Recommended Reading: When God Was A Rabbit by Sarah Winman

Despite the set reading lists you have to study for each module of your degree, it is always advisable that when you can engage in some personal reading to give yourself a break away from the reading lists! Keeping up with personal reading, reading books you have chosen will make your set reading lists a lot less of a chore and will encourage you to keep reading even through the summer months! For the next few weeks we will be doing a series of recommended reads that we love and think that you will enjoy too.

Blurb:

Spanning four decades, from 1968 onwards, this is the story of a fabulous but flawed family and the slew of ordinary and extraordinary incidents that shape their everyday lives. It is a story about childhood and growing up, loss of innocence, eccentricity, familial ties and friendships, love and life. Stripped down to its bare bones, it’s about the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.

When God Was A Rabbit is a fantastic ‘feel-good’ book that explores the ins and outs, the ups and downs of life over many years.  It is a story through the life of the protagonist Elly, when it begins when she is a young child, experiencing things through innocence and befriending the strange girl Jenny Penny who comes from an abusive background, her mother a drunk. The story in two parts shows how the girls grow and how life changes them as adolescence looms, and seeing and confronting the confusing on goings of her brother, as he struggles to find his sexuality.

The second part of the novel begins in Elly’s adult life contrasting how things drastically change from childhood. Small cracks in life begin to show, and adulthood begins to take its toll. The reader is introduced to a number of characters, each and every one of them having an individual role and story in the novel.

This is a fantastic read for all audiences as you relive real-life history through the eyes of Elly, allowing the reader to relate and engage in similar memories. Well worth the read and a very pleasant read it is.

It can be purchased from the local Waterstones currently, or online here: www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/sarah+winman/when+god+was+a+rabbit/8140572