When God Was a Rabbit
by Sarah Winman

List Price: $15.00
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781608195374
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Elly is the kind of girl who grows up too fast. She doesn't like to play with little girls her age; she prefers the company of Mr. Golan, her elderly neighbor. But her friendship with Mr. Golan takes a dark turn, and only Elly's brother, Joe, knows her secret. Joe gives Elly a pet rabbit, which she names god, to alleviate the loneliness of her childhood. Elly soon finds another best friend: Jenny Penny, a new girl in town who has a chaotic home life. But Elly and Jenny are soon separated, too --- Elly's parents decide to open a bed-and-breakfast in Cornwall, and Jenny disappears without a trace. Friendless in her new town, Elly leans on her family for support, especially Joe, who is struggling to come to terms with his sexuality.

Even as an adult, shadows from childhood haunt Elly's life. She learns that Jenny Penny murdered an abusive husband, and they renew their friendship through letters Jenny writes from jail. Elly finds her calling as a newspaper columnist, writing about the relationships she has lost and found. Joe tries to start a new life in New York, but he disappears in the chaos of 9/11. Elly manages to track Joe down, but he has lost his memory and feels stifled by his sister's devotion. As Joe's memory gradually returns, he reveals Elly's childhood secret: Mr. Golan molested her. Elly's loved ones can finally help her heal, and she learns to rely on the family and friends who have stood by her during her years of silence.

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1. In the prologue of When God Was a Rabbit, Elly recalls a coin trick Jenny Penny showed her when they were children. What does Elly learn about faith, loyalty, and magic from Jenny? How does this scene introduce their friendship, and how does it foreshadow the problems that the girls will face?

2. Discuss Elly's friendship with Abraham Golan, her next-door neighbor. Why does Elly prefer his company to friends her own age? Why doesn't Elly tell her parents her secret about Mr. Golan? How does she react to his death, and how does the secret haunt her in the years to come?

3. Why does Elly name her pet rabbit god? How does this name relate to her father's ambivalence about religion and fate? As an adult, Elly writes in her “Lost and Found” column that her childhood was a time “when sweets were a penny and god was a rabbit” (246). How has Elly's view of the world changed since that magical time?

4. According to Elly, “Jenny Penny's mother was as different from mine as any mother could be” (46). What are the differences between these two mothers? What are some similarities that might not be so apparent to young Elly?

5. Discuss the consequences of Mr. X's case, when Elly's father defended a guilty man against charges of child molestation. Why does the death of Mr. X's accuser continue to haunt Elly's father? Does he ever forgive himself for Mr. X's acquittal? Why or why not?

6. Part Two of the novel picks up fifteen years later, in 1995. How has Elly changed? In what ways has Elly failed to come to terms with her past? How will she mend her two closest relationships --- with her brother and with Jenny --- in Part Two?

7. Although When God Was a Rabbit features traumatic events --- child molestation, suicide, kidnapping, murder, illness, and terrorism --- the novel also shines with humor. How does the novel manage to balance tragedy and comedy?

8. Consider the character of Nancy, Elly and Joe's glamorous aunt. How does Nancy support her family in difficult times? How does she help Joe come to terms with his homosexuality?

9. After her move to Cornwall, Elly sends Jenny a fossil she found with Nancy, who says, “Nothing stays forgotten for long, Elly. Sometimes we have to remind the world that we're special and that we're still here” (105). Why does Jenny return the fossil to Elly when she gets out of jail? What does the fossil symbolize to Jenny and Elly?

10. Discuss the high and low points of Elly's parents' relationship. How does a Mercedes almost break up their marriage? Why does Elly's father feel alienated from his wife when she insists that Joe is still alive after 9/11? What role does Nancy play within their marriage, and how does this complicated love triangle seem to work?

11. When Joe suffers from amnesia after 9/11, Elly remembers a phrase from her childhood, when god the rabbit reappeared after his death: “I am here but I am not yours” (267). How does this saying apply to Joe and to the rabbit? What does Elly learn about lasting relationships from each of these losses?

