What a fabulous, well written book.
This book explores xenophobia, irrational fear, and hatred in a witty, clever, and unique way.
After 'The Event' Rabbits are human size, with human characteristics, while still remaining quintessentially Rabbit. Some humans feel threatened by this, some humans want to learn about the best bits of Rabbit nature, for example, misogyny being bred out with the machismo dilution plan.
This tale is wonderful, a book of our time.

The joy of reading anything by Jasper Fforde is his attention to detail and the pure cleverness of his word play. I’ve read everything he has written and The Constant Rabbit is up there with the Tuesday Next books, in my opinion. He creates a world where rabbits, foxes and a few other animals have anthropomorphised and live in the human world. The rabbits are regarded with hatred and suspicion by many and the government plan to force them into the MegaWarren to try and control them. It is a poignant story in our troubled times, even though the book is laugh out loud funny is places. I’m sure I missed some of the references along the way as I was just enjoying the story too much, I think it will need a second reading.

The Constant Rabbit is a timely novel with an original concept which initially intrigued me. However, it didn't keep me engaged and I struggled to finish it.

Whilst a timely and thought provoking satire on Brexit Britain and right wing rhetoric, the characters are mainly all caricatures with most showing little personality or character development. Add in a slow moving plot and a turgid style of writing and it becomes a chore to read.

The themes of racism, anti-immigration, prejudice etc. are written in a clumsy and flippant way which didn't sit right with me and the use of humour detracted from the issues at hand and seemed in very poor taste. Not for me.

Thanks to Net Galley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC.

This book was not for me. I have not read a Jasper Fforde book before. It is an interesting concept that there are life size rabbits living alongside humans. Not the book for me at this moment in time.

This book couldn't have come at a better time. Frighteningly poignant given the state of world address. It's a truly wonderful piece of work that belongs right up there with Orwell. It sums up modern day mid - upper class Britain at it's very root " The English Village ". Where everyone knows everyone's business and there are no secrets that can't be uncovered. Is this an end to life as we know it or the beginning of something so magical that our puny human minds just can't grasp. A five star tale without a doubt. It was deep, poignant, it makes you think not only about the tale but about the world in general and where we are going wrong. You may not be able to change the past but you can sure as hell change the future for the better of all.

Long time lurker, first time Fforde reader.

I'm a simple girl. Show me a pretty cover and an intriguing plotline (1.2m lifesize bloody rabbits living) and I'm sold. BUT (sorry), this one was a bit of a hard one for me to get into. My Kindle would be sitting on the arm of the sofa whilst I glared at not wanting to commit.
HOWEVER (sorry x 2), once I got over the hump, I got sucked right in and became quite fond of rabbit's story.

Set in an alternative version of the UK after 'The Event' (which saw a variety of animals anthropomorphism), Constance and Doc Rabbit move into the sleepy, very human neighbourhood. Curtains begin twitching, whispers run through the streets and, before long, a mob mentality begins to form with plans to drive the Rabbit family 'back to where they belong'.

Sound familiar?

Whilst it's a satire story, the problems which plague our society are woven throughout. Racism, homophobia, xenophobic, antisemitism, anti-being-remotely-different-to-what-people-deem-normal.

This is a book that'll get you thinking and, hopefully, make you see things in a different light. There are a lot of references to the current political climate in the UK so, if you're not following it, some of it may be completely lost on you.

As fan of Jasper Fforde it is difficult to wait till the book is translated into german. Therefore I am happy to be able to read it before it is published. I was not disappointed!!! Funny as always!

I absolutely loved this novel. I’ve been a huge fan of Fforde’s for quite some time and was very excited to hear that a new work was to be published. This is an oddly funny social commentary of a novel, humorous yet thought provoking. A quirky novel that’s hard to describe in many ways, definitely worth a read !

