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]

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, then New York 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 love story 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

References

1. "2011 Galaxy National Book Awards - The Winners". galaxynationalbookawards.com. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
2. "Current Reads (Summer 2011)". richardandjudy.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
3. "Newton First Book Award". edbookfest.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
4. "Sarah Winman wins Newton First Book Award". edbookfest.co.uk. Edinburgh International Book Festival. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
5. Singh, Anita (2012-01-20). "Waterstones 11: the literary ones to watch". telegraph.co.uk (The Telegraph). Retrieved 2012-01-29.

Edition

• Sarah Winman: When God Was a Rabbit (Headline Review: London, 2011) (ISBN 9780755379286).