The Constant Rabbit
Ratings22
Average rating4.3
15
Ratings22
Average rating4.3
THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR. THE MOST ORIGINAL BOOK OF 2021 'Sheer inventiveness, wit, complexity, erudition, unexpectedness and originality' The Times *** The village of Much Hemlock has always been a right-wing stronghold. British. Solid. Traditional. Then they move in. They're different from everyone else: they have a weird religion, an aggressive vegan agenda, and too many children. They may seem quiet and peace-loving, but who knows where it could lead? They are a family of human-sized rabbits, the result of an inexplicable anthropomorphising event half a century before. With a mass rehoming to Wales for 1.2 million rabbits looming, long-term resident Peter Knox is drawn from his customary spot on the fence and must choose his corner: a cosy job-for-life at the Rabbit Compliance Taskforce, or stand with the rabbits - and weather the full brunt of human savagery. It'll take a rabbit to teach a human humanity . . . PRAISE FOR JASPER FFORDE 'The Constant Rabbit is Jasper Fforde's most chilling and realistic book yet' Guardian 'You won't read anything quite like this in 2020 - or beyond that too' CultureFly 'Lovely little satire...wonderfully imaginative and very funny.' - Spectator 'Fforde presents a milquetoast cog in an absurdly bureaucratic wheel, this time cleverly skewering Brexit, conservative politics, and white supremacy in this surprisingly uplifting tale of one man doing his best, even if it is the bare minimum.' Booklist 'The Constant Rabbit is designed to shake readers out of that complacency: to recognise that merely holding liberal values is not enough to prevent the quickening advance of racism and xenophobia in this country. One must act.' Financial Times 'A serious minded comedy' Mail on Sunday READERS LOVE THE CONSTANT RABBIT 'This is Jasper Fforde at his absolute best. Clever, thought-provoking and relevant, whilst maintaining the absurdity that we have come to love Fforde for' 5 STARS 'A real classic - the sort of book that will be read in fifty or a hundred years' time' 5 STARS '[Jasper Fforde's] ability to take something relatively normal and turn it on it's head is sublime, ridiculous and so enjoyable! Quirky, funny, satirical tale with pertinent reflections on current times.' 5 STARS 'This book couldn't have come at a better time. Frighteningly poignant given the state of world. It's a truly wonderful piece of work that belongs right up there with Orwell.' 5 STARS 'This is Jasper Fforde at his finest. A witty, thought provoking read that makes you sit up and take note of all the things going on around you. Love this author, was already a fan, but now even more so.' 5 STARS 'I knew within minutes of starting the opening chapter that this was Fforde at the top of his game.' 5 STARS
Reviews with the most likes.
Thoroughly enjoyed it but I didn't feel it had the same creativity present in some of Jasper's other series. It instead went with drawing some darker parallels to how we treat minority groups within society.
Jasper gives us a somewhat regular world, but there happen to be anthropomorphic animals. Not that many.
Our POV character is mostly not terrible but also doesn't want to rock the boat. It's easier to not let it be known that we don't hate rabbits, right? As long as we, personally, aren't bad to rabbits, we are still good, right?
The whole story is an exploration in identity politics and what it means to be “in” and “out” group. The audiobook is well narrated with distinct voices for characters, making the story even more captivating.
I like thought provoking fiction, and I enjoyed this one.
Side note: The rabbit way mythos is all quite fascinating, and I super enjoy how solidly Jasper grounded this. I know it is all a part of authorship and practically essential to make your characters behave, but sometimes story mythology/religion that is entirely made up feels, well, incomplete. This one didn't.
Once again, I marvel at how Jasper Fforde is able to come up with a wholly original, completely absurd idea, and it make it feel plausible and real. The satire was a little heavy-handed, but given the state of the world we live in now, it also feels applicable and necessary. I enjoyed this more than Early Riser, but not as much as Shades of Grey or the Thursday Next series – maybe about the same level as the Nursery Crime books for me.
This was so good. Fforde is amazing at taking weird ideas and making them not just work, but be great. The allegory (not quite the word I'm looking for, but it'll do) is a little rough in places, but the story more than makes up for it. There's so much discussed in one way or another, from segregation/racism to climate change. The end made me cry a bit. I think the main thing is: “Sometimes it takes a non-human to say what it is to be a good human.”
