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Loading... The Constant Rabbit: A Novel (edition 2020)by Jasper Fforde (Author)audio fiction (~12.5hrs) - disturbingly familiar satirical dystopian alternate history - in the 1960s, a mysterious Anthropomorphizing Event turned some rabbits (and other creatures) into humanlike forms; 55 years later they have some limited rights in the UK but the conservative humans in power are determined to confine all rabbits to a MegaWarren in Wales by any means necessary. dark humor and plenty of dangerous threats in a high-quality audio production. The Spontaneous Anthropomorphizing Event in 1965 resulted, by 2022, in the presence of over a million humanized rabbits in the UK, with the accompanying rise of the right-wing UKARP, the anti-rabbit party, which has now come to national power and has instigated various laws and plans to, well, dehumanize the rabbits more or less. Peter Knox has worked as a Spotter for what is essentially the rabbit crime squad for many years, but he still remembers his university friendship with Constance Rabbit in fond terms. When she turns up in his little village, along with her children and latest husband, it is but a short hop from fuzzy warm-hearted feelings to full-on revolutionary actions in Peter’s continuing evolution…. Jasper Fforde is one of the UK’s finest satirists, in addition to being one of the funniest writers in the English language; it is really just icing on the top that he has a way with footnotes too! I am still in awe of his first novel, The Eyre Affair, published in 2001, and while The Constant Rabbit doesn’t reach quite those heights (nothing can, after all), it is full of surprises and total laugh-out-loud moments, along with a bit of philosophizing and poignancy as well. As a stand-alone, one doesn’t need to know other works by Mr. Fforde, but why would any reader want to deprive themselves of the joy of discovering all of his work? Highly recommended! Lovers of Jasper Fforde's weird fantasy novels will know exactly what to expect here. The Constant Rabbit describes a world where an Event has occurred that spontaneously created a large number of anthropomorphised, sentient rabbits, and endowed them with the ability to speak English. Other animals also had their own such Events, including foxes and weasels. Fforde uses this premise to write a trenchant satire on right-wing extremism, Brexit, racial politics, labour exploitation, and animal cruelty. None of this gets too heavy, as he wraps it in the rollicking tale of Peter Knox, a rabbit spotter with RabCoT, who gets inveigled by a rabbit femme fatale into supporting the Rabbit Underground. There are lots of popular culture references and arch observations to sugar the pill, but his message is clear all the same. Following the anthropomorphising event some time before the book starts, human-sized rabbits live alongside humans, following the rabbit way. There are many humans that don't trust anyone different and focus this hatred on rabbits. Peter Knox works for the Rabbit Compliance Taskforce as he is one of the few people with the ability to recognise different rabbits. He lives in a small village in Herefordshire and when a family of rabbits move in next door his right-wing neighbours want to make trouble but one of the rabbits is an old university friend of Peter's. Once I settled into the world that Jasper Fforde has created I was swept away with the world of humans, rabbits and some foxes and weasels. An excellent read with lots of jokes that made me laugh out loud and, of course, plenty of commentary on our times today. This is an allegorical social commentary on racism, xenophobia,etc told in typical Jasper Fforde satirical fashion. In general, I am not a fan of allegory, unless the story holds up without the allegory, which thankfully in this case did. I thought the world building was clever and interesting. As far as the social commentary, there were some satisfying digs, some pointed comments, but other parts that, to me, missed the mark. Fforde, Jasper. The Constant Rabbit. Viking, 2020. In The Constant Rabbit, a standalone novel, Jasper Fforde employs a gimmick like the one he used in the Nursery Crimes novels. Here the uplift trope has a darker, sharper satirical edge. In 1965, all the rabbits, foxes, and weasels in the UK magically become uplifted into sentient bipeds of human size or a little larger. (Think Jimmy Stewart’s drinking buddy, Harvey, and you won’t be far off.” They suffer all the travails of a new immigrant culture. Humans treat them with a wide range of hypocrisy and prejudices based on species and social class. Hate groups like “TwoLegsGood” harass them. Fascist laws are passed to prevent such crimes as burrowing, and the government plans a massive involuntary relocation project called the “Rehoming.” Our protagonist is a librarian who becomes a “spotter” for a special police