Watership Down
by Richard Adams · first published 1972
48% recommend50% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Epic, immersive adventure about rabbits seeking a new home, with mythic depth that some compare to a shorter Lord of the Rings. Suits teens and adults, and is often credited with sparking a love of reading.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Watership Down is the compelling tale of a group of wild rabbits struggling to hold onto their place in the world—soon to be a BBC and Netflix animated miniseries starring James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, and Oscar and Grammy award-winning Sir Ben Kingsley. A phenomenal worldwide bestseller for more than forty years, Richard Adams's Watership Down is a timeless classic and one of the most beloved novels of all time. Set in England's Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the
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…two have rather bad writing and TERRIBLE female characters, but the story is extremely engrossing anyway and some of the ideas are really original (the Cthaeh!). Catch-22 was an amazing read as well. Watership Down, After Dark, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, and Blood Meridian all dazzled me. Oh, and The Sandman, Watchmen, Maus, and Persepolis for graphic novels.…
on “Ask HN: What are some must read books?” ↗I owe every ounce of my love of reading to Richard Adams and Watership Down. Watership Down was the first book of its size that I read and it had a profound effect on me that has significantly directed my life. I enjoyed it so much that I kept reading after the book was finished.…
on “Watership Down author Richard Adams dies aged 96” ↗…Musketeers" (Dumas) from movies, then you don't know them at all; the book is, for me, central to the idea of reading. If you liked "The Three Musketeers" then you might also like "Kidnapped" (Stevenson) and "Watership Down" (Adams)-- although probably few would consider that a classic. "Catch-22" (Heller), "Mother Night" and "Slaughterhouse Five" (Vonnegut), and "The Little Prince" (Exupery) are all "classic" books I've…
on “Ask HN: classic literature recommendations?” ↗Watership Down is a great story but also Richard Adams publishing it was a story of perseverance. It was rejected by multiple publishers back when publishers were big gatekeepers.[1] Watership Down published by Rex…
on “Watership Down author Richard Adams dies aged 96” ↗Watership Down It turned a lot of notions on their heads and made for an interesting read.
on “Ask HN: What are some books that changed how you think?” ↗Lots of good books have been mentioned. I think Watership Down is worth considering. I only read it because I had to as a 15 yo, and it was absolutely brilliant. I went and read every other book Richard Adams wrote.
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗There are authors that really work to imagine the animal mind. Richard Adams continued to write wonderful books after “Watership Down”, and John Crowley wrote “Ka” which was my favourite book in 2017. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34466930-ka
on “The Strangeness of Our Animal Bonds” ↗So many good books to recommend. Here's a selection - Diaspora by Greg Egan - Pushing Ice by Alastair Raynolds - Watership Down by Richard Adams - The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle - The Price of Nothing by R. Scott Baker - Blindsight by Peter Watts
on “Ask HN: What is your favorite fiction book?” ↗…The Count of Monte Cristo (Dumas) Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare) The Wind in the Willows (Grahame) A Christmas Carol (Dickens) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass (Carroll) Watership Down (Adams) Gulliver's Travels (Swift) Animal Farm (Orwell)
on “Ask HN: What book had a big impact on you as a child or teenager?” ↗…plays with this concept to such an extent, but I've seen it pop up from time to time in all kinds of fiction. First example that pops to mind: If you read that completely enthralling and wonderful novel Watership Down by Richard Adams, its told entirely from the perspective of Rabbits, and beautifully so. There are several scenes, especially one featuring their first encounter with a colossal freight train and its…
on “‘Robber bees’ invade apiarist’s shop in attempted honey heist” ↗94. Watership Down – Richard Adams
Watership Down by Richard Adams
on “Ask HN: What's a book that fundamentally altered your mental models” ↗…it looked like a kid's book. That's a fairly bleak book, for example when the pigs sell the draft horse to the glue factory, but only the goat (whose only friend is the horse) knows what's going on. Watership Down is another good one, the character of the Black Rabbit of Inle (the Grim Reaper of rabbitkind) was memorable. However I disagree with claims that these kind of works 'traumatize' young readers. It's…
on “The original “Bambi”” ↗Unique is too strong a word, for instance, there's Watership Down (recommended): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watership_down
on “Ship's cat” ↗I had the same experience with Watership Down: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watership_Down I was set to read it when I was 14 or 15 in English. What 14 or 15 yo boy wants to read a book about a rabbit? I was wrong, and loved it, then went and read…
on “Orson Scott Card's Amazon Review of Ender's Game” ↗