The Constant Rabbit
On sale
2nd July 2020
Price: £20
THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR
‘The Constant Rabbit is Jasper Fforde’s most chilling and realistic book yet‘ Guardian
‘You won’t read anything quite like this in 2020 – or beyond that too’ CultureFly
***
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 . . .
PRAISE FOR JASPER FFORDE
‘Sheer inventiveness, wit, complexity, erudition, unexpectedness and originality’ The Times
‘Is there anyone who can write satire quite like Fforde?. . . An astonishingly well-crafted work of social and political satire.’ Kirkus
‘Fforde presents a milquetoast cog in an absurdly bureaucratic wheel, this time cleverly skewering Brexit, conservative politics, and white supremacy in this surprisingly uplifting tale of one man doing his best, even if it is the bare minimum.’ Booklist
‘The Constant Rabbit is designed to shake readers out of that complacency: to recognise that merely holding liberal values is not enough to prevent the quickening advance of racism and xenophobia in this country. One must act.’ Financial Times
‘A serious minded comedy’ Mail on Sunday
READERS LOVE THE CONSTANT RABBIT
‘This is Jasper Fforde at his absolute best. Clever, thought-provoking and relevant, whilst maintaining the absurdity that we have come to love Fforde for’ 5*
‘A real classic – the sort of book that will be read in fifty or a hundred years’ time’ 5*
‘[Jasper Fforde’s] ability to take something relatively normal and turn it on it’s head is sublime, ridiculous and so enjoyable! Quirky, funny, satirical tale with pertinent reflections on current times.’ 5*
‘This book couldn’t have come at a better time. Frighteningly poignant given the state of world. It’s a truly wonderful piece of work that belongs right up there with Orwell.’ 5*
‘This is Jasper Fforde at his finest. A witty, thought provoking read that makes you sit up and take note of all the things going on around you. Love this author, was already a fan, but now even more so.’ 5*
‘I knew within minutes of starting the opening chapter that this was Fforde at the top of his game.’ 5*
‘The Constant Rabbit is Jasper Fforde’s most chilling and realistic book yet‘ Guardian
‘You won’t read anything quite like this in 2020 – or beyond that too’ CultureFly
***
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 . . .
PRAISE FOR JASPER FFORDE
‘Sheer inventiveness, wit, complexity, erudition, unexpectedness and originality’ The Times
‘Is there anyone who can write satire quite like Fforde?. . . An astonishingly well-crafted work of social and political satire.’ Kirkus
‘Fforde presents a milquetoast cog in an absurdly bureaucratic wheel, this time cleverly skewering Brexit, conservative politics, and white supremacy in this surprisingly uplifting tale of one man doing his best, even if it is the bare minimum.’ Booklist
‘The Constant Rabbit is designed to shake readers out of that complacency: to recognise that merely holding liberal values is not enough to prevent the quickening advance of racism and xenophobia in this country. One must act.’ Financial Times
‘A serious minded comedy’ Mail on Sunday
READERS LOVE THE CONSTANT RABBIT
‘This is Jasper Fforde at his absolute best. Clever, thought-provoking and relevant, whilst maintaining the absurdity that we have come to love Fforde for’ 5*
‘A real classic – the sort of book that will be read in fifty or a hundred years’ time’ 5*
‘[Jasper Fforde’s] ability to take something relatively normal and turn it on it’s head is sublime, ridiculous and so enjoyable! Quirky, funny, satirical tale with pertinent reflections on current times.’ 5*
‘This book couldn’t have come at a better time. Frighteningly poignant given the state of world. It’s a truly wonderful piece of work that belongs right up there with Orwell.’ 5*
‘This is Jasper Fforde at his finest. A witty, thought provoking read that makes you sit up and take note of all the things going on around you. Love this author, was already a fan, but now even more so.’ 5*
‘I knew within minutes of starting the opening chapter that this was Fforde at the top of his game.’ 5*
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Reviews
A born wordsmith of effervescent imagination
Brilliantly funny . . . His relentless imagination and his affection for his characters are contagious and irresistible
True literary comic genius
Forget all the rules of time, space and reality; just sit back and enjoy the adventure
Sheer inventiveness, wit, complexity, erudition, unexpectedness and originality
Reading a Fforde novel feels like taking off on a magic carpet, only to be picked up by another and another and taken on new flights of fantasy . . . you just sit back and enjoy the ride
Fforde's engaging writing has created a story that is a clever blend of the biting allegorical satire we expect from Orwell's greatest hits and the good-natured adventures of Michael Bond's naïve and kind-hearted Paddington Bear.
Fuelled by Fforde's trademark wit, imagination and brilliantly bizarre world-building... You won't read anything quite like this in 2020 - or beyond that too.
A serious minded comedy
A political satire cloaked in Fforde's trademark bizarre whimsy, the novel reads like a crazed cross between Watership Down and Nineteen Eighty-Four.
It's huge fun too, with all the inventive wordplay, impeccable worldbuilding and fiendish plotting that Fforde's "Constant Readers" have come to expect.
Jasper Fforde's most chilling and realistic book yet
The Constant Rabbit is designed to shake readers out of that complacency: to recognise that merely holding liberal values is not enough to prevent the quickening advance of racism and xenophobia in this country.
Jasper Fforde's entertaining, surprisingly thoughtful yet fleet-footed new book-a standalone novel with a climax so dramatic, irrevocable, perfect yet unpredictable that it seems impossible to extend the book to a series-is the comedic master's foray into this thematic realm. It is, as one might expect, by turns droll and hilarious, poignant and cruel, hopeful and despairing. In other words, a true comedy in depth, a form that is not mere mindless japes and slapstick, but one which counsels us that if we don't laugh, we must cry.
Jasper Fforde's entertaining, surprisingly thoughtful yet fleet-footed new book-a standalone novel with a climax so dramatic, irrevocable, perfect yet unpredictable that it seems impossible to extend the book to a series-is the comedic master's foray into this thematic realm. It is, as one might expect, by turns droll and hilarious, poignant and cruel, hopeful and despairing. In other words, a true comedy in depth, a form that is not mere mindless japes and slapstick, but one which counsels us that if we don't laugh, we must cry.
An astonishingly well-crafted work of social and political satire
Lovely little satire...wonderfully imaginative and very funny.