squad to control rabbit crime. He lives in a middle-class neighborhood that is thrown into turmoil when a rabbit family moves in next door. The novel is by turns hilarious, scary, and moving. The world of the novel is wonderfully detailed and consistent, and its satirical purpose is always clear. As one character explains, “Perhaps that’s what satire does—not change things wholesale but nudge the collective consciousness in s direction that favors justice and equality” (“Bouncing with Constance"). Indeed, 4 stars. Loved this from Jasper Fforde. Thinly (very thinly) veiled satire, mostly aimed at modern British politics, although there are some satirical swipes at American politicians as well. Before the book opens, there was an unexplained Anthropomorphizing Event, where a number of ordinary animals take on human size and characteristics. The book is wonderful as satire and as a straightforward tale. I do have to note that it's very similar to Fforde's [b:Shades of Grey|2113260|Shades of Grey (Shades of Grey, #1)|Jasper Fforde|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327563734l/2113260._SY75_.jpg|2118671], which also starts with an off-stage unexplained event, and virtually the same main character - an ambivalent guy who gets drawn into a conflict that he didn't choose. Fforde's sly fantasy doesn't stray far from its Orwellian roots, despite the author's fondness for puns, implied puns, and drive-by literary references. In an England where an unspecified "event" has rendered some animals sentient -- and human-sized -- species-ism and racism blend into an uneasy alliance with genocidal implications. Fifty-five years ago, a Spontaneous Anthropomorphizing Event occurred in Britain, and several rabbits (plus a few other animals) were suddenly human-sized and able to speak and walk upright. Fast-forward to present day, and the status of the rabbits has become a hot political issue. Peter Knox would say he's a moderate, but as certain events come to a head, he may find himself taking a stand in ways that surprise him. It all starts when an old school friend, Constance Rabbit, and her family move in next door... The reviewing part of my brain feels broken this morning, so I'm not going to push it. This was fun, like all of Fforde's stuff, but I felt like the plot dragged a little in the middle (this may be because I spent the past year reading children's books almost exclusively, and no fault of Fforde). If you liked his other books, you'll probably like this one. I liked this a little more than Early Riser, but not as much as Thursday Next. Jasper Fforde has more than one style. Thursday Next is one, Nursery Crimes is another, Shades of Grey is a third. Though I love Thursday, and like Nursery Crimes, Shades of Grey is my favorite. I feel like it shows a maturity of style, plot, and scene that isn't present in the others. So why am I talking about Shades of Grey on a review for The Constant Rabbit? Because Fforde hasn't done anything like Shades of Grey again... until The Constant Rabbit. It's muted, but it's there. Fforde can be delightful, but when he's at his best you can feel a serious note underlying it. This means that his books tend to end in an emotionally ambiguous way (some of the best of Thursday's do this as well). I'm hoping he continues in this vein, though hey, if he writes a novel, I'm going to buy it. Jasper Fforde does another masterful tragi-comic novel with The Constant Rabbit. In 1967, The Inexplicable Spontaneous Anthropomorphizing Event converted eighteen rabbits, six weasels, five guinea pigs, three foxes, a Dalmatian, a badger, nine bees and a caterpillar to human-size creatures that wear clothes, drive cars, and are fond of Victorian novels. (Other such events occurred in Kenya, Australia, and Oregon – where it was decided the 2nd Amendment protected the Right to Arm Bears). The rabbits pose a particular problem in the UK, with irrational fears of a rabbit population explosion imposing mandatory veganism; this is unfortunately answered by United Kingdom Anti-Rabbit Party and its militant wing TwoLegsGood. The UKARP, after denying rabbits a right to higher education and restricting them to MegaWarrens, is now planning a forcible removal of all rabbits to Wales. The protagonist is Peter Knox, a minor bureaucrat in RabCoT (the agency responsible for rabbit law enforcement). The whole things is, or course, a thinly veiled satire on Nazism and its modern offshoots (I don’t know if Fforde intended the title The Constant Rabbit to be a parody of the horrific Nazi propaganda film The Eternal Jew). At any rate it’s fun and entertaining – if sometimes bittersweet. Content Note: (critical treatment of) racism and fascism Plot: In 1965, an as of yet unexplained Anthropomorphising Event took place that transformed 18 rabbits into intelligent, talking human-sized beings. Ever since, they have multiplied and become a part of society. What part exactly that is, is a hotly-debated topic. The UKARP (UK Anti-Rabbit Party) that wants to see rabbit rights strictly limited has garnered much momentum. Peter Knox works for RabCoT, the Rabbit Compliance Taskforce, but sees the mounting leporophobia around him with concern. When a rabbit family moves in next door, and he realizes that he knew Connie, the mother, in college, it becomes ever more obvious that Peter will need to choose a side. The Constant Rabbit is not subtle in its allegory, but its so supremely weird in the most wonderful way that it never feels preachy. It’s instead a deeply political, funny and revealing book. Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2021/08/27/the-constant-rabbit-jasper-fforde/ 3.25 stars It was in the late 1960s that the “Event” happened. The Event caused rabbits (and a few other animals...though not nearly as many as the rabbits) to become anthropomorphized. It’s decades later and many people are leporiphobes. Peter Knox (who works for the Rabbit Compliance Taskforce, sort of tracking down specific rabbits, I think) discovers a long-ago college friend (and rabbit) Connie has moved in next door, along with her husband. My summary might not be exactly right, as I found the first half-ish of the book quite confusing. I ended up quite enjoying the second half, though, once I (kind of) figured out what was going on… though I don’t want to say too much more in my summary so as not to give anything away. So for the first bit of the book, I kept thinking – ok, Fforde is way too smart for me because this is over my head. I did like the second half-ish, though. At that point, there seemed to be more of a plot and things happened, and I understood what was happening. Anyway, this all made me unsure how to rate it, so I went with 3.25, between ok and good. It seems there was a bunch of “deep” satire that went over my head, but once there as a plot, I liked it! The United Kingdom has not been having a great few years. I'd planned to spend at least some of my twenties living there, but watching the British lurch from austerity to Brexit to becoming literal Plague Island, I'm increasingly aware that this will likely never eventuate. I'm sad about this, but Jasper Fforde is clearly also feeling it strongly. The Constant Rabbit is his indictment of present day Britain - with some of Trump's America thrown in, of course - and Fforde's usual twee (giant rabbits! That talk and wear clothes! And you can fuck them!) doesn't coalesce with the genuinely grim 2020 political landscape he's satirising. As always, I adored Fforde's world-building (the socialist hippy rabbits were fun), but the-ripped-from-the-Guardian feel of the racism against them felt incredibly unsubtle. Like, there's literally a politician who wants to build a wall around a rabbit warren and make the rabbits pay for it. And you end up with some real expository clangers where the narrator's just like "I realize now that I had been racist. Here's a list of all the racist things I did". But I get that that's the point he's making! That satire in the age of Boris and Trump is pointless, because we already live in a nightmare reality! But basically this book feels like a long list of why the UK is miserable right now, with some sexual Spanish civil war Sylvanian families thrown in (there was too much detail about how much the narrator wanted to fuck a lady rabbit for my tastes tbh). It's also quite horribly gruesome in parts ("lopping" both humans and rabbits), and then there's little misplaced bursts of classic Fforde silliness, like speed librarying and a prison organised by tropes. A lot of explaining goes into them and then they're never brought up again. It's jarring. When Fforde is at the top of his game, he's pretty much my favourite author - the intricate meta-labyrinths he creates are so joyously clever - but this was a disappointment to me. I understand Fforde to be going through some things over the past few years, and a part of me wonders what this book would be if he'd done away with the forced twee and just gone super dark with this story. As is, there's neither enough carrot nor stick in the Constant Rabbit - a pity. Jasper Fforde clearly has some anger and despair over the current white supremacist / populist movement. Fortunately for the rest of us, he has tackled that anger and despair in typical wacky Fforde style. This is set in a near-future alternate reality, 50 years after an Anthropomorphizing Event in which a bunch of animals were turned into human-ish creatures - they have the size, intelligence, and language capabilities of humans, but they're still animals. As the animals have tried to integrate into human society, a lot of humans don't want them there and have become Human Supremacists. The parallels to white supremacy are obvious - the book kind of beats you over the head with allegory. It has a lot to say about how