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Jan 28, 2012

indri rated it:

#2011-45

Rasanya memang nggak biasa kalau kamu punya kelinci yang dikasih nama ‘god’. Atau ‘tuhan’. Atau mungkin kita saja yang nggak terbiasa untuk mengerti sekeluarga yang tidak percaya Tuhan. Mungkin kita bisa bilang aneh. Mungkin juga tidak. Keluarga dengan ayah dan ibu atheis, anak lelaki gay, tante lesbi, anak perempuan dengan rahasianya, sahabat perempuan yang masuk penjara, dan hadiah undian yang amat besar.

Dari awal ceritanya memang agak aneh dan penuh teka-teki More...

10 comments like (6 people liked it)

Oct 03, 2011

Mia Queen rated it:

When God Was a Rabbit memiliki magnet tersendiri buat saya, dari judulnya yang 'nakal', cover hangat ditambah dengan latar pasangan siluet laki-laki dan perempuan. Awalnya saya pikir WGWaR adalah buku drama yang manis. Salah besar ternyata :p

When God Was a Rabbit adalah buku drama komedi satir yang kompleks. Pahit sekaligus juga manis. Terbagi menjadi 2 bagian, yang pertama memoar Elly saat ia kecil dan bagian kedua ketika Elly menginjak usia yang ke 27. Tulisan Sarah Winman langsung More...

5 comments like (8 people liked it)

Jul 15, 2011

Lisa (scarlet21) rated it:

An amazing book - if it doesn't win a prize I'll be VERY surprised!
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 everythi More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Nov 15, 2011

Faye rated it:

I found this book when I was browsing in Kindle store. The title got me. It's a nice title. So I downloaded the sample and found it quite interesting but with a hint of "the style of writing I'm not sure I'd enjoy".
I do like the main story; it's about the love and bond between a brother and sister, a family, friendships and love in all forms. It's a beautiful concept, really. But I'm afraid I cannot say I enjoyed the book as much, let alone reread it.
To me it's like a big jig More...

1 comment like (9 people liked it)

Nov 26, 2011

Sarah rated it:

this book is so awesome. Loving it.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 16, 2011

Bonnie rated it:

OH MY GOD WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF WHYYYYYYY??!?!?!?!?

I read these book descriptions. They sound on the far side of boring. They almost scream: "I am literature. LIT-er-a-ture. Pronounced the douchey way, dear. I only bore you because you are dumb. If you were actually an intellectual, you would bow before my literary prowess. Read the New Yorker more, darling."

Whyyyyyyy?!?!? Why do people publish these books? Why do critics RECOMMEND them?!? Why do I read More...

9 comments like (13 people liked it)

Nov 02, 2011

Parita rated it:

I gave up, wondering why I continued how much ever I read, which was like about 3/4th of the book. It felt like in the attempt to include too much just at once, Winman had lost track of the story. Half way down the book, you still dont have any clue what is happening. I picked up that book because of all the hype, but it was just a dead waste of my time!

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 08, 2011

Sam added it

I have just finished reviewing this for a major UK retailer. What a fabulous book! I havent read anything in a long time which has made me smile as much as this book, and draw on every other emotion I possess to supplement this.

This story begins in the past, looking at the early lives of the main protagonists, and it is this section of the novel which sets the tone for the remainder of the story and lures you into the lives of the characters within. It is this section of the story which really r More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Feb 10, 2012

Siew Ee rated it:

I read this book on Cousin Sol’s recommendation. There is no concrete plot, just a recounting of a family’s journey as they weathered the ups and downs in life, about friendship, about love. I found it difficult to connect with the characters at first because the family was so different – most would even label it as dysfunctional. However, as I read on, I gradually found myself pulled in and caught up with the characters. Corresponding, my enjoyment of the book increased with each chapter.
More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 04, 2012

Josephine rated it:

There’s only one word to describe Sarah Winman’s “When God Was A Rabbit” — disjointed.

If you read reviews on this and see critics describing it as having “an elegiac, simple beauty,” you can’t help but think that book reviewers like that serve only one purpose: to deter you from reading that book.

The story is supposed to be about a brother and sister named Joe and Elly — but mostly, it’s about Elly, who, as a child, is whimsically drawn and makes you excited to read the b More...

