When god was a rabbit, by Sarah Winman

As boekrakkers we finally had our second book discussion over breakfast at Cafe Edge on Saturday morning. So many emotions and opinions about the characters, events and writing style, but overall a well received novel. The setting for our discussion was delightful and the food wholesome. In addition to the pleasantries experienced, we also had the opportunity of having our distance-boekrakker join us via skype for the introduction of the new read, 28 Stories of AIDS.

Here follows the reading experiences of the various members....

Truly Beautiful ( Ilse )

Unfortunately these words are not enough to describe the wholesome story writing of Sarah Winman. Of course being the second novel to be read and discussed by the boekrakkers I was relieved that the read was enjoyed and valued by the members. All these commentaries when I still hadn’t found my copy which had mysteriously hidden. With one week left to complete reading, I finally managed to get hold of another copy (thanks Meryl) and out pops my copy. Why, why, WHY? And then the miniseries started, and this is completely how the story played off in my mind, so vivid and truly beautiful. I especially admired the skill the author had in setting the tone or describing an emotion with few, but descriptive words. When God was a Rabbit is a real, and honest story, as strange as it my be, which easily makes it at times, such a familiar story often about the “clandestine” (yes, she used this word pretty often in her book), parts of life. A theme I valued was that “from crisis, comes some energy that forces change”. I’m not sure if this is what the author had intended, but evidence of this theme is when the parents are going through a crisis in their relationship, they then decide to relocate their family and life to Trehaven-(crisis propels change or in equation terms, crisisàD). Also, the crisis of Joe losing his memory, this also eventually changes his idea of a future with Charlie. I must also say, that the relationship Elly has with Mr Golan and how this part of the story develops, still does not sit well with me-in fact, I was of the understanding that Joe had overreacted, perhaps an indication of my own naivety (if I counted correctly, the author also used this word at least 4 times). A naivety which is needed to hear the voice of god the rabbit, and in reality, also the voice of God the Deity.

Henlene's review

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was refreshing, an easy read, funny, and it most certainly dealt with a host of different relationships which always attracts me to a book. The human interaction. How people deal with adversity. How we prosper. How our decisions affects not only our lives but those around us. As I said on Saturday, the most poignant for me was the self realisation that I am quite conservative when it comes to parenting. It was a little shocking! Left me doing some introspection …. which is always a good sign. I always considered myself very liberal and I thought that once I have kids, it’s a no-brainer…guess again! I thought, “wow, these parents are wayyyyyyyyyyyyy to liberal”, or: “ no way, they are too young to be discussing sex and the likes”…

My favourite characters were Ginger and Nancy….strong women…dramatic and so unconventional. I liked that.

I look forward to our next book!

Cordelia's review

I was intrigued by the title of the book more than anything but put
myself under pressure once again by only getting my book 5 days prior
to our meeting.I think the book grew on me as I was speed reading
during a crazy week.This probably due to Sarah Winman`s
laid-back-easy-to-follow writing style.The book made me think of my
own special relationship with my 3 sisters.I too would go crazy if one
of them cannot remember our bond due to memory loss!The book evoked
different emotions while reading and also forced me to think of real
life issues facing us daily.A truly remarkable read!