people can be closed-minded and hypocritical, and how much better things are when people are open to each other's cultures. It also says a lot about the nature of forgiveness, and how to make amends for being complicit in a harmful system (When the narrator is feeling guilty about being complicit in the state's oppression of rabbits, a rabbit says "Shame is the gateway emotion to increased self-criticism, which leads to realization, an apology, outrage, and eventually meaningful action. We're not holding our breaths that any appreciable numbers can be arsed to make the journey along that difficult chain of emotional honesty -- many good people get past realization, only to then get stuck at apology"). It's about how to be a good ally. As always, Fforde writes with humor. This might be the most straightforward and unconvoluted plots of all of his books. The characters, good and bad, are all delightful. I hope this book has a really short shelf-life. I hope that the only reason anyone reads this book in 20 or 50 years is as an example of how fiction was used to react to a very troubled time in history. It's a fun read, but in a "laugh so you don't cry" way. It's also the most self-aware of Fforde's books - there are a few places where he completely drops the pretense that this is a work of fiction with a first-person narrator. For instance, the narrator mentions that jails are full of bankers, and Fforde breaks the fourth wall in a footnote to say "I wish the world worked like this." This makes it feel like Fforde is saying directly to his readers, "Yes, we all use fiction as a coping mechanism." The population of anthropomorphized rabbits swells to 1.2 million in 2022 England after "the event" in 1965 that gave rabbits their humanlike abilities. Old guard status-quo lovers fear "the rabbit" will take over the country an force their culture - extreme veganism, care of the earth, abhorrence of waste and violent behavior - on humans. Fforde shows a great understanding of human nature and of rabbit nature, too, in this amusing and sometimes philosophical morality play. Synopsis: '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.' Review: 'The main thrust of Fforde's story is of course the depiction of prejudice and hatred and bias between different races or species.' I can't help but draw parallels between the book and what is happening in politics in the USA. I am ashamed of our political leaders and what the population has become; I see the rabbits as the liberals, the humans as the conservatives, and the foxes as the political leaders bent on getting all they can for themselves. I've been a fan of Jasper Fforde's works for many years and there are some things I've come to expect. 1) Elements of the fantastical in an otherwise ordinary world and 2) the characters in the story live under autocratic world in a dystopia. The fantastical element of this book is that an unexplained event caused rabbits to take on human forms. The dystopia is that the British government has fallen under control of rightwing extremists who use fear to discriminate against the anthropomorphized rabbits. The dystopia is in effect the Britain of UKIP and Brexit (or the United States of Tea Party and Trump) and the metaphor isn't even slightly nuanced. The story is told from the perspective of Peter Knox, a human who is especially skilled in distinguish among rabbits and thus works as a Spotter for a draconian government organization Rabbit Compliance Taskforce. Knox represents the the liberal person who is sympathetic to the cause of the oppressed but doesn't want to get involved. In the novel, a rabbit family moves in next door to Knox including Constance, a rabbit Knox was acquainted with in college to whom he maintains an attraction. Over the course of the novel Knox is drawn into the rabbit resistance at the same time the government advances its plan to suppress the rabbits once and for all. What I love about Fforde's novels is that when he creates an alternate universe he always dives in deep into the detail about how the universe works. The universe of anthropomorphic rabbits is no exception. Fforde does a great job creating the culture and everyday life of the rabbit world that seems true to their species and their magical transformation. I particularly like a scene late in the novel when a rabbit lawyer is able to find loopholes in case against Knox in order to have the charges dropped. This may not be my favorite Fforde novel but it is still a very good one. And if heavy-handed analogies to current events are not your thing, be warned that this book is full of them. But I believe it still works as an effective commentary and satire. Favorite Passages: Somebody once said that the library is actually the dominant life form on the planet. Humans simply exist as the reproductive means to achieve more libraries. |
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