When God Was a Rabbit

The big-hearted, striking novel from the highly acclaimed author of Still Life, about a fabulous but flawed family and the slew of ordinary and extraordinary incidents that shape the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.

Elly does not believe God loves her. It’s what she was once told. So, she decides, one morning over a bowl of celery, that she must find another one that does.

From Essex and Cornwall to the streets of New York, spanning the decades from 1968 to the events of 9/11, we follow Elly’s gradual loss of innocence through the evolving secrets she shares with her lifelong confidante, her brother Joe, and her increasing concern for an unusual best friend, Jenny Penny, who bears secrets of her own.

Funny, raw, and full of sparkle, When God Was a Rabbit is a love letter to true friendship and family, to the brilliant uneasiness of childhood and the desire to start over at every turn, and at its core a story of a memorable young heroine who against all odds learns what it means to love and be loved, in all its many, flawed forms.