Wednesday, December 28, 2016

RIP Richard Adams: "My friend has stopped running."

There isn't a week that goes by that I don't think about the late Richard Adams's magnificent novel "Watership Down." Reading it as a kid, I liked it, but as an adult, its deceptively simple premise clicked completely with me. The novel's huge, lasting popularity is completely justifiable-- it's timeless. It gains new generations of fans every decade because it is about subjects that abide and matter. Above all, it's about survival, courage in the face of endless horrors, and about making sense of your place in the universe-- all through a group of rabbits desperately seeking a new warren. I've never been more gripped by a story or rooted harder for a group of characters than Hazel and his band. Along with "Charlotte's Web," it's one of the greatest works of anthropomorphic fiction of the 20th century, and, within its fantastic concept, it has far more of value to say than many (allegedly) realistic novels. Adams's other works, like the lovely "The Girl in the Swing," are strong, but to produce one book as truly great as "Watership Down" in a lifetime is as much as any novelist can hope for.

“All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.”

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