AW Book Review: When God Was A Rabbit - Chick Lit Reviews

When God Was a Rabbit is a mesmerizing portrait of childhood and growing up; friendships and families, the loss of innocence, triumph and tragedy and everything in between.

Set in Essex, Cornwall, and New York, the novel is a coming-of-age story about the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister, and an unusual best friend. The story is in two parts, the first seen through the eyes of young Elly, growing up in 1968 surrounded by eccentricity, including an elderly neighbor whom she befriends but who soon leaves her with a dark secret. Her brother Joe, though, finds her another friend for Christmas: a rabbit Elly names ?God.? And when Jenny Penny moves to the neighborhood, Elly finds her soul mate in this sprightly girl with her own secrets, including a mother who can?t mother her. Death, cancer scares, good fortune occur-a rollicking ride, but ultimately Elly?s family moves away, leaving behind Jenny Penny and the love of her brother?s life. The second part of the book is set in New York amid the events of 9/11, with Elly grown and searching for her brother. Both hilarious and devastatingly moving, When God Was a Rabbit will make you laugh and cry-everything you could want from this kind of fiction. More than anything, it?s a book about love in all its forms.

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Elly and Joe are two halves of a whole. Sister and brother, their shared secrets and longing for acceptance & love binds the love they have for one another. Both have friends that change them along the way; including both Jenny Penny, Elly?s childhood friend, and Charlie, Joe?s first love. Both must learn to overcome their losses as well, but know it?s their companionship that holds them steady along the path. When God Was A Rabbit is a story about love, love that stands the tests of time.

One thing I need to say first of all is that When God Was A Rabbit isn?t really about religion. Having said that, I?m sure if you were looking for it you could absolutely find religious undertones in certain aspects of the book. But for me, that?s not really what I discovered as I read the book. What I discovered had everything to do with love and the relationships that are bound by it. Firstly though, ?god? in the book is Elly?s rabbit when she is young and though he?s a replacement for a lost friendship he?s not the solution to Elly?s problems; her brother Joe is. Joe is the one who gives Elly her rabbit, he?s the one who helps her through the difficult things in her life and keeps her secrets safely tucked away. He is her love interest in a purely wholesome and normal way. Their story was what truly drove me to finish every page in a matter of hours.

When God Was A Rabbit is also not strictly ?Chick Lit?, but absolutely a book I think readers of Women?s fiction would love. It?s written in such a way that it feels a lot like a memoir. Sarah Winman?s writing is simply breathtaking. When I initially set out to read When God Was A Rabbit I had a hard time getting into the story, but after setting it down a couple of times and going back to it I was completely engrossed in the story. There?s something about how Winman writes that compels you to discover what lies ahead for her characters. I couldn?t help wondering what happened to Jenny Penny as well as Charlie, not to mention Elly and Joe. It?s beautifully written and I?m positive Sarah Winman will have many more successful novels to come in the future.

This is a love story at it?s core, but having said that I should warn readers that it?s not without it?s difficulties as love usually has. There are situations in this book that will make some readers uncomfortable, including mentions (not graphic scenes at all) of child molestation, as well as sexual encounters between both heterosexual and gay couples. Having said that, all were necessary for the story to be told, with the exception of the last encounter in the book which I found to be rather unnecessary. The other situations and references are used to help demonstrate the love Elly and her brother as well as their friends have for one another and what they would do because of that love. These are the stories of life and the things that happen to even the very best of us.

What would you do for the love of another? Especially if that person was your one and only sibling, your confidant. In When God Was A Rabbit Elly relies wholly on her elder brother Joe through some of the most traumatic experiences a young girl could ever face. With an unimaginable twist at the end readers will discover just how important the love we carry with us can be and where we are willing to go for it. A beautifully written story by debut novelist Sarah Winman, an author I have no doubt will be providing her readers with more excellent reading material in the future.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Bloomsbury USA, for providing this book for review and giveaway as part of TLC Book Tours!
Make sure to check back tomorrow for an opportunity to win a copy of When God Was A Rabbit by Sarah Winman!

As an additional note I wanted to share the UK version of the cover (on the left) next to the US cover (on the right). I?m torn, I actually love them both for completely different reasons, not to mention that both look gorgeous in person. What about you?

Source: http://chicklitreviews.com/2011/05/20/aw-book-review-when-god-was-a-rabbit-by-sarah-winman/

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