Bright Eyes
When I was a child I was obsessed with the Art Garfunkel song Bright Eyes, mainly because of the music video, which featured footage from the film Watership Down. At the time I didn’t realise it was a book of course as I was only a few years old. Even at that young age though, I knew it was a terribly sad story of habitat loss and suffering caused by human beings. I remember asking my mother why the bunnies had to lose their home. I couldn’t comprehend the unfairness of it all. To my child-mind it was all so wrong. Years later I finally read the book, and it moved me to cry buckets of tears over almost every page. The author, Richard Adams just had such an understanding of the nature and personality of animals that I find perfectly brilliant. I still to this day have not seen the film, as I know that I simply cannot bear to watch it. I would cry through the whole thing, empathising with every rabbit in turn and railing against the outside forces threatening their existence. I truly think that every person should read Watership Down. It is one of those essential reads that open the mind, the heart and imagination. It may break your heart, but you will be a better person for it.