reading list watership down" is what I searched for, and sometimes it's
stage 2, otherwise 3.)

I think I was 7 or 8 when my mother / English teacher gave it to me.

~~~
aidos
Somehow I'd more or less forgotten about it (even though I'd read it twice
myself by age 9). So what we thinking, it'd be ok for a 6yo? How about a 4yo?

~~~
kazagistar
There is explicit violence, bloodshed, and death. Make your own judgement.

~~~
aidos
Haha, yeah it doesn't sound great. It's hard though with these things. Ideally
you need to see a snippet of the sort of it to judge yourself.

~~~
kazagistar
I would just read it yourself, its quite an enjoyable read for adults.

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philamonster
I've long had a desire to get "Prince With a Thousand Enemies" tattooed from
elbow to elbow across upper back. Also have had various online handles based
on that phrase over the last 20 years.

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johntaitorg
Watership Down index (work in progress):

[https://johngtait.github.io/](https://johngtait.github.io/)

