So since yesterday, I started a new book. It started with an email I received from the publisher, asking how I’d liked the read, and imploring me to get my review for it in. I’ve nothing against the asking, but this caught me off guard. See, the book in question had been delayed in the US til late September. So I’ve put it off a bit as my July is littered with new releases, and I’m not a very fast reader. But I overlooked two important details. One—I didn’t check to see if it was delayed in Europe as well and—two—I’d forgotten just who granted me the review copy. I don’t get many books off Netgalley UK, but this one I did. And it’s still due out July 2 there. So I’ve shuffled a few things, and begun reading:

• The Constant Rabbit – by Jasper Fforde
If you’ve never read a Jasper Fforde book, let me tell you—they’re odd. Like, really weird. The first chapter of this involved some game called ‘Competitive Librarying’ which confused me so thoroughly that I actually just skipped the chapter. But thankfully, it appears to be just an intro hook. Albeit a massively confounding one. The Constant Rabbit is based on something that has occurred in the UK some 50 years prior, known only as “The Event”, in which 18 rabbits were anthropomorphized. Since then, there are millions of them in the UK alone, and relations between them and humans are… strained. The story seems to center on this point.
It’s okay thus far—weird, which is normal for Fforde—but it’s really coming out at a poor time. I cringe at the idea that someone’s going to compare this with the Black Lives Matter movement, because it WILL happen eventually, and it’s sure to be really insulting. Which is disappointing, as the book is most likely designed to keep you entertained, make you think, and provide some humor.
Interesting. I’m a big fan of Fforde but I’m not familiar with this book. I’m so curious now to see how the story intersects with BLM!
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Weird indeed, but very intriguing… 🙂
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It IS entertaining, provided you skip the first chapter… 😂
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Haven’t yet Fforde yet, but this is a second rec I see in as many weeks! 🙂
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You mean for the Constant Rabbit? It was a little slow starting out, but it’s become quite enthralling quite quickly! I’m about at the 2/3 mark, but so far I’d recommend it 😀
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This definitely sounds weird, nothing like anything I’ve read recently, that’s for sure! Do you think it was the author’s purpose to try and draw similarities with BLM or is it just a coincidence that’s just waiting to be pointed out by someone?
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I’m not certain, but I’m pretty sure that it’s just a coincidence. Fforde’s books are always (This is my second- I’m an expert 😉) a bit odd, and both have had some kind of human-nonhuman thing at some point that makes me think he’s trying to draw attention to something, though I’m not sure what exactly.
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