Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

24 reviews

chicagostupid's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

the rabbit hutch is probably one of the best books i’ve ever read. i could tell from just the first few pages that it was going to hypnotize me, and stay with me long after i finished reading jt. 

the book ties together its characters and events in a way that reveals how much care has been put into writing it. rereading it is not just necessary, it is mandatory 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Violence

ameliasbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

This is a tough one to review. The author throws everything at you that is on her mind and you have to deal with it. Some parts leave you breathless and others weirdly are a bit of a slog.

The writing is strong most of the time, but the story can't keep up with it. Too many side characters, whose stories don't get really elaborated and I could have really done without this totally uninteresting son of a celebrity mother.
 
I'm rating this a bit higher, because of the strong writing. The story gave me sadness and loneliness (which I'm totally here for), but apart from that, there wasn't enough meat to the bone for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Misogyny

Moderate: Drug use and Alcoholism

araowl's review against another edition

dark funny reflective 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

5.0

    "The Rabbit Hutch" is a contemporary debut about the inhabitants of a deteriorating rust belt apartment building. Although the novel jumps around to multiple POVs, the book is mainly about a precocious young girl named Blandine and her three male roommates who all recently aged out of the foster care system.
    This book deals with heavy themes related to sexual and physical abuse, trauma, and the gentrification of a dying Indiana city. As someone from Indiana, the way the author described the setting felt extremely accurate and hit close to home. These rust belt towns are places of rusty chain-link fences, random rubber shoes on the road, and broken glass covering every street corner. They're places where people born into poverty often never get a chance to leave. Blandine is extremely intelligent and had a rare opportunity to transcend this small town through academic achievement, but unfortunately, the effects of abuse and trauma make that kind of thing easier said than done. 
    Overall, every character in this book is ultimately searching for meaning and human connection. A current of loneliness and existential dread pulse through the entire story. The book is often satirically witty, and has a lot of commentary on the wildness of the internet and the detrimental effects of late-stage capitalism on both humans and the environment. I found the themes extremely resonant and thought-provoking, and the characters richly detailed and compelling.  The only criticism I have is that some of the character's stories felt a little underdeveloped, but I definitely see how each and every character contributed to the overall meaning of the book.
    I recommend this book to anyone that likes modern literary fiction, witty and irreverent writing, and intelligent social commentary. I'd definitely steer clear if you are sensitive to depictions of sexual abuse, violence, and trauma - or if you just prefer your fiction on the more lighthearted and plot-driven side.



    

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: Blood and Mental illness

rcvane's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, and Sexual assault

alexdayhey's review against another edition

mysterious reflective 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Blood

Post-natal depression/mental illness, teacher/student sexual relationship

indigo666's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Vomit, Gore, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Violence

rcy's review against another edition

dark emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Here for the prose and for Blandine’s rage.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Sexual assault

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-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

3.5

This was parts funny, parts pathetic (not in the looser sense but in the sense it emoted empathy from me), and parts despicable. The ending was sad for me (that was pathetic, for example). But getting to the end was largely amusing, but only if I removed myself from the characters (usually, I read as if I was a fly on the wall, but in this case, I often found myself being a fly on the other side of a window). If I’d been in the house, it would’ve been far too pathetic and far too despicable and hence, too hard to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Death

mklein319's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Bullying, Classism, Infidelity, and Mental illness

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

cstein's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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? No

4.5

In this ambitious and then painfully pointed examination of contemporary struggle, Gunty employs a unique narrative style and extensive knowledge of her spiritual and philosophical forebears to great effect. The late, Dostoevsky-esque monologue chapter was the novel's highlight and a pleasure to parse through. Gunty has a keen eye for phenomena one passively observes but never articulates. However, when it finally arrived, the scene anticipated from page one felt underexamined.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Bullying, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Classism, Blood, Mental illness, Cursing, Violence, Sexual assault, and Stalking

Minor: Vomit and Sexual content