In 1965, an event took place that saw several species of animals become anthropomorphised. They suddenly became more human and intelligent. They began walking on two legs and started talking. In the UK, rabbits quickly became a dominant species thanks to their short gestation period. By 2022, 1.2 million rabbits are living in the UK. They aren't favoured by society and have very few rights. So, when a family of rabbits move into a sleepy British town, it certainly causes plenty of issues, especially for Peter Knox and his daughter, Pippa. It turns out that Peter knows one of the rabbits from his college days when the pair were quite friendly. Now that Peter works as a "rabbit spotter" for a government agency, how will his former acquaintance react? Will they pick up where they left off? Or will there be tension between the families?

I really liked the premise of this book. It not only tapped into the awful attitude that exists all over the world but it was such a clever way to approach the subject. Of course, rabbits would be viewed negatively because of how quickly they can reproduce. They're also not a major threat to humans, so would be seen as an easy target. The set-up of this world made sense. The government keeping track of rabbits and trying to keep them maintained is definitely realistic. It's not the subtlest metaphor for racism but it's a very engaging way to discuss the issues. I think the world-building was alright but it was very exposition-heavy to start with. There was a big information dump towards the beginning and it felt like a lot.

In terms of the story, it's like Watership Down meets Hot Fuzz with a bit of Orwell thrown in for good measure. There's a lot going on and I ended up finding my mind wandering. This is a book that was meant to tackle racism and xenophobia. However, I don't think it really addressed these issues other than to show they exist. There's a moment near the end of the book when Peter states that he is racist due to his inaction. Though he doesn't hate rabbits, he has never done anything to speak up for them. He avoided protesting or advocating for them. He worked for an agency that was actively trying to subdue them. He didn't speak up when others mistreated them. It was an interesting insight but it didn't go anywhere.

This was a book about racism that just sort of explained racism. It feels disappointing that it didn't take the idea further. It gets so caught up in other ideas and plots that there's too much to get through. In order to be more effective, I think it needed to be a bit simpler. The Constant Rabbit is so heavy-handed. It might also have helped if there was more humour. It's not that it doesn't have its funny moments but it could be more amusing. It might make it more engaging as the story goes on. A more refined and paired-down approach might have been a more pleasant reading experience. It didn't help that my expectations for this book were so high. Maybe it just couldn't live up to the idea in my head.