review of Jasper Fforde's novel The Constant Rabbit

Be ready for some intense mood whiplash. This story has a lot of brutal systemic oppression and unprovoked cruelty. It also has a lot of puns.

Part of me wishes I'd listened to the audio version instead. I think the right delivery might have raised some of the humor from wry grin levels to laugh out loud levels. On the other hand, I'd probably have missed the puns. (My favorite: the rabbits love gambolling in meadows... some of them have a "[c]ompulsive gambolling" problem.)

The protagonist is not very sympathetic, but I did it find it sweet when Connie explains that she's not merely trying to manipulate him, but to offer him redemption:

'...You could have done more and think you still might. You can help us, and by the same measure we can help you. This isn't a bunnytrap, or an exploitation - it's an intervention. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?'

'That I'm repairable?'

'Yes,' she said, laying a paw on my arm, 'you're repairable.'