Richard Adams’ ‘Watership Down’ is categorised as a children’s book, and whilst that is true in that it’s a story of talking rabbits, it felt like so much more. It didn’t read in a particular juvenile way nor hold back in the story of Fiver convincing his friend Hazel and a band of rabbits to leave their warren to avoid an unnamed danger and set up beyond. For a story about rabbits it grappled with deep themes of loyalty, animal cruelty and eco-criticism and gosh did I become attached to those rabbits. 

The battle scenes had me rooting for them with the same adrenaline of the great battles of Tolkien and the individual personality in each of the characters was beautiful. Adams also pulled quotes on battle and loyalty from the canon to preface each chapter, many of which you wouldn’t anticipate to find in children’s fiction. 

‘Watership Down’ was a beautiful story and I was so so emotionally invested.