For the Young
Chitra Narayanan
WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams Puffin Books (Reprint), Delhi, 1976, 478 pp., 0.60
April 1976, volume 1, No 2

Watership Down is an incredible book. It is the story of an epic journey of a small band of wild rabbits. Fiver, the prophet, predicts imminent destruction and, under the leadership of his brother Hazel, the rabbits leave the familiar security of their warren and brave the unknown countryside in search of a new home. Unconsciously, the reader slides into a completely new dimension, joins Hazel and his friends, sees the world through their eyes, smells the dangers, suffers the hardships and terrors till they reach the perfect home ­Watership Down. But the journey does not end there. Does (female rabbits) are required to establish the warren and the search begins again, leading to fearsome adventures in the dictator-state warren Efraha ruled by the terrible General Woundwort. Eventually the odyssey ends with a tragic but triumphant battle and Watership Down flourishes as a prosperous warren.

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