When God Was A Rabbit

By: Sarah Winman 

Contrary to the title - this is not a book about God. 

It is however, about an interesting hodgepodge of social misfits and the relationships they form with each other. The focal relationship is between Elly and her older brother Joe. The truly unique connection they share is formed the day Elly is born and continues to grow stronger as they share in each other’s lives. 

 The book is divided into two parts - Elly as a child and Elly as a young adult. All the while these complex characters flow and evolve, change and adapt as years age them and events (both big and small) influence them.  

This is an incredibly original and quirky story that allows profound and taboo topics to surface. One particularly weighty notion that captivated me was the idea of memories. More specifically, how important it is for us to remember our memories - to have these collections of moments frozen in time.  It raises the question of who we are without the memory of our experiences? And then later, who are we if our memories are not remembered? Pretty heavy stuff, but Winman’s unambiguous voice and the captivating characters take the edge off the intensity and allow you to get lost in the amazing and unforeseen events that unfold.  

I dog-eared this page...

“I look at photographs from those years and my presence is there, in front of the Eiffel Tower maybe, or the State of Liberty, or knee-deep in sea water, waving and smiling; but these experiences, I now know, were greeted with the dull tint of disinterest that made even rainbows appear grey” pg. 1

When God Was A Rabbit  =  *** loved it

My highly academic book rating scale: 

*‘meh’ - I finished the book; but it didn’t pull me in. I

**liked it - I enjoyed reading it, but I will give the book away after finishing it. 

***loved it - This is a book that captivated me and I will recommend to my ‘book friends’ (all readers have these friends who have the same taste in books as you)

****couldn’t put it down - This book sucked me into its world and had me waking up early or staying up late to spend more time with the characters. 

*****all-time favourite - Every once in a while a book will come along and blow your mind and knock you off your feet. A book that makes you look at everything differently and stay in your thoughts years or decades down the road. They are the books that get prime real estate on the bookshelf. 

Buy your own copy of When God Was a Rabbit:

Wordsworth Books (local, independent bookstore in Waterloo)

Amazon.ca