The September 11th 2001 attacks have inspired a number of novels, films, plays and compositions from artists trying to make sense of a tragedy witnessed by the world. Some such as Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close have focused on how family members cope with their grief…
New York
22 March 2012 by Leave a Comment
This year I promised myself that I was going to read more books. I set myself the target of seventy-five books. Having read sixty-one last year this wasn’t too onerous a target and until the end of February I was roughly on target. Then I started New York…
When God Was A Rabbit
2 August 2011 by 2 Comments
A good book – but not the great one I was expecting
Sarah Winman’s debut novel When God Was a Rabbit has been big news in literary circles. It was one of the Richard & Judy bookclub picks for Summer 2011 which virtually guaranteed it bestseller status and received a number of good reviews. Unlike some book snobs I know, I quite like the Richard & Judy choices so with their endorsement, the reviews I had seen and a positive vibe on Twitter I was really looking forward to When God Was A Rabbit.
To say the book was disappointing is a bit too much of an overstatement. I enjoyed the book, I just didn’t love it and with all the hype I had seen about it I was really expecting to fall head over heels for this great new author.
The heroine of the story and narrator of the book is Elly, and that’s where the problem lies. Winman has created a cast of fascinating characters from the lesbian film star to the abused but defiant child, the victim of kidnap and torture to the elderly teacher. Unfortunately the least interesting character is Elly, and yet it is only her voice and her point of view that we hear in any real detail and that’s where the book really does fall down…..