Tales from Watership Down [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Richard Adams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1996

2 cassettes / 3 hours
Read by Nigel Havers

Watership Down was one of this century's best-loved works of imaginative literature. Now Richard Adams returns, to tell us what happened to the rabbits after their defeat of General Woundwort.

Tales From Watership Down begins with some of the great folk stories well known to all rabbits. Then we listen in as Dandelion, the rabbits' master storyteller, relates the thrilling adventures experienced by Al-ahrairah, the mythical rabbit hero, and his stalwart, Rabscuttle, during the long journey home after their terrible encounter with the Black Rabbit of Inlé (as narrated in Watership Down). Finally, in the principal part of the book, we are told eight enchanting stories about the rabbits of the Down-- Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig, and their companions--including the impact on the warren of the obsessive doe Flyairth, and the appointment of Hyzenthlay as a female Chief Rabbit and partner to Hazel.

All listners-- the millions who remember Watership Down with the deepest affection, and also those for whom this volume will be their first encounter with the rabbits-- will find these nineteen tales utterly compelling, the fruit of Richard Adams spellbinding narrative power and ability to conjure up a world that is at the same time both real and unreal.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The original Watership Down is one of those wonderful works that appeals to readers both young and old. The story of a group of rabbits on an adventure into unfamiliar yards, farms, and fields made for an imaginative, captivating journey. This latest work follows the aftermath of the original's climactic ending and includes the rabbits' retelling of various myths associated with their rabbit-hood, plus some new twists and developments. This is a captivating introduction to Adams's warren for first-time visitors, and those who loved the original Watership Down won't be disappointed.

From Publishers Weekly

As readers of Watership Down (1974) will recall, Adams reached classic heights of inspired storytelling in that fable of the animal kingdom, performing a finely calibrated juggling act between the real and the imagined. These 19 interrelated tales continue the adventures of the rabbits met in the earlier book, after their defeat of General Woundwart and the Efrafans. The deeds of the hero El-ahrairah are celebrated in the seven stories of Part One (of three). El-ahrairah's stalwart companion Rabscuttle joins him for four tales in Part Two, while the remaining stories, which are devoted to Hazel and his rabbits, have the continuity of a novel. Mystical, occasionally allegorical, full of whimsy, rich in vivid descriptions of the rabbits' society and of the natural world, the tales are often suspenseful, frequently amusing and invariably clever. The rabbits exhibit a wide range of behavior, showing themselves to be manipulative, defiant, ignorant and self-satisfied, along with noble, loving and brave. There is a brief summation of what happened in the initial passages of the first tale, but from there on, the book stands on its own. El-ahrairah's heroic exploits include his perilous journey to obtain a sense of smell for all rabbits and his search for eternal youth, while his adventures with Rabscuttle find them both leading another group of rabbits across a dangerous marsh as they attempt to evade an army of rapacious, savage rats. Eventually, a new warren is founded and various other ones reconfigure and recombine. The collection comes to a satisfying close by ending, as it began, with an account of the bold deeds of another heroic rabbit, formerly an enemy, now a valued member of the new warren. Illustrations not seen by PW. 200,000 first printing.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Random House Audio (October 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067945795X
• ISBN-13: 978-0679457954
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,508,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard George Adams (born 9 May, 1920) is an English novelist who is best known as the author of Watership Down.

He originally began telling the story of Watership Down to his two daughters, and they insisted he publish it as a book. When Watership Down was finally published, it sold over a million copies in record time in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Watership Down has become a modern classic and won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 1972.

Richard Adams currently lives in Hampshire, England.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sure, it's not Watership Down, but still an excellent read., April 10, 2000

By 

Matthew Karns "Avid and passionate reader." (Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tales from Watership Down (Mass Market Paperback)

I have just been reading some reviews of this, which go from excellent to awful in terms of how it is. I first would say that I have never encountered an author with the imagination of Mr. Adams. He is brilliant. Read WD. Read "Shardik". Read "The Plague Dogs". Read "Maia". I found the stories here wonderful and fascinating. El-ahrairah does not come off as a begger as some reviewers have said, but more of an epic hero than in WD. His journeys after the encounter with the Black Rabbit of Inle are indeed epic in scope and content. The "Rabbit's Ghost Story" was chilling and the tale of El-ahrairah's journey to the Kingdom of Yesterday, where a bison rules over all the animals and plants that were ever extinct is true genius. Enchanting writing. I found part III of the book a welcome return to much loved characters. Yes, this is not "Watership Down". Mr. Adams could never write something like that again. No one could. Trying to write a sequel to it is like someone writing a sequel to Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables" (which someone did a few years back: it was awful!) or writing a sequel to Tolstoy's "War And Peace". It just can't be done. What this book is is a wonderful companion and extension to the original story. I am further enriched by it and shall continue to look at those rabbits in the grassy meadow near my house with perpetual wonder and respect.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars It's even bad for a sequel, May 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Tales from Watership Down (Mass Market Paperback)

Watership Down is one of my favorite books, and it has been for years. Every time I read it, I like it a little bit more. Needless to say, when I heard there was a sequel I was excited, and a little nervous. It's pretty common knowledge that sequels are never as good as originals, and the longer the author waits before writing a sequel, the worse it is likely to be. However, I was surprised at how bad Tales from Watership Down actually was. It's a bunch of short stories, which is fine, except... well, 2/3 of the book is stories about El-ahrairah, and these stories unoriginal, pointless, and (in the case of the cow story and Bluebell's story) ridiculously bad. If this weren't bad enough, the tiny part of the book that does focus on the rabbits of Watership Down is focused mainly on new, shallow, characters about whom I could care less. There is a good ghost story, and a story about Campion, but too much of the plot depends on a "secret river" which is Lapine for "heavy-handed plot device." Even the original characters are caricaturized, and Bigwig, arguably one of the best characters from the first book, is so obnoxious that he's barely recognizable. I wish that Adams had rereleased Watership Down in hardcover. The best part of the sequel was the artwork on the dust jacket.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile Read, but Much Different than Original Novel, June 5, 2005

By 

J. H. Sweet - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tales from Watership Down (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is not very similar to the original novel, which is what I think makes it so interesting and worthwhile to read. I definitely prefer the original, but I believe this work has something important to say. Each of the tales is worthy of the telling and the reading.

I probably will not re-read this as I have the original work, but I don't think I should be comparing this novel to the original one in this review. This is good storytelling in-and-of itself and does not need to be put side-by-side with Watership Down.

The shorter tales are excellent quick reading, and make this an easier book to pick up and put down in our busy lives. Much of what the author is saying in these tales is incredibly fascinating. I was particularly drawn to the paradox that the man-smell, which the rabbits would generally use as a reason to outcast one of their own, is actually what saves the warren. The wisdom of the characters to recognize this is nicely woven into the tale. As with his other works, Richard Adams shows incredible insight into our natural world, especially that of community living animals. It is nice to see humanity in these creatures; or rather, theirs reflected in us. (I am not sure which is more accurate.)

This is a nice collection of touching tales that definitely have something significant to say. As long as readers are not expecting a repeat of the original book, I believe this will be an enjoyable experience. Just don't expect it to read like a sequel.

J.H. Sweet, author of The Fairy Chronicles