Who Are The Main Characters In 'When God Was A Rabbit'?

I loved Sarah Winman's debut novel, but I'm having trouble recalling the key family members and their character arcs as they navigate childhood, grief, and love.
2026-03-20 20:13:40
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6 Answers

Best Answer
ZoeyDixon
ZoeyDixon
Careful Explainer Sales
The main characters are siblings Elly and Joe, with the story spanning their lives from childhood through adulthood. It's mostly centered on their bond and the people who shape their world, like their quirky parents and a few key friends. That reminds me of the complex family dynamics in 'The Reverend And His Plaything', where a young woman's return to her small hometown forces a reckoning with a charismatic but manipulative pastor from her past. The push-and-pull of their fraught relationship, set against a backdrop of buried secrets and community judgment, really drives the whole narrative.
2026-08-01 18:47:20
40
Griffin
Griffin
Careful Explainer Lawyer
The heart of 'When God Was a Rabbit' revolves around a small but deeply interconnected cast, and their relationships feel as real as the pages they’re printed on. At the center is Elly, our narrator, whose voice carries the story from childhood to adulthood with this mix of innocence and quiet wisdom. She’s the kind of character who makes you laugh one moment and breaks your heart the next, especially in how she sees the world—like her unwavering bond with her brother Joe. Speaking of Joe, he’s this brilliant, sensitive soul who’s both Elly’s protector and her mirror, and their sibling dynamic is one of the book’s strongest threads. Then there’s Jenny Penny, Elly’s childhood best friend, who’s eccentric and tragic in equal measure—her story arc is one of those that lingers long after you’ve closed the book.

Rounding out the core group are the adults who shape Elly’s world: her parents, who are flawed but deeply loving, and her aunt Nancy, this larger-than-life figure who brings both chaos and warmth. Even the rabbit (yes, the one from the title) feels like a character in its own right, symbolizing so much about faith, loss, and the strange magic of childhood. What I love about Sarah Winman’s writing is how she makes every character, no matter how small their role, feel essential to the tapestry of the story. It’s not just about who they are individually, but how they collide and connect over decades, like pieces of a puzzle you didn’t know needed solving.
2026-03-21 04:03:27
20
DrewYoung
DrewYoung
Honest Reviewer Electrician
Elly. Joe. Rabbit. Jenny. Those are the four pillars. Elly's childhood is defined by her bond with Joe and her rabbit. Her adulthood is shaped by the lingering ghost of Jenny Penny and the enduring bond with Joe. The parents are important, but they're part of the scenery of childhood. The novel is about how those four pillars shift, crack, and ultimately hold up the weight of a life. The rabbit's pillar is the most metaphorical, but it's still essential to the structure. Without it, the title is meaningless and a chunk of Elly's childhood symbolism vanishes.
2026-08-02 04:25:40
2
MaxHale
MaxHale
Ending Guesser Photographer
I always think of it as a dual narrative between Elly's internal world and Joe's external one. Elly is all feelings and memories; Joe is action and protection. So they're co-main characters. The rabbit symbolizes Elly's internal world—quirky, personal, somewhat magical. Jenny Penny represents the external world violently intruding. The parents are the backdrop against which this plays out. So, two mains, two symbolic anchors. It's clever structuring, making a seemingly simple story feel layered and expansive.
2026-08-02 11:12:37
7
PaigeDay
PaigeDay
Bookworm Consultant
I'm just here to say the rabbit is overrated. Everyone gets hung up on the title. The main characters are clearly the Portman siblings, Elly and Joe. Their conversations are the best parts of the book—full of shorthand love and brutal honesty. Jenny Penny's storyline feels a bit grafted on, like the author needed a big tragic event to catalyze the later sections. The parents are vaguely drawn, maybe intentionally. So yeah, Elly and Joe. The rest are satellites.
2026-08-04 10:26:33
4
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