It’s been a few decades since I first read Watership Down—although I wasn’t a child when I did so—and I’d forgotten much about it. Rereading it now, I was caught up in the tale of Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig, and all the other rabbits as they make the perilous journey to create a new home for themselves.

Adams created a whole world for these rabbits, although the farms, rivers and woods surrounding Watership Down actually exist (there’s a detailed map included in the edition I have and you can view photos online) and I’d put it up against any human epic in its richness of story.

After reading the book, I then watched the 1978 animated film, which is quite faithful to the story and is beautiful in its own right as a bygone era of animation.