When God Was a Rabbit

The book's author - Sarah Winman, about whom only rather sparse facts are to be found online - was born in 1964 in Britain. By profession an actress, in 2011 she wrote her (so far) only book: "When God Was a Rabbit", which miraculously became popular in 16 countries and won several prestigious awards. The book was translated by Silvija Brice and the translation turned out to be a genuinely pleasurable read. When preparing this article I also glanced at the English version and was pleased to recognise the same feeling and emotions as when reading it in Latvian.

"When God Was a Rabbit" is a story about a family living in Britain. About the relationship between a sister and brother, about a mother and father, about the father's sister and about chance people - some of whom became family friends - about human weaknesses and the aspiration to live better. The story begins in the 1960s and continues until the protagonist Ella is around 30 years old.

Why a rabbit, and why God?

This question was perhaps on the minds of many upon seeing this book on the Zvaigzne ABC shelf. In fact, the answer is simple and the author does not let the reader suffer in ignorance unnecessarily - she explains it in the opening pages. Events unfold in England in the 1960s. Ella's mother, having lost both parents in a car accident, sinks into despondency and depression. As is later revealed, she harbours feelings of attraction towards her husband's sister, an actress and a lesbian. The father, a lawyer by profession, is not particularly satisfied with his workplace, although it provides for the family's livelihood. Apart from a peculiar outlook on life and the role of religion in it, he is consumed by the idea of winning the football pools. The brother, it turns out, is gay. Ella, although she attends school (of a Christian orientation), finds it completely impossible to form friendships with other girls, and in search of a companion outside the usual family circle she befriends an elderly neighbour, the Jewish Abraham Golan. Tangled in threads of searching for life's meaning, Ella becomes despondent, and from time to time asking her parents questions about God's love, makes them anxious. Brother Joe, who will remain a trusted person throughout her entire life, learns the fact that old Mr Golan has been sexually abusing his sister and decides to act by giving her a "more suitable companion" - a rabbit, which Ella without much hesitation names God.

Throughout her life Ella grows up carefree, seen and loved by her parents, her brother and family friends. Even when the father's lifelong dream was fulfilled and he won the pools, gaining enough money to move to an entirely different location and acquire a larger home, Ella was able to continue enjoying life - doing things that brought her pleasure, ignoring and neglecting those that did not, such as school. In her small world Ella had only a few close people, and moving to a new home meant parting with her somewhat peculiar yet dear friend, Jenny Penny.

Life's twists and turns, by the time Ella was an adult, brought her back together with her old (and only) friend Jenny Penny, who by her twenties had already managed to "stir up trouble" and ended up in prison for murder. Fate also played a cruel card, temporarily taking away her brother. On the day the New York Twin Towers were destroyed - in which Joe's office was located - he had been severely beaten the previous evening in a New York park. As a result, Joe lost his memory. But Ella managed to find her brother, even though as a result of the memories erased by his amnesia, Joe had become a complete stranger.

The good news is that the story has a happy ending - insofar as a happy ending was possible, given the breathtaking events. In truth, the story is about how both greater and lesser upheavals of life leave their mark on relationships and on the world as we saw it before and see it after. About the fact that good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good ones. About life's purpose and its meaning.