Watership Down was a book I would have never imagined myself picking up to read, and ultimately, enjoying. Of course, I didn't pick the book out myself; Ann, one of my mother's friends, gave it to me as a birthday gift."She says she enjoyed it," I remember my mother saying, handing the stiff book over to me as I sat on the kitchen floor.
I wasn't particularly interested in it, mostly because an adult was recommending it. The book had been tossed aside for maybe a day or so before I actually started to read it.
I loved it. After the first page, I was hooked. The detail was vivid , and I strained myself to read every little word. Put together, it made a lot of sense.
Watership Down is about a rabbit named Hazel and his brother Fiver on their adventure to find a home where they fit in. They escape the warren that they live in with the help of some others like Dandelion, Bigwig, Pipkin, Blackberry, Hawkbit, Silver, and Speedwell.
On their journey they make new friends, like Strawberry, from a far-away warren, as well as enemies like the dictator Woundwort, who runs the military-like warren called Efrafa.
I read about the rabbit God, Frith, who controls the sun, and listened to stories that Dandelion told about El-ahrairah, a rabbit folk hero, also known as the Prince with a thousand enemies.
Watership Down made me think about what "home" means to someone, and if it can be perfect. If it's a place that's run by who's the strongest and has the most power like Hazel's warren. If it's some place that's full of unsaid things that clog the air. If it's a place where you're supposed to follow all the rules and be a type of slave to a dictator.
Shouldn't home be a place that we like to be? Aren't homes supposed to be perfect? Why not?
Watership Down made me think about what home is supposed to be like, and what Hazel and Fiver are looking for. I loved this book, and it's a great read for almost anyone.
Watership Down is a tale of friendship, brotherhood, family, and adventure. I pretty much guarantee it will make you think more about the world, like it made me. :)
