Tales from Watership Down by Richard Adams
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Book Reviews of Tales from Watership Down
Book Review: Dog Breathe
Summary: 4 Stars
Dog Breathe is a good book.It makes me laugh because I like dogs and puppies.My favorite part was when Hally [the dog] saved her family from two burglars.Then Hally becomes a hero!Book Review: Great book.
Summary: 4 Stars
Arrived soon after ordering the book. The book was in decent shape. This book is terrific!Book Review: disappointing!!!!!!!!
Summary: 3 Stars
the original watership down has been for years one of my favorite books in the world. when i discovered that there was a sequel i was so happy and rushed to buy it. i knew of course that sequels are always less good than the original, so i lowered my expections. but alas it was worse then i have expected. the first 2 sections were about el-ahrairah and only the last and short sec. was about the watership rabbits. the stories about el-hrairah in the original book were sophisticated and original but in here most of the stories were ridiculous, boring and rather stupid! i hoped that at least the stories about the watership rabbits will be better but as people have allready written they were not! the stories lack the magic that was in the first book, the characters whom i missed so didnt behave at all like the first book and it seems like someone took all the spirit out of them. most who are mentioned are hazel, fiver,bigwig and hyzenthlay. what happend to blackberry? one of the most important characters? and holly, dandelion, pipkin and the others? they are hardly mentioned. i was also disappointed to find out(and i'm sure everybody was) that hyzenthlay turns out to be hazel's doe instead of bigwig's. and what's the stupid idea of making her a chief rabbit as well?! so why did i rate it 3 stars?
well, there were a few stories i liked like el-ahrairah and the hole in the sky,king fur-rocious and the fox in the water(by the way, the storry about the terrible hay making was hard and terrible indeed). i also liked the story about campion, and the story about stonecrop and of course even if they were not charming as before, i enjoyed meeting hazel and his friends again. as someone had mentioned before and with reason, i would'nt be surprised at all if it finds out that adams didnt write this book himself because i know he can do much better than this! even the writing style felt different, for ex. when the rabbits talked to each other in the original book, they never called places in their human names(which was logical indeed!) but named it in their own way. they said:'the home warrn' or 'the farm' or the 'honeycomb' and so on. in this book though, they suddenly say:'watership, 'sandlaford' and even mention the words:'english' 'new ziland' and also in a story dadelion tells he mentions many exotic animals like gazzlle,gray wolf,macaws and so on(mind you,in the first book the rabbits knew only animals they used to see or live among like mice,birds,cats,dogs,horses and so on, and when dandelion mentioned a camel once, no one had the slightest idea what is a camel nor did dandelion). sure these are little things, but they annoyed me because it sounds silly that all of a sudden the rabbits seems as if they've been taking lessons in geography and science.in the original book, adams was very strict and professional about these little things and that made his book not just good but genius. so now you may understand why while i was reading the book, i could'nt help feeling that adams wrote it rather lazily(or maybe it wasnt him after all...?) this view may look a bit harsh but adams should take it as a compliment to his original masterpiece! i can only hope that maybe someday another book of the watership down will be published and that it would be a compensation for this one.
Book Review: disappointing!
Summary: 3 Stars
the original watership down has been for years one of my favorite books in the world. when i discovered that there was a sequel i was so happy and rushed to buy it. i knew of course that sequels are always less good than the original, so i lowered my expections. but alas it was worse then i have expected. the first 2 sections were about alhrairra and only the last and short sec. was about the watership rabbits. the stories about elharirra in the original book were sophisticated and original but in here most of the stories were ridiculous, boring and rather stupid! i hoped that at least the stories about the watership rabbits will be better but as people have allready written they were not! the stories lack the magic that was in the first book, the characters whom i missed so didnt behave at all like the first book and it seems like someone took all the spirit out of them. most who are mentioned are hazel, fiver,bigwig and hizentley. what happend to blackberry? one of the most important characters? and holly, dandelion, pipkin and the others? they are hardly mentioned. so why did i rate it 3 stars?
well, there were a few stories i liked like elhrairra and the hole in the sky and the fox in the water(by the way, the storry about the terrible hay making was hard and terrible indeed). i also liked the story about campion and the story about the rabbit who chased away the weasels. and of course even if they were not charming as beforé, i enjoyed meeting hazel and his friends again. as someone had mentioned before and with reason, i would'nt be surprised at all if it finds out that adams didnt write this book himself because i know he can do much better than this! even the writing style felt different. i can only hope that maybe someday another book of the watership down will be published and that it would be a compensation of this one.
Book Review: Some things should be left, even if you are a fan
Summary: 3 Stars
I have loved Watership Down for over 25 years. I read the original book for the first time when I was eight after seeing the animated film. It is a book that I loved, and while I felt it wrapped up well at the end...I had always wanted more.
For whatever reason, I never knew that this second book was created. It has been dubbed a sequel, however it seems more of a continuation.
At the end of Watership Down (original) it is very clear that the Watership Warren thrives, and that Hazel, much older than he should be passes away, the last of the original rabbits. So, we the reader know that a sequel can not really happen. This book is, as stated, is divided up and the true "fan" is really only interested in the end segment to hear about the rabbits that we know and loved.
While it was nice to revisit them, the effect isn't the same. The spark is gone. As one reviewer stated, Bigwig is down right obnoxious, Holly is all but absent, Keehar seems to have no personality, and Hazel is vacant.
When I finished this book, I almost wished that I hadn't read it, though I know if I hadn't I would have always wondered. I think the main reason why this book is reviewed so poorly is that we are desperately hoping to be touched or moved the way that we were when we read Watership Down, and that is just not there. That is the reason why I gave the book the three stars instead of one or two. It isn't that the book is awful, though it isn't great at all; it is that it leaves you wanting so much more. The more that I thought on it though, the more I wondered what had I hoped for? I am glad that I have satiated my urge to read this second book, but I do not think that it will ever be re-read, or will hold a place even on my bookshelf. However, I thank Mr. Adams for putting forth the effort, as I am sure he was begged to do.