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harrimyers's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
this was an Insane book. very captivating, quite interesting for a book about really mundane stuff but every character felt incredibly alive and there were about 3 moments in this book which genuinely made me stop because the way they were introduced was both so sudden whilst also being sensitive. the main one was undoubtedly mr golan and elly because it was never something explicitly said but you could read what happened to her in every line , and then with the focus being on jenny penny’s hair and her lateness and her letter to elly later on explaining that it was never her hair? really masterfully done, a really impressive tackling of these awful events in a way that makes it super powerful to read without it being explicit or ott. that being said some of thr plot points, specifically bringing 9/11 into it were a bit….. hm. i enjoyed this book but my god did it boggle the mind
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Cancer, Animal death, Grief, and Kidnapping
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
When God was a Rabbit unfolds over four decades. At its centre is a loving but flawed family, an especially close bond between sister and brother, and an extended cast of sometimes eccentric characters - including a pet rabbit named God. The plot is rich and multi-layered exploring both the general - friendship, coming of age - as well as the specific - the impact of 9/11. I loved Sarah Winman’s Still Life and this, her debut, has a very similar feel. She excels at creating memorable characters and capturing the bittersweet moments of the human experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Grief and Death
Minor: Homophobia
miri42's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Death
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault
abbruzzese's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I never felt complete without him. In truth, I never would.
And he uncovered in us a curious need: that we each secretly wanted him to remember us the most. It was strange, both vital and flawed, until I realised that maybe the need to be remembered is stronger than the need to remember.
yet another book that had me in tears for a good chunk of it, the last 1/3 or so. the story is well-written, with good pacing, and the characters are nothing short of loveable.
the first half of the book, breezy and almost whimsical, had me reminiscing on fond childhood memories of my own with rose-coloured glasses firmly in place. the second half, quite frankly, hurt. it becomes a cruelly bittersweet tale about the hardships of life and the things we all come face-to-face with at one point or another.
my only criticism is how loosely god (the rabbit) was incorporated into the story. maybe i'm missing something, maybe there's symbolism that hasn't occurred to me yet, but i felt like god's role in the story was weak, secondary at best, and then he
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Sexual content
Moderate: Grief, Pedophilia, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Animal death, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault
moderate/graphic description of 9/11jodieworton's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a book from my bookswap and I am so so glad I picked it up this month.
🔆When God Was A Rabbit by Sarah Winman🔆
The story centres on the life of Elly, starting when she is young and further on in the book, her adult life. You are introduced to her family, her best friend Jenny Penny and her pet rabbit, given to her by her brother, called God (who also talks to her).
One of my favourite parts of the book is the description of each character. It is explained in a way you just ‘get’ the characters and understand their eccentricities. I loved reading about Jenny Penny and also Ellys love for her, she saw Jenny as fearless and aspired to be like her in many ways, I found that I thought of Jenny as magical.
You realise soon the book is about love and family, but mostly the love and relationship between the siblings, Elly and Joe. Joe holds a secret about Ellys childhood that he keeps well into their adult life. Only when he looses his memory and gradually gets it back does he break her trust.
This book focuses on the terror attack of 9/11, it kind of crept up on me. I realised I had watched a lot of docs/films about 9/11 but never read a story that could be construed as true. It was very well done, it was emotional and heart breaking.
I highly recommend this book, it was slow paced but I enjoyed that.
🔆When God Was A Rabbit by Sarah Winman🔆
The story centres on the life of Elly, starting when she is young and further on in the book, her adult life. You are introduced to her family, her best friend Jenny Penny and her pet rabbit, given to her by her brother, called God (who also talks to her).
One of my favourite parts of the book is the description of each character. It is explained in a way you just ‘get’ the characters and understand their eccentricities. I loved reading about Jenny Penny and also Ellys love for her, she saw Jenny as fearless and aspired to be like her in many ways, I found that I thought of Jenny as magical.
You realise soon the book is about love and family, but mostly the love and relationship between the siblings, Elly and Joe. Joe holds a secret about Ellys childhood that he keeps well into their adult life. Only when he looses his memory and gradually gets it back does he break her trust.
This book focuses on the terror attack of 9/11, it kind of crept up on me. I realised I had watched a lot of docs/films about 9/11 but never read a story that could be construed as true. It was very well done, it was emotional and heart breaking.
I highly recommend this book, it was slow paced but I enjoyed that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia
9/11 attack is detailedelouisewills's review against another edition
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Though this book had an interesting premise, I feel as though it was poorly executed, overly-packed full of content that made for a bit of a mess of storylines, and seemed almost too fantastical, not for the magical realism of the rabbit, but for the family.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Death, Gore, Homophobia, and Rape
marybelle's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse and Sexual assault
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