emmas_bookshelf's review against another edition
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I found this novel super interesting and thought provoking. The author experimented a lot with form and for me, in some places it worked and in some places it didn’t… I think I would have liked more consistency but I can appreciate what she tried to do. I wouldn’t recommend this if you don’t like lit fic (literary fiction), but it does get at a lot of important topics in our society.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Blood, Death of parent, and Drug use
danaaliyalevinson's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I wanted to like this one. It won the National Book Award. And the first 100 pages I was like, this is genius. And then it was all downhill from there. It's about a group of people all living in the same housing project as they each play a part in a violent event. I thought it got lost in its own too clever by half structure, and then the characters wound up being so underdeveloped that I felt nothing as it hurtled toward the conclusion I saw coming from a mile away. Then there's also this thing I see with a lot of modern fiction writers where it feels like literary fiction by way of Wes Anderson. It's very en vogue. And sometimes it works. But here, I thought it was so wrapped up in its need to be quirky and idiosyncratic that I lost the heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexual assault, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
morecrocs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Violence
swalk's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Drifting through a set of apartments you learn of the residents who inhabit them and what their lives are like, touching, raw, brutal, sometimes even funny.
Set in a deprived area of social housing in Indiana colloquially known as The Rabbit Hutch, you wander the minds of those who live there; What are their hopes, fears, problems, daydreams, what is happening in the banality of day to day life? The narrative thread is very loose especially at the start, it seems to be more about the life of each character, than a particular ‘story’ as such. Later on the lives interweave and connect the further into the book you get.
The content reminds me a little of the film Waking Life in the way it winds between different characters, thoughts and topics. It is an unusual, but beautiful writing style. I’m not sure if in general I would have picked this book, but I’m glad I did. Very thought provoking.
The narrator has a lovely expressive voice, who he really lends itself to this writing style, both soft and clear.
CW postnatal depression, suicide, depression, catastrophising, apocalypse
Set in a deprived area of social housing in Indiana colloquially known as The Rabbit Hutch, you wander the minds of those who live there; What are their hopes, fears, problems, daydreams, what is happening in the banality of day to day life? The narrative thread is very loose especially at the start, it seems to be more about the life of each character, than a particular ‘story’ as such. Later on the lives interweave and connect the further into the book you get.
The content reminds me a little of the film Waking Life in the way it winds between different characters, thoughts and topics. It is an unusual, but beautiful writing style. I’m not sure if in general I would have picked this book, but I’m glad I did. Very thought provoking.
The narrator has a lovely expressive voice, who he really lends itself to this writing style, both soft and clear.
CW postnatal depression, suicide, depression, catastrophising, apocalypse
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Violence, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Abandonment and Classism
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