Hello and welcome to Gabfest reads for the month of November.

I'm Emily Bazlan, one of the hosts of Slates political Florida.

I am so pleased to be joined today by James Sturm, who is the author of a new adaptation of Watership Down.

He James.

Hello, Emily.

And I should say also that this book is adapted and illustrated by you and also Joe

Suffin.

Watership Down was originally published in 1972 by Richard Adams. It's an

epic fable about rabbits. Hazel and Fiver and their companions are in search of a home. They're looking to establish their own Warren

safe from human intrusion on their natural world

and also from other rabbits who want to control them.

The book is a childhood classic that is not just for children by any means. It was

actually banned in China in 1965 because it has a message supposedly about Marxism and

government corruption. Though I confess that when I read it as a kid,

I didn't think about that at all.

James, let's start with just this basic question.

What drew you to this book?

When was the first time you read it?

And do you remember how you responded to it then?

The book has kind of been in my life for as long as I remember,

though I didn't read it until I moved to Vermont in 2001.

My parents had a copy on their bookcase and I remember trying to read it and in failing.

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