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde is an audacious yet timely work of satire that calls attention to issues such as racism, immigration and the fake news phenomenon in a bizarre, hilarious and very effective manner.
Readers who are familiar with Fforde's writing style know to expect clever wordplay and plenty of humour, and they will not be disappointed here.
The book is set in an alternative version of the UK , in the aftermath of a mysterious "Event" in 1965 that caused rabbits to become anthropomorphised and begin to integrate into human society. This integration has not always been easy, the Rabbits have their own culture, language and religion and are often regarded as outsiders , so much so that in recent years an anti - rabbit Prime Minster , leader of the UKARP ( UK Anti- Rabbit Party) was the surprise winner of the General Election, and is steaming ahead with plans to forcibly relocate the Rabbit population to a purpose built Warren in Wales. The protagonist of the book , Peter Knox lives with his daughter in the idyllic village More Hemlock, and works as a "Spotter" for the Rabbit Compliance Task Force because of his rare ability to tell Rabbits apart, something that most humans find difficult to do. When he bumps into an old Rabbit friend from University at the local library he is surprised and a little shaken to find that she and her family are moving in next door, and while he is keen to reconnect, his is also hiding a guilty secret that could destroy their renewed friendship. However not all the villagers are as happy to see the Rabbits move in, and soon there is a village wide campaign to try to get them to move out, with Peter caught in the middle. As if that is not complicated enough he is coming under increased pressure from his superiors at RabCot to identify members of the Rabbit resistance who are campaigning to prevent the Warren from opening.
If you can get behind the ludicrousness of the idea of giant talking rabbits there is much to enjoy about this book, from the wonderfully skilled and funny writing to the sharp sticks the author wilfully uses to poke fun at society in general and the political system. There is nothing subtle about the message of this book, but I don't consider that a flaw, though others might. I did find the ending fell just a little flat given all that had gone before, but I am not sure how else the story could have ended. This book feels so current and relevant that I would highly encourage people to take a chance and read it even if it cuts a little close to the bone at times.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

**Review**
The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
‘We’re not all revolutionaries, but enough people challenging the problem can make a difference’
Knox lives a quiet village life, until Constance and Doc Rabbit move in next door. After ‘The Event’ anthropomorphised rabbits are common place in the UK, but a lot of the villagers see these new neighbours as upsetting the village appeal and dynamic. They are quickly made to feel unwelcome. Befriending Constance and Doc makes Knox job as a rabbit spotter difficult, and he finds himself caught up between the two parties. But larger scale prejudice is at play here across the country. Building of the Mega Warren is taking place, with plans to move all rabbits to this facility. What will become of the rabbits?
This book deserves every one of its five stars. It is weird...but wonderfully so! Fforde is a brilliant writer, creating a quite bizarre but believable alternate world, which by the end of the book I found completely plausible!
Some parts of the book are so comical I was laughing out loud. The dialogue genuinely made me chuckle. I loved the characters and was surprised at how emotionally involved I became with the rabbits! This book also has an undercurrent of prejudice that struck a chord with me, and really got me thinking. It really does draw parallels with real life history, and sadly some current issues in society.
This book is great and clever in so many ways, and on so many levels. If you want to try something different, that will make you smile and make you think, I whole-heartedly recommend this!
Thank you @netgalley for this digital copy to review. Publication date: 02/07/2020

I received a free ARC of the book. Many thanks to Netgalley and to Hodder and Stoughton for the opportunity.

Having read some previous Fforde books I picked this one up expecting whimsy. This book, however, though it has its comic themes, leans far more heavily towards satire.

The book opens with a scene in a library that didn’t make great sense at first but seemed to be there to have a (justly deserved) dig at government funding policies. Here we meet the hero, Peter Knox as he bumps into an old flame, Constance Rabbit. Now we get into the real premise of the book, in an event of unknown origin 55 years previously a number of rabbits metamorphosed into forms of near human biology and intellect. The human population did not take it well.

The story is a satire of human and particularly of systemic racism, homophobia and other anti-attitudes that plague current society. Peter is a ‘spotter’ who works for a government organisation that ‘controls’ the anthropomorphised rabbits. His job is to tell rabbits apart when they have committed misdemeanours. Haunted by his role in the death of Constance’s second husband and hopelessly compromised by the nature of his work, Peter befriends the beautiful rabbit and her family. Though possessed of an overt moral compass, Peter lacks the strength of character to act on it. His inaction leaves him, hopelessly pin-balling between the different sides of an increasingly polarised society.

At another time I would have found this book comically bizarre, but I confess, reading this book whilst the news is full of international protests against systemic racism means events feel both familiar and, at times, uncomfortable. The incidences of gaslighting on a national scale, are horribly recognisable. Fortunately, Fforde’s trademark humour rescues us, and includes a court room scene that rivals My Cousin Vinny and a humorous depiction of a prison designed around fictional TV prison tropes.

Fforde’s detailed exploration of a very new age-styled Rabbit culture, is a soothing antidote to the jarring bureaucratic speciesism. With a preference for group harmony over individual desire, veganism, and a passion for the environment that would thrill Greta Thunberg, this could easily form the of a basis of a real-life commune. Throw in the dandelion brandy and you may have a lifestyle trend of the future.

