I wish more books were like this. No long drawn out back story, or plodding character development. Just bam! Straight into it. A few pages in and ther...moreI wish more books were like this. No long drawn out back story, or plodding character development. Just bam! Straight into it. A few pages in and there's a whole world of hilarious stuff going on. This is one big passive aggressive note against the type of people who might write passive aggressive notes. Great fun, if a little far fetched in places, but it's almost in sitcom territory, so we can give it some comedic licence. Highly recommended.
P.s. I think I have a thing for novels featuring quirky families(less)
Brilliant. As good as Trainspotting, if not better. No one does it better with this kind of stuff. Was like being back with a bunch of friends. Even s...moreBrilliant. As good as Trainspotting, if not better. No one does it better with this kind of stuff. Was like being back with a bunch of friends. Even scumbags like Begbie... The problem is, he's a mate n aw. What kin ye dae?(less)
I fell in love with this book within the first thirty pages. I love a lot of books but there aren't many that I have been IN love with it. And so it w...moreI fell in love with this book within the first thirty pages. I love a lot of books but there aren't many that I have been IN love with it. And so it went with When God Was a Rabbit, an adorable, slightly quirky story, about a girl called Elly and those she loves.
I find it hard to separate the book from the audiobook in this instance. The audiobook was such a perfectly complete piece. It's read by the author, Sarah Winman, with great warmth and perfect nuance, already knowing her characters so well. She has a fantastic voice both as a writer and narrator. I loved the cheeky voices of the children. Adult narrators often over do the chirpy voice thing.
Though the children are such adorable characters you miss them when they've flown the coop, all too soon for my liking. Its hard not to be a bit dissappointed when you discover they've jumped to adulthood. I wanted to stay immersed in the wonderful world of childhood that bit longer. But such is life. Like it or not, Adulthood comes knocking and Sarah Winman does her best to hold on to the things we hold dear from our formative years.
It's all too easy for novelists to make BIG things happen in their books. It's too easy to give characters great luck, or bad luck, or great health or wealth or disease, or fame or fortune. I often wince when some authors use these tropes as easy plot devices but Sarah Winman hilariously turns that on it's head and does it all! You could retitle it to When God Was A Novelist.
Early days but I'd be surprised if this didn't turn out to be my Audiobook of the year. (less)