On the one hand, Watership Down is definitely dark and very enjoyable for adults, but on the other hand: didn't he originally come up with the story for his own children? I remember reading it in 7th grade, I'm not entirely sure why you're characterizing it as not a children's book.
That said it's definitely a great book, and I really regret making my 7th grade English teacher's life so hellish for trying in vain to get us to shut up and stop talking and just read the book. We deeply resented being made to read a book about talking rabbits, because we felt we were too old for that sort of thing 😂 it's one of the few books from school where I actually changed my mind after reading it.
The story did start from Adams telling it to his own children - but he clearly edited it some after that, since he describes one scene (involving the farm's rabbit hutch) as being written thanks to his conversations with the naturalist. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if the original oral story ended a little after the rabbits arrived at Watership Down. A lot of the original conflict ends then, and new conflicts start with more mature themes.
Though, I first read "Watership Down" around sixth grade myself, and I really liked it. But then, I was an unusual kid, as you can tell from the long epic story my sister and I had running with our stuffed animals - https://papyrusrampant.substack.com/p/memories-of-childhood-storytelling - where we ended up borrowing a decent chunk from "Watership Down".
I never understood why everyone loves Watership Down. I read it I think in high school, and it was just boring. And yet how Evan describes it makes it sound interesting. I don't know why it seemed so bereft of meaning when I read it.
I really liked Animal Farm. Of course it is the political message that is interesting.
I also like the Berenstein Bears stories. I didn't read these as a kid, but I read them to my kids.
If you do read it again, I'd be interested to hear what you think. I just finished rereading another novel - "Witches of Karres" - for the first time in about ten years, and it feels really different now than it did then.
Nice, thanks. I liked "Watership Down" when I first read it and have reread it a few times. So many talking creature books went through my mind. "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" first. And then the Oz books where some animals talk and others don't. Then on to Winne the Pooh, well stuffed animals, except for maybe some of rabbit's friends. "Wind in the Willows" is nice and a quick read. And I'll stop with the Frog and Toad books, which really (like Dr. Suess) have to be read with kids. Frog and Toad are great.
I liked the idea that animals can sometimes be a fusion of child and adult. There's almost always some escapism for me when reading animal books.
On the one hand, Watership Down is definitely dark and very enjoyable for adults, but on the other hand: didn't he originally come up with the story for his own children? I remember reading it in 7th grade, I'm not entirely sure why you're characterizing it as not a children's book.
That said it's definitely a great book, and I really regret making my 7th grade English teacher's life so hellish for trying in vain to get us to shut up and stop talking and just read the book. We deeply resented being made to read a book about talking rabbits, because we felt we were too old for that sort of thing 😂 it's one of the few books from school where I actually changed my mind after reading it.
Dickens still sucks :p
The story did start from Adams telling it to his own children - but he clearly edited it some after that, since he describes one scene (involving the farm's rabbit hutch) as being written thanks to his conversations with the naturalist. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if the original oral story ended a little after the rabbits arrived at Watership Down. A lot of the original conflict ends then, and new conflicts start with more mature themes.
Though, I first read "Watership Down" around sixth grade myself, and I really liked it. But then, I was an unusual kid, as you can tell from the long epic story my sister and I had running with our stuffed animals - https://papyrusrampant.substack.com/p/memories-of-childhood-storytelling - where we ended up borrowing a decent chunk from "Watership Down".
I never understood why everyone loves Watership Down. I read it I think in high school, and it was just boring. And yet how Evan describes it makes it sound interesting. I don't know why it seemed so bereft of meaning when I read it.
I really liked Animal Farm. Of course it is the political message that is interesting.
I also like the Berenstein Bears stories. I didn't read these as a kid, but I read them to my kids.
If you do read it again, I'd be interested to hear what you think. I just finished rereading another novel - "Witches of Karres" - for the first time in about ten years, and it feels really different now than it did then.
Nice, thanks. I liked "Watership Down" when I first read it and have reread it a few times. So many talking creature books went through my mind. "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" first. And then the Oz books where some animals talk and others don't. Then on to Winne the Pooh, well stuffed animals, except for maybe some of rabbit's friends. "Wind in the Willows" is nice and a quick read. And I'll stop with the Frog and Toad books, which really (like Dr. Suess) have to be read with kids. Frog and Toad are great.
I liked the idea that animals can sometimes be a fusion of child and adult. There's almost always some escapism for me when reading animal books.