**** – really liked it (341 pages. Amazon link).
This is a book about a brother and a sister. It’s a book about childhood and growing up, friendships and families, triumph and tragedy and everything in between. More than anything, it’s a book about love in all its forms.
Sometimes I commute to work by train. I was delighted to find that at the train station there is now a bookcase full of old paperbacks and an honesty box suggesting a £1 donation when you take a book to read, with the money going to a local charity. I picked up When God was a Rabbit from this bookcase and was really pleased that I did.
The story is about an English family across several decades, all told from the perspective of the daughter, Elly. I liked witnessing the transition of her from childhood to adulthood and thought that she was an interesting narrator. Winman is clearly an excellent writer and I was impressed that this is her debut novel. She uses real historical events in the story (e.g. John Lennon’s death and 9/11) as the structure and then casts the families story within this setting. It was funny, often poignant, and showed an authentic understanding of love across many different kinds of relationships; siblings, parents, friends of the family, childhood friends, neighbours etc.
The cover and blurb on the back made me think that this was going to be a lighthearted read, and whilst it was certainly accessible it also managed depth that I had not expected. After reading the bonus material* at the end of the book I understood that there are some elements of the novel which are semi-autobiographical, and then a lot of the plot made more sense to me. Because Winman was telling some parts of her own life through the mouthpiece of Elly, there was a realness to it that made everything more engaging and true to life. Simple actions that other authors may have missed out or glossed over gave When God Was a Rabbit a superb quality and I would recommend reading it to anyone as a result.
*Bonus Material: Author’s Note; The Inspiration for When God was a Rabbit; Sarah Winman’s Life as a Writer; Reading Group Questions.
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