Number Two All Time Favorite

In 1972 author Richard Adams gave the world something it didn't even realize it needed: a novel about rabbits. This story is a combination of quaint and epic which is so rarely achieved that it is no wonder that this book remains such a well-known/unknown book. It is well-known because many folks have heard of it, or seen the cartoon (I never have) and unknown because everyone I've ever met who has wanted to read it has never actually bothered. I understand that we, as a culture, are enthralled by the immediate, and the more recent something is the more we value it. But if you can go back in time long enough to lose yourself in these characters, you'll be more than rewarded.

It starts in a meadow, where a large warren of rabbits is about to be destroyed by the machine of progress. The problem is that none of them know it except for a frail, intuitive bunny who somehow glimpses a shadow of tragedy about to come - blood splashed across the shrubs and soil of their hillside. That premonition sets a tiny handful of rabbits on a quest for a home of their own.

The way the author brings these animals to life, forcing you to care deeply about their combined fate, is astonishing considering most people leave their fondness for domesticated rodents (if they ever had one) far behind them once they grow up.

If you find yourself opening this book, watch the transformation of Hazel, one reluctant, average rabbit, as he goes from being a frightened refugee to a leader, a hero and a revolutionary. The journey he takes is every bit as delicious as the actual path which brings these characters through seemingly insurmountable dangers and pitfalls. It is equal to any adventure story in any age.

The charm and strength of this allegory lies in the way it uses such unabashed simplicity to craft a tangible world so very, very like our own. It has the power to make you feel ancient and brand-new, child-like and wise with age. Take a chance on something older than this summer's reading list, and find a copy of this book. You'll thank me.

Watership Down, by Richard Adams - 1972