PUBLISHER’S DESCRIPTION:
England, 2020.
There are 1.2 million human-sized rabbits living in the UK.
They can walk, talk and drive cars, the result of an Inexplicable Anthropomorphising Event fifty-five years ago.
And a family of rabbits is about to move into Much Hemlock, a cosy little village where life revolves around summer fetes, jam-making, gossipy corner stores, and the oh-so-important Best Kept Village awards.
No sooner have the rabbits arrived than the villagers decide they must depart. But Mrs Constance Rabbit is made of sterner stuff, and her family are behind her. Unusually, so are their neighbours, long-time residents Peter Knox and his daughter Pippa, who soon find that you can be a friend to rabbits or humans, but not both.
With a blossoming romance, acute cultural differences, enforced rehoming to a MegaWarren in Wales, and the full power of the ruling United Kingdom Anti Rabbit Party against them, Peter and Pippa are about to question everything they'd ever thought about their friends, their nation, and their species.
It'll take a rabbit to teach a human humanity . . .

NO SPOILERS

Although I have never before read Jasper Fforde, I am aware of his popularity and renowned wit, so I was eager to read The Constant Rabbit, but, I'm sorry, I found this book totally lacking in humour. To find any humour in bigotry, prejudice, racism, segregation takes some doing. I can see what Fforde was trying to do but in my opinion, this book does not work at all. I guess leporine apartheid simply is not funny and this approach is too frivolous; personally, I think it shows a lack of empathy.

The Constant Rabbit was my first Jasper Fforde as his is not my preferred genre and I doubt I will attempt any more. Others may well love him but he’s just not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the Advanced Reader Copy of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed.

England 2020. There are 1.2 million human-sized rabbits living in the UK, after The Event, 50 years ago. Peter Knox lives quietly in one of those small country villages that’s up for the Village Garden of the Year award. Until Doc and Constance Rabbit move in next door, upsetting the locals (many of them members of governing political party United Kingdom Against Rabbit Population), complicating Peter’s job as a Rabbit Spotter, and forcing him to take a stand, moving from unconscious leporiphobe to active supporter of the UK’s amiable and peaceful population of anthropomorphised rabbits.

The Constant Rabbit is a wonderfully witty, satirical novel. I found myself laughing out loud at some parts of the story, mostly at anything to do with governing bodies, financing and structures within organisations. The novel opens on a military-like strategy of the local villagers to borrow and return library books during the six minutes the library is allowed to be open, due to cuts, whilst two Library Compliance Officers time to make sure there are no infringements. I thoroughly enjoyed this beginning.

The novel has more important themes, than just government cuts and spending. The village Peter lives in is the stereotypical, idyllic English village but with a hidden darkness. The locals are appalled at the ‘outsiders’ coming to their village. They try to buy and push the Rabbits out, at village and at government level, as they try to move all Rabbits into a compound of their creation where they will be put to work, all the while stating it is “for their own good”. The racial connotations to this novel are highlighted in a brilliant way. It asks questions about reparation and unconscious racism and bias and ridicules those who have such extreme beliefs.

Peter Knox narrates this story, and there’s a sense of confusion to the way the story is told, as he is pushed into a situation he tries to avoid. I liked his character, as well as the Rabbits who tried to show him a different point of view.

I did find that it was not an easy book to first get into but once I got used to the world and the language I flew through the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advanced reading copy of this book.

How I love Jasper Fforde and his original, offbeat, clever fiction. I’ve waited in vain for a new Nursery Detectives book, his noiresque nursery rhyme crime novels, read every single one of his utterly inspired Thursday Next books as well as his children’s and other stand alone books. Basically, a new Jasper Fforde book is a celebration day in this household, so I was, as you can imagine, thrilled to be approved for an earc of his new standalone The Constant Rabbit.

The premise is this: approximately 50 years before the novel takes place An Event happens and a handful of animals are anthropomorphised. These include several rabbits who, being rabbits even if they are now six foot and intelligent, proceed to multiply rapidly. Now England has a sizeable minority population of rabbits, very much second class citizens, regarded with suspicion and downright loathing, denied basic rights even as they fulfil many menial jobs. Sound familiar? Of course it does, because this absurd comedy is a brilliant satire of Brexit Britain, the Windrush scandal, UKIP, Little Englanders, racism and hypocrisy.

