Watership Down

Where to Now?

As taken from the inner cover of a copy of  Watership Down --

They lived, comfortable and secure, in the best of worlds. 
Until one of them had a vision; he saw the hillside that 
was their home covered with blood. Prophesying imminent 
destruction to all who remained there, he and his brother 
appealed to thier chief. They were dismissed routinely. 
Obedience - and death - faced them. Or rebellion - and 
survival, maybe. 




 Watership Down  is a tale about rabbits. But not 
in the simple sense that humans commonly view them. These
rabbits are complex creatures with emotions, logic, religion 
and a social structure. When their home is threatened, a 
small band of renegades goes against the orders of their 
chief rabbit in order to start a new life. But it is 
not as easy as finding a new field to settle in. Driven 
on by the vision of Fiver, the band encounters warrens of
strange rabbits who have pulled from the ways of Frith, 
their god. Beyond them, lies the lure of Watership 
Down, a hill suited for them. High enough to keep watch 
for enemies, dry enough for snug 
burrows, it is a virtual gift from Frith himself. But 
even the promise of the down does not solve their problems. 
A lack of does means the end of the new warren within 
a generation. More pressing is the danger of a nearby 
warren, one run by a despotic warlord. How the band 
survives and evolves into a functioning home is an 
epic tale enjoyable by anyone with compassion and a soul.
Between the struggles of everyday life and the dawn of a
new world, the characters develop before our eyes, teaching 
us more about ourselves than we could ever learn from humans.
Their tale is one of survival. Survival against 
nature, survival against man, survival against their 
own kind. In short, it is a tale about 
much, much more than simple rabbits; its a tale 
about humanity.

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