0 comments like

Jan 24, 2012

David rated it:

Sarah Winman’s first novel is a story of family, friendship, love, and what can hold together lives that threaten to disintegrate. Our narrator is Elly Portman, who chronicles her life from early childhood in the 1970s; there is darkness from the start, but it’s intertwined with fortune and levity. A pools win, for example, allows Alfie and Kate Portman to fulfil a dream of moving the family from Essex to Cornwall to open a B&B; but it means Elly must say goodbye to her best friend, Jenny Penny More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 02, 2012

Laura rated it:

This is another book that I picked up from the "new" shelf at the library, although it had been on my list for a little while. I had first come across the book at a tiny bookstore (basically) in my home town and was drawn to its cover. The flap copy seemed somewhat appropriate: a story of the relationship between a girl and her brother, Joseph, interwoven with the relationship between that girl and her best friend. Points were given for the writer's British nationality. Two weeks l More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 23, 2011

Leonie rated it:

Didn't like this. At first I thought the problem was the dodgy similes and various unskilfull literary flourishes. Then I thought the bigger problem was the book's anxiety to be Deep and Meaningful without the depth or finesse to power it. Then I realised the biggest problem of all was that the author had no idea what the novel was about, and the vagueness of the blurb, from which I gathered that the book was touching and true on the subject of childhood and family, was explained. Some books More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 10, 2011

Rula rated it:

When God Was a Rabbit
Sarah Winman

What a busy story this has been! There were too many events that could possibly happen in one person’s life. This kept me drifting from one topic to another without actually reaching a sensible end, but in a manner that trivialized the event itself. While reading these 300 something pages, you go through family relationships to child abuse, gays and lesbians, winning big prizes, miracles of people found and restoring sights, kidnapping, eccentri More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 01, 2011

christa rated it:

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.

Sarah Winman’s debut novel “When God was a Rabbit” takes advantage of this convention. Technically it’s about a brother and sister; that sister and her best friend; that brother and his best friend with benefits. It has no plot line that looms, waiting to be solved More...

2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Oct 26, 2011

Nadine rated it:

This is a beautiful book. I haven't laughed out loud so often, and with such genuine pleasure, since last year's Comedy Festival. And that's saying something, because this book isn't comedy at all; in fact, much of it is tragic and heartbreaking. But this is what makes 'When God was a Rabbit' unique; a book to treasure. It takes the most difficult situations (child neglect, abuse, first love, loneliness, anxiety, separation and loss) and without making light of any of them, deftly skews the More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 17, 2011

Becky rated it:

When God was a Rabbit is a story of a brother and a sister; it is a story of friendship, love, loss and that intangible old thing: time.

Elly is the narrator of the story and it is told in two parts. The first part is her journey through childhood and the second part is her journey through adulthood. Trying to put into words what this book is about without giving the plot away is really hard. Elly as a child has a unique relationship with her brother Joe. They grow up in an ado More...

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Oct 04, 2011

Jean rated it:

This is a stunning debut novel by Sarah Winman. It tells the story of Elly who describes her own birth "the nurse shouted Push!and my father shouted Push! and my mother pushed, and I slipped out effortlessly into that fabled year" She thinks that God loves everyone except her because her Sunday school teacher said she was ungodly and God could not possibly love her.And all she said was that Jesus Christ was an unplanned pregnancy.Elly's mother is in a deep and prolonged depression due More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 29, 2011

Annemieke rated it:

Sarah Winman - When God was a Rabbit

I bought this book a month ago as an afterthought. I had just started to order a number of books from Amazon when this title caught my eye. There when I needed a good novel to read, a story I might crawl into. And indeed I was in for a surprise, because it's one of the books I've enjoyed most this year.

When God was a Rabbit is a novel you can not really tell much about, without spoiling to story. It's told from the perpective of the girl El More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 08, 2011

Mark rated it:

Sorry. This review contains a mini spoiler but I couldn't work out how to hide it so if you don't want any giveaway info you'd better ignore this one. However if you are continuing to read, thanks.

Having read this for my local bookclub meeting this evening I am not quite sure what I would want to say. It seems to me that Sarah Winman is not quite sure what she is writing. Is it the story of family relationship both 'nuclear ' and extended, is it a treatise on gay relationships, is i More...