Be prepared for a darkly comic read that might have you hankering for a rewatch of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Who would have thought to portray real life issues and represent this based on a story where real life rabbits are living in the village, much to the consternation of the villagers...only Jasper Fforde! Bizarre, yet utterly readable, thought provoking too!

I love Jasper Fforde books very much, and was so excited to read this one. I enjoyed it, as with all of Fforde's books there is lots of humour, wordplay and humourous fantasy. Still cannot wait for another Nursery Crime book though!!

Jasper Fforde comes up with such originality concepts (a Britain where anthropomorphised rabbits live alongside humans, and face considerable speciesism), and I laughed at a lot of his quips and puns. But I kind of wanted to see this world as part of a sketch show or something, rather than a novel...

As a satire on Brexit Britain and the associated anti-immigration rhetoric, I didn’t really get anything new from it. The discourse on racism has stepped up so rapidly in the last few weeks - maybe it’s just not the right time for a light-hearted look at the topic?

And as a story, as characters, I kept putting the book down and failing to picking it up again. I’d been really excited to read this, but unfortunately it didn’t keep me engaged.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for a free review copy of this book.

I have been waiting what feels like a lifetime for this, another unique and wonderfully crafted masterpiece by Fforde. A cracking story accurately describing current UK issues. Clever and witty.

The Constant Rabbit is another brilliant example of Jasper Fforde's unique writing style. I enjoyed learning the history of The Event as the story unfolded and it was refreshing to read a novel where I wasn't quite sure which direction it was going to go in. I will definitely be recommending this book to my customers!

I really struggled with this. Like most of Fforde's novels, it's supposed to be satire but while I've enjoyed the previous targets of his wit in his other novels, this one, for me, missed the mark.
In The Constant Rabbit, Fforde takes on racism and the rise of populist politics that have tapped into anti-immigration sentiment in the UK. Plenty of material to take aim at? You'd think. While it's easy to make fun of politicians (there's a very thinly disguised portrayal of one whose name doesn't rhyme with garage), it's much harder to make fun of the insidious messages they spread without trivialising them and the impact they have. Unfortunately, that's what happens here. The premise is interesting; humans impose an apartheid system on a race of sentient, anthropomorphic rabbits, but it's handled in an often clumsy and at times frivolous way, diminishing the real issues it's attempting to address. Ultimately, racism just isn't funny.

Thanks to Hodder for the advance reading copy via NetGalley

"Perhaps that's what satire does - not change things wholesale but nudge the collective consciousness in a direction that favours justice and equality."

A poignant, and timely story, given the current state of the world. A clear allegory for Brexit Britain, but with relevance to many other issues, where anything/anyone seen as "other" is treated with disdain, ignorance and at often times, violence.

This book details the relationship between humans and anthropomorphised animals, predominantly rabbits, in modern society. The issues explored are satirically linked to present day issues in an often funny but often sad way.

Peter Knox, the protagonist, is a deeply flawed character; but aren't we all? Through taking the time to learn and understand about the ways of the rabbit, his somewhat indifferent views begin to change.

The "local place for local people" mentality of the residents of Much Hemlock is very familiar, and the interpersonal (and interspecies) relationships recognisable. I would also have been interested to read a little more about the humans more firmly on the side of rabbits rather than those who were against them.

A thoroughly enjoyable tale (tail?!) Overall.

*Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

What an absolute joy of a book! I found it odd to begin with - I do love a dystopian novel and as an English teacher, Animal Farm is a favourite to teach, but this was a fresh take on the idea of anthropomorphism for me. My favourite character was definitely Connie, but I was hugely entertained by Doc and the narrative voice of Peter gave the novel a sort of logical and believable feel. I also liked the structural technique of hinting at the end all the way through. Great book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The further I got, the harder it was to put down.

I have so enjoyed this unique book, laugh out loud at times.

Imagine Brexit - mmm... that's not hard.
Imagine a society with a minority trying to integrate - mmm... seeming familiar.

These characters are anthropomorphized rabbits, a significant but minority community,

Jasper Fforde creates a brilliant set of characters, and many many metaphors and constructs linking them to our current national and world society in clever, satirical, and often sad ways.

Peter Knox works as a rabbit spotter, one of the few humans who can tell rabbits apart. He's sympathetic to the rabbits and has a crush on his old university rabbit friend Connie, who moves in next door with her husband Major Rabbit. Peter soon finds himself very much involved with the underground (literally!) as society is on the verge of breaking.

What a read!