Reviews

Rabbits for Food by Binnie Kirshenbaum

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marykate02's review

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Where is the line between truth teller and sociopath? Rabbits for Food probes that question while exploring the boundaries of audience, narrator, and fiction. I thought it was brilliant and weird, hilarious and heartbreaking, and pretty much did nothing for two days but read this book from cover to cover.

tablife's review

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No

3.5

Struggling with deep depression, Bunny ends up institutionalized to try to get her symptoms under control. This novel provides a glimpse into the somberness of depression, but the ending feels a bit abrupt and unfinished.

sydneyrp143's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

bethyk's review

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4.0

i would 100% read this again

lisakerd's review

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4.0

Being someone who personally experienced a lot of what Kirshenbaum writes about, I found Rabbits for Food validating and cathartic. She has a way of perfectly articulating what so many in the mental illness community feel (i.e. that the physically ill receive cards and flowers but the mentally ill are tiptoed around because it makes people uncomfortable; being fed up with medications and psychiatrists after trying so many of both; not being taken seriously in the psych ward because you’re “sick in the head,” thus you lose dignity and the respect of being an adult; etc.)

I found some of her metaphors, similes, and intricately crafted sentences exquisitely executed. Although, some completely missed the mark and rambled on like self-indulgent, convoluted nonsense.

As a novel, I felt some things were described with lovely detail: “Her feet are not on the floor, but her back is resting against the arm of the couch, which is camel-backed, olive green velvet. What had passed for shabby chic at the time of purchase is now the furniture equivalent of a dog with mange. The upholstery is shredded, puffs of stuffing sticking out like Albert Einstein’s hair.” (As other reviewers have stated, it is overzealous to label Rabbits a comedy—the proceeding quote is an example of its extent of humor).
However, the lack of investment into an actual storyline left me wanting more. I felt there was a lot of material from which Kirshenbaum could have dug deeper into relationships and a plot. Her chaotic narration simultaneously caused frustration with its near nonexistent fluidity, but also emitted the sense of chaos in Bunny’s brain.

Overall, Kirshenbaum’s novel accurately depicts the numb and empty sentiments of living with major depressive disorder, and life inside the psych ward. And for that, I give Rabbits four stars.