0 comments like (9 people liked it)

Aug 28, 2011

Susan rated it:

As many of you know, I am drawn to any novel that involves animals (Lord of Misrule, Modoc, Three Bags Full...and more). So the title of this book by Sarah Winman was sure to get my attention. The story is really a coming-of-age and finding-your-place-in-the-world kind of book, with a big dash of hippy-dippy thrown into it. The other similar novel I've read recently was the Northern Clemency, but Winman has a lighter touch and driving perspective. Just as that one took a long time getting go More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 24, 2011

Tony rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. The title was intriging but turned out to be a lot less theologically challenging than I had assumed. It follows the lives of a brother and sister as they grow through childhood and enter adult life, and how they interact with family, friends and neighbours along the way. The writing is witty and comical in places but also thought provoking and sad. I found myself laughing out loud on quite a few occasions which made the tragedies even more poignant. As Elly and her b More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Aug 23, 2011

tinne rated it:

When I first dived into the story, it was hard to make out what this book is actually about. I wondered if the 'real' theme would slowly reveal itself, and it did. To me at least, this book is about togetherness and the interminable quest for a place that we call home, only to find out that home is about the people we love, not a place as such.

I loved the aura of magic that cast a spell over the characters and makes this story special. The subtle magic binds the storylines together More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 02, 2011

JChipol rated it:

Elly and Joe are "two halves of a whole"; sister and brother. Their shared secrets and longing for acceptance & love binds them together tightly and inextricably. Both have friends that change their lives 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 Elly knows it’s their relationship and companionship that holds them steady.
When God Was a Rabbit is a story of childhood and More...

3 comments like (5 people liked it)

Aug 01, 2011

Amy rated it:

I loved this book! Interestingly, I noticed that a few of my fellow Goodreads addicts have tagged it as YA. In publishing circles, like Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld, When God Was a Rabbit is narrated by an adult looking back on her life rather than a teenager experiencing it in the moment. So for anyone who loves trivia, you can take that piece with you for all it's worth.

That said, When God Was a Rabbit is a magical coming-of-age story full of the kind of delicious dark humor that I ador More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jul 26, 2011

Ian added it

Enjoyable first comic novel, though reads in places as if the author is trying too hard. On the plus side, there are parts (especially in the first section) which are laugh-aloud funny, and the voice of the central character is appealing and convincing. More negatively, some of the characters are self-consciously eccentric, and the plot has too many unconvincing elements. Overall, however, this book deserves the critical praise it has received. I’m always interested in the serious intent of More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 26, 2011

Jillian rated it:

Every family has secrets and even the ones that seem to have it easier than others hide those secrets even from themselves. Sarah Winman has beautifully shown how a secret can be lost to a family and retrieved in the most unexpected ways. In When God Was A Rabbit, Elly’s life is tied to that of her best friend, Jenny Penny, a girl who seems to have mystical powers. As Elly and Jenny weave their way through childhood, Elly relies on her brother Joe to be her stronghold even as she watches him gro More...

0 comments like

Jul 04, 2011

Louise rated it:

When God was a Rabbit is a story of a relationship between a Brother (Joe) and his Sister (Elly). It is all about their childhood and through into adulthood and the ups and downs they experience. Written mainly from Elly’s point of view like memoirs.

Elly has a best friend who smells of chips but most of all she has her brother who is always looking after her. The family has some success and this in turn changes their lives. Their story is intertwined with rich friendships of all gen More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 22, 2011

Fleur rated it:

Now, what can I say about When God was a Rabbit?

So many words have been written between the time first learned about it and the time, today, I am ready to write about it.

That’s partly because I took my time. You see it looked as if it could be very special, and so I wanted to enjoy the anticipation, pick the book up to admire for a while, read when the moment was right, ponder for a while afterwards ….

And partly because, while I was on that journey, When God was More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 20, 2011

Lori rated it:

I enjoyed this book immensely. The author has a magical way of combining serious issues with humor. There were many lines in the book that made me just laugh out loud.

I felt quite sad for Elly, whose character was fleshed out and real, as it seems she never has had a chance to really live for herself. She is what I would consider a “giver”. I equally enjoyed the bond she shared with her older brother and the love they have for each other. I have hope that if the story were to More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)