When God Was a Rabbit

When God Was a Rabbit is a book by Sarah Winman that was first published in 2011. It won Winman various awards including New Writer of the Year in the Galaxy National Book Awards^[1] and was one of the books chosen by Richard & Judy in their 2011 Summer Book Club.^[2]

First edition (Headline)

Synopsis

When God Was a Rabbit follows the life of a young girl – Eleanor Maud (Elly for short) – as she grows up first in Essex, then Cornwall and the various characters she meets and befriends along the way. The book is named after God, a pet rabbit given to Elly by her brother who is a constant companion during her childhood. Overall it is a story about love in all its forms, surrounding the central characters, Elly, her brother and their extended circle of family and friends.

Awards

• New Writer of the Year in the Galaxy National Book Awards (United Kingdom), 2011^[1]
• Newton First Book Award in the Edinburgh International Book Festival (United Kingdom), 2011^[3][4]
• Waterstones 11 (United Kingdom), 2011^[5]
• The Exclusive Books Boeke Prize (South Africa), 2011

Reviews

• Claudia FitzHerbert: Triumph and disaster, The Spectator, 19 March 2011
• Anthony Cummins: Fiction in Brief, The Telegraph, 28 March 2011
• Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan: Review: When God Was a Rabbit, Summer 2011
• David Hebblethwaite: Book Review Sarah Winman, The Huffington Post, 14 December 2011