Stories convey Truth. Lacking a shared set of stories we can believe in, life is cacophonous noise.
Some stories are hard to hear, or don’t end well. But the same can be said for some aspects of life. I am drawn time and again to stories of heroism, of hard struggle in dark places against long odds.
I think these are the best stories, and the ones that matter most.
This is one reason why I keep coming back to Watership Down. I recently completed either a third or fourth re-reading of this 1972 classic by Richard Adams. As with all the great books I’ve read, I learned something new, again, in its familiar pages.
Great books meet you where you are in life. This time Watership Down met me in a new place, at age 50, with my children now full grown and headed off to college in the fall, leaving my wife and I empty-nesters for the first time. My girls are on their way to building lives, and their story has a lot to unfold. My life is still building, but I’ve shifted, subtly, from chasing a career and building a family, to passing on the wisdom I’ve accumulated. To telling them about my story, in the hopes I can convey a little wisdom and improve their chances of making better choices and building better lives.
So yes, this re-reading of Watership Down taught me about the power of stories.
The Rabbits tell each other stories of El-ahrairah, a great hero out of legend. He is the ideal, but because he is a rabbit, not a man, he is the ultimate rabbit ideal. A master thief, because rabbits steal from gardens. A prey item for a thousand hunters, because rabbits are relatively weak. But these deficiencies are offset with his great gifts of cunning, and great speed, driven by the power of his back legs.
El-ahrariah is a hero. Not without flaw; he sometimes makes poor choices, and suffers the consequences. He often falls victim to his own pride, and overconfidence. But he never gives up, and against every fiber of his being confronts the Black Rabbit of Inle’, and offers up his own life to secure the safety of his people. It’s a lesson in sacrifice for the next generation, which in the end is what being a good parent is all about.
The Rabbits tell the stories of El-ahrairah again and again, because they give their brief and often terrifying lives meaning. And something to hope for. His stories inspire Hazel, the hero of Watership Down (one among many), to lead his warren on a long journey through many dangers to safety, beyond the reach of the careless destroyer man.
Eventually El-ahrairah passes on, just as Hazel and Bigwig pass away. But their stories remain, and inspire, if we continue to pass them on.
Even if El-ahrairah is just a myth, his is a story worth believing in.
5 comments:
Lawrence Block wrote a series of stories about a character called Keller who was a professional hitman. One of the stories references Watership Down in that Keller rents a car where the previous renter left an audio book of a story about rabbits. Keller, the harden killer, gets really into the book.
I haven't read the novel but I am meaning to. Still going through Die by the Sword.
I really think are society needs stories about heroes. The current fantasy seems to be "cozy fantasy" inspired by a book about an orc who opens a coffee shop. I haven't read it or any of the genre. (I have read a few of the books that inspired it including of course the Hobbit.) But it seems weird to me. Fantasy shouldn't be cozy. It needs great horrors for the hero to overcome. I am not saying every book labelled that is bad or anything, but it's not a trend I am interested in.
Great comment Matthew. I wonder sometimes if the type of person (I perceive) who reads this blog--fans of Conan and heavy metal and S&S--would enjoy a book like Watership Down, an epic tale skirting up to epic fantasy, about... rabbits.
But I can tell you I do, so I believe you would too. It's one of the best books I've ever read. It faithfully depicts life with its all its cruelty, and darkness, and despair. And reinforces the need for heroes of moral fiber.
*Watership Down* is a masterpiece, moving and wonderful and powerful. It's one of the finest books written in the last several generations. I can think of very few other "modern" books that are so transcendantly appealing, or that I would encourage readers from so many different genres to try, for I'm so certain they would find it of interest. Maybe *Lonesome Dove*. But this book about rabbits may even be more universal than that.
I love that Block showed his character really getting into it, trying to illustrate to readers of an entirely different kind of fiction just how relatable this book is.
Some classics are famous because they're supposed to be good for you, or because some important movement can be traced back to a particular starting point represented in the text. But some are classics because they're actually great, and this is one of them.
Loved the movie when I was a kid. Have the book but haven't had a chance to read it yet. From the comments here looks like I'll have to move it up the list.
Howard: Glad to hear you're a fellow fan.
I finally read Lonesome Dove last year and absolutely loved it, but perhaps would not rate it quite so highly as WD. That said, wonderful book everyone should read. Review here: https://thesilverkey.blogspot.com/2022/10/lonesome-dove-larry-mcmurtry.html
Arthur: You probably should... that said I don't know what you have on your list.
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