No, it’s not the latest installation of the “Do You Like Horny Bunnies?” game series. I’m talking about Watership Down here.
Now, when you look at the book cover, you’d be turned off by the depictions of bunny rabbits. You, a future doctor who battles everyday with the likes of differential diagnostics and the choosing of the right dosage of the right antibiotics, are not about to read a book with bunny rabbits on its cover! Yeah, I wasn’t expecting to like it too, though my reason was I am ghey enough already.
But thanks to Donnie Darko, I gritted my teeth and, with as much manliness as I could muster, ventured to the Lapine world of charismatic Hazel and Fiver and the mystical El-ahrairah.
Watership Down was the first novel written by Richard Adams and moves to-and-fro between the genres of Children, Classic, Epic and Fantasy. It has been compared to Homer’s Oddysey and Virgil’s Aeneid. It won awards and was placed number 42 of the greatest book of all time by the British public. It didn’t do so well in the States but it is one of my maxims to look to the Brits for comments on all things literary and the Americans for movies.
Watership Down begins with Fiver’s unsettling visions of doom. Jesus rightly said that “A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house” and such happened to poor old Fiver. He was not believed by the Chief Rabbit and therefore left his warren with his brother, Hazel, Bigwig the Warrior Rabbit, Dandelion the storyteller and but a few other bucks.
From there on, the focus was shifted to Hazel and his natural leadership. After many hardship, the rabbits finally settled down at Watership Down. But it was not the time for our courageous bunnies to rest yet. New problems arose. Together, the band of rabbits went on to search for does for mating, battle fascist rabbits, rescue does-in-distress from evil farmer and his dogs, and strike alliances with the unlikeliest of creatures. What more can you want from a novel?
The book itself revolves around themes one do not find in children books these days: exile, survival, political responsibility, the never-ending struggle between tyranny and freedom, reason and emotion. Therefore, the book is intellectually engaging enough for adults to enjoy but still filled with adventure and heroism and, of course, cute little bunnies that are attractive to the younger generation.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:35 am
I must say, “Watership Down” is by far my most favorite book. I agree with the fact that too many times have parents accidentally fallen under the false illusion of a movie/literature of a world within cute bunnies, rainbows and sunshine. Indeed, they fall into the true depiction of a violent, yet at times subtle life style of a warren stricken with catastrophic doom, in which they do reach a more peaceful climax in the end.
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June 8th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Whoa, I never thought anybody would read these articles anymore, much less leave comments. It’s a bit sad that this side is practically down now.
We are a small community of students who are currently in our exam months, so there’d be no updates in the near future.
Hopefully, the activities here will pick up once we finish our exams.
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