The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes by Anna McPartlin will be featured on the Radio 2 Book Club on Monday 12 January.
The book was selected with the help of a panel made up of Reading Agency and library staff from across the UK.
We have an exclusive extract available for you to read as well as discussion questions for your reading group.
The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes
The one truth that can’t be denied anymore is that life for forty-year-old Mia ‘Rabbit’ Hayes – beloved daughter of Molly and Jack Hayes, sister of Grace and Davey, mother of twelve-year-old Juliet, best friend to Marjorie Shaw and the one true love of Johnny Faye’s life – is coming to an end.
Rabbit loves her life, ordinary as it is, and the extraordinary people in it. But it turns out the world has other plans for Rabbit, and she’s really OK with that. Because she has plans for the world too, and only a handful of days left to make them happen.
This is a story about laughing through life’s surprises and finding the joy in every moment. Utterly compulsive, the bittersweet tale of Rabbit Hayes’ final days will move you to laughter and to tears.
Selection Panel Review
Our reading panel of librarians and staff from The Reading Agency really enjoyed The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes – here are some of their comments:
“It’s one of those laugh and cry at the same time books. Not my usual sort of read at all but I have to admit to falling in love with it big-time. I couldn’t recommend this book highly enough. Think Mrs Brown’s Boys meets Dying Young and you’re half way there. I loved all the characters, the dialogue (lots of no nonsense Irish swearing) and the way the subject matter was handled. A clear winner.”
“While I would normally run a mile from a book about a woman dying of cancer…I have to admit I laughed out loud and the characters were a lot of fun. It’s got a wide appeal I think and is very engaging.”
About the author
Anna McPartlin is a novelist and scriptwriter, who has most recently worked on Holby City. The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes is her sixth novel. Her previous incarnation as a stand-up comedian left an indelible mark. She describes herself as a slave to the joke and finds humour and humanity in even the darkest situations. Anna lives in Wicklow with her husband and animals.
A word from Anna
“There are golden moments in life, emblazoned in memory…The first time I saw my husband across a freezing basement rehearsal room, head down and face partially covered by his long rocker curly hair (Think 80’s band Europe combined with Kylie circa the ‘I should be so lucky’ days) and I thought ‘Love it.’ The morning I returned to my office after a long weekend spent in Nice. 7am, alone and catching up on emails one of which was a publishing house offering me a 3 book-deal. I stood up. I sat down. I stood up again, then sat down again and cried.
Yesterday I was in Heathrow airport fighting a headache, avoiding twinkling lights, sitting over a boxed salad. Fairytale in New York ringing in my ears and a three hour wait for a flight ahead, then the phone rang and I heard the words ‘Radio 2 Book Club have selected The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes! It was unbelievably exciting news – suddenly Heathrow became one of the best places in the world!"
Get involved
Tune in to Simon Mayo’s Drivetime show on Monday 12 January to hear a live interview with Anna McPartlin talking about her book.
Win 10 copies of The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes for your reading group; just complete our short survey.
Have you read The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes? You can share your thoughts on Twitter, or by posting a comment in the space below. You can also follow Anna McPartlin on Twitter.
Want to find out more? The Radio 2 Book Club has a dedicated Twitter feed.