12. Compare Elly and Jenny's friendship to Joe and Charlie's. How do Elly and Joe lose touch with their best friends? How does each sibling cope with the loss? How does each friendship survive long distances and tragic events?

13. Realizing how much she has kept from her parents, Elly thinks, “I knew I'd hurt them with this distance, with this silence, and now they'd understand; but at what price?” (288). What was the price of keeping the secret, and what are the costs and benefits of telling it?

14. When God Was the Rabbit incorporates world events into the plot, from John Lennon's murder to international kidnappings to the tragic losses of 9/11. How does history look through Elly's eyes? What perspective does she have on tragedy and loss?

15. Consider the ties among family members, friends, and lovers in When God Was a Rabbit. Which bond seems strongest for these characters: family, friendship, or romance? Give some examples to explain your answer.

Suggested Reading
A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
One Day by David Nicholl
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Ms. Hempel Chronicles by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum
No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Eeeee Eee Eeee by Tao Lin
Netherland by Joseph O’Neill
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud
Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem

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"Remarkably, When God Was a Rabbit never feels melodramatic or unkind to its characters. Much of this has to do with Winman’s mastery of tone: the narration is dry-eyed but glinting . . . While her plot traffics heavily in grim incident, she maintains a winning proportion of whimsy throughout."

— New York Times Book Review

"Gloriously off beat . . . Winman’s narrative voice is beautifully true, with a child’s unsentimental clarity. A superb debut."

— Times (UK)

"Perfectly captures the hazy, magical nature of youth and all its mysteries, against a backdrop of real-life events."

— Elle

"No bare-bones plot summary can do justice to this wonderfully wise and compellingly readable tale of love and friendship in all their forms, of family uncircumscribed by biological bonds, and of loss worse than death . . . A remarkable first novel, worth savoring."

— Booklist (starred review)

"Thronging with incident, wonder and outré language . . . sharply funny, whimsical and innovative."

— Guardian (UK)

"Beguiling . . . you can’t quite get the voice out of your head."

— Daily Mail (UK)

"There are books that tug on the heartstrings, and then there are full-on tractor pulls. When God Was a Rabbit falls into the latter category . . . [Winman’s] prose also has an elegiac, simple beauty, which she uses to nimbly guide her characters through 30-odd eventful years of history . . . Winman really proves herself capable of making camp inside our tear ducts --- and of, one hopes, writing other novels in the future."

— Globe and Mail (Toronto)

"Sarah Winman has written this book in the exact way events in a childhood --- and a life --- accrue, and I’ve never seen anyone able to do that so well. Brilliant, funny, and moving, When God Was a Rabbit is a captivat- ing novel!"

— Robb Forman Dew, author of Being Polite to Hitler

"A genuinely captivating read."

— Glamour

"A powerful debut."

— Independent (UK)

"Captivating . . . Rendered with an appealing frankness, precision and emotional acuity."

— Observer (UK)

"A story of siblings, friendship, secrets and love, told with sadness and humour."

— Marie Claire

"Mesmerizing."

— Good Housekeeping

"[When God Was a Rabbit] boasts one of the more endearingly unconven- tional families in a while . . . A freshly rendered tale of growing up and living in the world by a late-starting author with a bright future."

— Kirkus Reviews

"A heartbreaking story of the secrets and hopes of a sister and brother who share an unshakeable bond . . . Winman shows impressive range and vision."

— Publishers Weekly

"This is quality beach popcorn . . . Imagine if Armistead Maupin had been born straight, British and a woman."

— Financial Times

"A captivating family saga for our times --- sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hilarious --- with characters as quirky, endearing, flawed and resilient as any created by Dickens."

— Daily Mail’s You magazine (UK)

"I kept thinking this novel was the author’s autobiography, so convincing is the picture it gives of a young girl’s growing up, and so easily one be- lieves in its characters."

— Sunday Telegraph (UK)

"The childhood sections are brilliant . . . the line between innocence and loss is traced with achingly sad assurance."

— Sunday Times (UK)

"Affecting and original."

— Library Journal

"Winman writes like the angels; you’ll pause, often, to savor a phrase, an insight, a joke, a description."

— Hudson Valley News