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Watership Down: A Novel (平装)
by Richard Adams
| Category:
A Classic Novel |
| Market price: ¥ 80.00
MSL price:
¥ 148.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A timeless classic and one of the most beloved novels of all time. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 8 items |
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Chicago Tribune (MSL quoted), USA
<2009-02-09 00:00>
Spellbinding...Marvelous...A taut tale of suspense, hot pursuit and derring-do.
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Los Angeles Times , USA
<2009-02-09 00:00>
A classic...A great book.
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The New York Times Book Review , USA
<2009-02-09 00:00>
Quite marvelous...A powerful new vision of the great chain of being.
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From a guest reviewer, USA
<2009-02-09 00:00>
I have just scanned down this review page and seen several one-star ratings of these books. The arguments are: "There's no action! There's too much description! Talking bunnies are stupid! There's no emotion! There's no meaning!" Not suprisingly, most of these people are high-school students. Most of their reviews are downright idiodic, and one wonders if they actually thought about the words as the read them or simply flipped page after page waiting for something to explode.
This book is outstanding on so many levels it's almost impossible to concieve how these people could miss it. Accepting the rabbits as genuine characters, we uncover worlds of human emotion ... and yet we never step out of the bounds of nature. No action or adventure? Excuse me ... READ THE BOOK! From harrowing chases, to hairsbreadth escapes; from unbearable suspense to manipulative schemes and daredevil strategies, this book is FULL of action, adventure and suspense, based on the author's real-life experiences as a paratrooper in World War II. As if all this weren't enough, "Watership Down" also becomes a complex social allegory, undertaking a detailed and often chilling comparison of the various socio-economic systems that rule this planet. We move from a Monarchy to a Fascist State to Communism ... the worlds of meaning and depth are unparalleled. Yet strangely enough, they are often missed by those who can not look beyond the unorthodox presentation of these important themes. To them, I say go back to the TV set, and don't trouble yourself with fine literature.
Those who liked "Watership Down" should check out Richard Adams' sequel collection of stories, "Traveller", "Shardik" and his masterpiece "The Plague Dogs."
Also, to know the true meaning of adventure, forget Tom Clancy, Steven King, Michael Crichton, etc... Pick up a good translation of Alexandre Dumas' "The Three Musketeers": the greatest adventure novel ever written. |
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From a guest reviewer, USA
<2009-02-09 00:00>
When my sixth grade teacher put this book on the required reading list, I cringed at the thought of reading all 400+ pages of it. The talking rabbits I could deal with, but over 400 pages worth? Little did I know how involved I would get into the lives of Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig and the rest.
Ever since, I've read and re-read Watership Down. Every summer. For five summers now. And I've enjoyed it increasingly. As I took more history classes and studied human nature, I began to draw parallels between the lives of the rabbits and the different types of warrens with examples from real life and history. Efrafa is a dictatorship, Threarah represented those who were destroyed because they could not or would not change, and Hazel is a true leader. He could inspire his bunch of hlessil to keep moving, kept their spirits up, and always knew when to ask for help.
I will always be thankful to Richard Adams for this insight to humanity...through rabbits, no less. It revealed connections and character traits about real life that I undoubtedly would have learned but definitely much later in life. So I will continue to re-read my copy, all the while finding new nuggets of truth scattered around like the rabbit holes of Watership Down. |
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From a guest reviewer, USA
<2009-02-09 00:00>
Watership Down by Richard Adams is a novel about Hazel and his band of rabbits who escape from their overcrowded warren after Fiver, Hazel's brother who can predict the future, warns them of a disaster that will strike the warren. On the journey to find a new home, Hazel and his followers face drowning as they try to cross a river, being attacked by predators, and hostile rabbits from other warrens. Hazel manages to steal does from these warrens and bring them to his new home on Watership Down. After one final encounter with an angry rabbit general and the help of the seabird Keehar, the warren is free from danger and Hazel's rabbits are able to live peacefully. Watership Down is an exciting book that is almost impossible to put down once you start reading it. If you like adventure books that are a little different or that have a twist, I would recommend Watership Down to you. |
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From a guest reviewer, USA
<2009-02-09 00:00>
This book is a work of art! I just loved every single word of it! Richard Adams does a beautiful job of developing the rabbits as characters, giving them qualities that are real and believable. After a while, I found myself feeling as if I knew the rabbits personally. I think that fiction in which animals are given human qualities is challenging to write and sometimes to read. Watership Down is a wonderful balance -- just when you feel the rabbits are becoming to "human-like", Adams reminds us they are rabbits by interweaving their traits as a species into the plot. By the end of the book, I was so engrossed, I couldn't read the words fast enough. I found myself wanting to believe that the rabbit world is really the way Richard Adams portrays it to be. In short, I will never look at a rabbit the same again. I will always wonder where his warren is and if he is running from "a thousand enemies." Children and adults will both enjoy this book -- the difference is the way in which Watership Down sits in the minds of its varied age of readers. It will effect everyone differently. A WORK OF ART! |
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From a guest reviewer, USA
<2009-02-09 00:00>
This book spoke to me from the first few pages, and after that I couldn't put it down. I had never seen such totally believable and magnificently done characters in my life. Of course, when I first started to read it, I was greedy for any stories about fantasy, animals, the usual drivel that we (teenagers) sometimes read. I think I read about ten Brian Jacques books before I ever picked up this book. I haven't picked one up since. WATERSHIP DOWN brought me out of a very deep rut in creativity and imagination. I believe that I become a better person for reading this book.
I envy the reviewer who knows Mr. Adams; he appears to be in touch with a person whose ideas and stories are positively works of art. The story of Elhrairrah (sorry about the spelling) and the Black Rabbit was something incredibly sad and beautiful, as was the entire novel. Where did Mr. Adams come up with such beautiful ideas?
I greatly wonder how Mr. Adams managed to create such a complex novel, that reveals ties and patterns within itself the more you think about it. It isn't often that you get a book that stands up to thorough examination. I especially admired Bigwig's change in character throughout the book: "That'll be the day, it will, when I call you Hazel-rah! I'll stop fighting that day." Ahhhh. The Steven King fan who reviewed this book, and all others like him, didn't give this book a chance.
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1 Total 1 pages 8 items |
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