When God was a Rabbit: From the bestselling author of STILL LIFE

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Thus it’s refreshing to read a book that causes us to ask that question’s obverse — the more traditional, Why do bad things happen to good people? Such a book is Sarah Winman’s wonderful, darkly comic first novel, “When God Was a Rabbit.” Starting in England during the 1960s and ’70s, then moving on to New York before and after 9/11, the book is primarily the story of its English narrator and heroine, Elly, and in particular her intense and loving relationships with her brother, Joe, and her very strange best friend, Jenny Penny. The misfortunes heaped on all three are outsize and seemingly never-ending. Job, in comparison, may have gotten off easy. rounded up for the author's wonderful narration. Readers suffering withdrawal symptoms from Winman's Still Life are bound to be delighted to discover this debut novel, which I thought could almost be seen as an early blueprint for the brilliance to come. There are some striking similarities between the two.

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.” Without a reason, why bother? Existence needs purpose: to be able to endure the pain of life with dignity; to give us a reason to continue. The meaning must enter our hearts, not out heads. We must understand the meaning of our suffering.”Every once in a while you read a book that passes straight into your bloodstream, and you are hardly aware of how it happened. Then various things began to happen to the family, and Elly seemed to be suddenly exposed to a LOT of rather earlier, before proper understanding ‘Freudian moments’. I began to suspect Winman might have a tendency to overpile the dramatic. This novel is interesting. I think it's well written, the characters are well-defined and believable, the elements of the story are original enough and there is a touch of humour to keep one reading with enjoyment. A girl is growing up first in London and then in Cornwall and her personal life gets entangled with the larger perspective of History. I think everyone can relate to that. Plus I was touched by the friendship between Elly and Jenny, the weird but sweet girl (that characters should have been more developped in my humble opinion).

There are some laugh out loud moments and some that make you tear up, it's a tale that rings of truth throughout, heartbreaking, poignant, hilarious, cruel, it's quite simply beautiful. Even though Elly is older than me, much of her childhood resonates with familiarity - watching the Generation Game and shouting out the prizes in excitement, the magic of polaroid cameras, chocolate teacakes and doing the pools! Elly shares not just a deep and binding bond with her brother Joe, but also a sensitivity and awareness of the world that seems to separate them from the world of their peers. They are, in everything, a team. When a life-changing incident occurs, and Elly mentions it to her older brother Joe in an off-handed way, he handles it the best he can and then gives her a gift, a rabbit that she names God. God talks to her, not in the obnoxious way of, say, TV’s Wilfred. Just a sentence or two that provides direction either from his mouth or her imagination. Why do good things happen to bad people? For some of us, this is one of life’s big questions, bigger perhaps than those all-stars: What makes Iago evil? How can a country justify firing both missiles and schoolteachers? The undeserved job promotion, the bequest without cause, the random assigning of accolades or attention: when unmerited rewards are doled out to others, some of us are capable of descending into decades of moping. Nothing stays forgotten for long, Elly. Sometimes we simply have to remind the world that we’re special and that we’re still here.”Though “When God Was a Rabbit” is studded with era-specific references like the Tet Offensive and the shooting of John Lennon, Winman is, with the exception of a 9/11 plotline late in the book, ultimately less interested in historical resonance than in developing complicated relationships between believable characters. This is the kind of book in which a husband, on learning that his sister has consummated a longtime crush on his wife by kissing her, responds: “At last! At least we’ve got that out of the way.” Such moments give the book the feel of real life, which may cause the reader to be caught unawares, as I was, by its heart-rending conclusion. Red says: A wonderful coming-of-age story told in two halves about a girl and her brother experiencing love, in its many forms, for the first time. Singh, Anita (20 January 2012). "Waterstones 11: the literary ones to watch". telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph . Retrieved 29 January 2012. It's like loving someone deeply when you've passed the stage of blind love, the excitement of the newness. You get to know the quirks and the annoying bits, but you're still in love with that person. That's how I felt about this novel.

In a remarkably honest and confident voice, Sarah Winman has written the story of a memorable young heroine, Elly, and her loss of innocence - a magical portrait of growing up and the pull and power of family ties. From Essex and Cornwall to the streets of New York, from 1968 to the events of 9/11, When God Was a Rabbit follows the evolving bond of love and secrets between Elly and her brother Joe, and her increasing concern for an unusual best friend, Jenny Penny, who has secrets of her own. With its wit and humor, engaging characters whose eccentricities are adroitly and sometimes darkly drawn, and its themes of memory and identity, When God Was a Rabbit is a love letter to true friendship and fraternal love.

I-am privit ochii: albaștri, nespus de albaștri; la fel ca ai mei. Am fredonat în minte numele culorii, până când mi-a inundat întreaga ființă ca apa mării.” Despite it touching on many issues that could appear "heavy", the writing is amazingly fluid and never taxing. a b "2011 Galaxy National Book Awards - The Winners". galaxynationalbookawards.com . Retrieved 29 January 2012. The writing in this book was absolutely beautiful. There were times where the story was vague which I think was deliberate but it only added to the overall atmosphere of the book. Sarah Winman is truly talented at what she does, especially when it comes to her writing. The way it flows and carries the story, its just so poetic and there were times I found myself crying not just because the story was sad, but because what I was reading was just so beautiful. This is the kind of writing I want tattooed on my body or engraved onto my headstone.

With the loss of her best friend due to circumstance, Elly comes to rely on "god" for comfort and companionship and believes that the animal talks to her. Even though the rabbit frequently disappears, he reappears when she needs him the most, and Elly believes this is somehow magical. When a guest at the bed and breakfast runs over "god," killing him, Elly is devastated and forced to confront the chaotic events of her life seemingly alone. A freshly rendered tale of growing up and living in the world by a late-starting author with a bright future. The book kind-of loses its breezy mojo around the halfway point, when the grind of imperishable relationships and the promise of resurrection becomes its focus.Firstly, this is a fiction book of two halves. First half I was loving the book and would have given it five stars. Second half – I loved it less so three stars. Rather than go for the average I’ll keep the overall review at three stars. Good book, unusual but messy – I will explain further. Coming-of-age novels come with an absolution: They don’t actually have to be about-about anything. They can just be. A series of events, linked or otherwise, that start quirky and end artfully or in some combination of that.