Peter lives in an idyllic village of conservative with a small C middle Englishness, with his daughter Pippa. He would describe himself as not having a problem with rabbits, partly thanks to an intense friendship at university with Connie, one of the few rabbits admitted to higher ed. But he works for the Rabbit Compliance Taskforce, nominally there to help the rabbit population, but with a much more sinister remit. Deep down he is aware of his own passive hypocrisy, whilst concentrating on his salary and pension, keeping his head down. But when Connie re enters his life and he realises just how malign the Taskforce’s plans are for the rabbits, he has to decide who he is once and for all.

This is a really thought provoking read, the grittiness of the moral dilemmas brought sharply to life by the humour and concept and moments of very real menace. Satire doesn’t come much more biting than this. Highly highly recommended.

With lashings of Ffordes irreverent humour and quintessential 'Englishness',The Constant Rabbit was a surprisingly thought-provoking read which I thoroughly enjoyed!

From The Fourth Bear to The Last Dragonslayer, Fforde's narratives have always been somewhat allegorical, and The Constant Rabbit is no exception.

We are dropped into the action in the small village library of Much Hemlock and quickly learn that some 50 odd years ago, 'The Event' occurred (which leaves the rabbit population of Great Britain able to walk, talk and assimilate into human society) and that day to day life has changed quite considerably.

The characters are instantly likeable and engaging, the plot moving at such a pace that you become very invested in seeing how everything pans out, and it's probably not in the way you expect!

The Constant Rabbit makes for a refreshing and entertaining story and leaves the reader questioning what it really means to be human.

A highly recommended summer read!

Thanks kindly to Netgalley, and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to its publication. Views and opinions are entirely my own.

An exceptional new novel from Fforde. Although the satire is clear, it never overwhelmed the emotion or excitement of the story. There is a subtle yet constant anger in this novel that powers and strengthens the final (empowering) realisations of Peter Knox. I knew within minutes of starting the opening chapter that this was Fforde at the top of his game. I feel incredibly lucky to have received an early copy and will be waiting eagerly in line to have a physical copy signed come July.

Any book that begins with the notion that libraries are, in fact, the dominant life form on Earth is always going to be a winner. Add in Speed Librarying with a Point Break-esque code name twist and hold on to your stopwatch!

I started reading this with no expectations than it is Jasper Fforde's latest and, at least, would be a brilliant ride. I wasn't disappointed and it was so much more than I could have imagined.

If I have any negative points it's that, on balance, perhaps the drip feed of key character elements was a bit too subtle at times and I would have liked a little more emotional engagement from Peter, but then again he's likely as stunned by his reality as the rest of us. I find myself almost veering into Spoiler territory with each comment so this will be quite a short review.

I found that this is so much more than fantasy. It's social fantasy, humane and very human fantasy that holds a mirror up to the collective image and dares us to take a good hard look at our reflection. I think that now, perhaps even more than ever, we could all do with being a little more Rabbit.

A political satire set in a UK where over a million giant rabbits settle. These amiable, anthropomorphised creatures are not welcome everywhere, especially not in Much Hemlock, the archetypal Herefordshire English village populated by archetypal village traditionalists.
It is a crazy, bizarre world, and very funny. But Fforde’s themes are current and serious: class, inequality, resettlement, racism. He handles his material with wit and wordplay, and plenty of literary and political references which will engage fans of literature.

Some will love this, some won’t. I’m still on the fence, hence 3 stars.
Thank you #NetGalley and #HodderandStoughton for my pre-release digital download.

Review** spoiler alert ** It comes as no surprise,with this being a book by Jasper Fforde, that it is clever,ridiculous and funny.
Human sized rabbits are quite a thing to imagine,but they're living in the village,and most of the village does not like it. In fact the country seems to be at war with them... with some amusing outcomes.
Refreshing to read something so different

The Constant Rabbit features a wild ride that promises anthropomorphised rabbits, a dabbling at politics, guns, foxes... let's just say it's intense. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to read something unique, action-packed and deliciously different. However, the book opens up suddenly, and so the beginning was quite disorientating for me to read- a bit tedious to wade through. Once you've passed that and have a general liking to the premise you'll enjoy reading.