A review by imjamesmason
Watership Down by Richard Adams
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Richard Adam’s classic tale of striking out on your own path, facing challenges and confronting people with different points of view all told from the perspective of a group of rabbits.
The story is gripping and dark but full of bright spots, the characters are full of hope and build each other up in the best possible way as you get to the conclusion.
One criticism could be levelled at the place of female characters in this novel, or lack there of. It has a majority male cast of characters. The lack of does is a plot point in the story but what does there are in the book don’t have much agency and are mainly background characters.
Personally I wouldn’t let this flaw stop you from experiencing this masterpiece. Adams’ prose is beautiful and his vivid descriptions of nature rival that of JRR Tolkien.
The story is gripping and dark but full of bright spots, the characters are full of hope and build each other up in the best possible way as you get to the conclusion.
One criticism could be levelled at the place of female characters in this novel, or lack there of. It has a majority male cast of characters. The lack of does is a plot point in the story but what does there are in the book don’t have much agency and are mainly background characters.
Personally I wouldn’t let this flaw stop you from experiencing this masterpiece. Adams’ prose is beautiful and his vivid descriptions of nature rival that of JRR Tolkien.