Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Rabbit Hutch, by Tess Gunty

11 reviews

whimsofwands's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed this book because the characters felt very believable
 They were unique and flawed and I liked and disliked all of them for different reasons (except Moses). It was a bit all over the place and didn't quite stick the landing bringing it all together, but there were many beautiful and fascinating moments I'll definitely continue thinking about. 

Spoiler

I think this is one of the best portrayals of a statutory rape situation I've ever read. The writer does an amazing job acknowledging the complicated feelings both people have, while consistently condemning it completely.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Rape

jaygabler's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Brings verve and thematic focus to a classic disparate-characters-coming-together-at-a-pivotal-moment setup.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Animal death

lindsayerin's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Injury/injury detail, and Animal death

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.

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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

courtney23's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, and Animal cruelty

spacescape's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

This writing on this book is an example of what current creative fiction writers love: intensely-detailed character development (or, as I call it: over-the-top inner mind description). Fleshing out characters is important; writing page after page of a character's likes and dislikes is maddening and a waste of good trees. 

This book is an example of why I have a difficult time reading novels. After finishing & reflecting, there is one main character whom didn't need to exist at all, which would have cut out many unnecessary and shock-value pages. A letter to this individual--several pages on its own--could have been struck with it. Additionally, a particular argument between two other main characters is completely nonsensical.

I'll pause here to add some positive things: the setting of a dying Midwest town is perfect (even though a street-level description for part of the town only comes at the end, confusingly). The ideas of gentrification, the Midwest, mental disorders of several varieties, living far too deep in one's own head, drug abuse, and economic challenges are very well-woven into the whole story. 

The ultimate frustration is that this novel could be a good 25% shorter, which would have made it better. Longer does not equal better, writers! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Addiction, and Sexual assault

Minor: Abandonment and Drug abuse

kendallmdk's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, and Abandonment

heatherjchin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Bullying, Injury/injury detail, Violence, Addiction, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual assault, Mental illness, Abandonment, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: 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.

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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

reginahafner_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Violence, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault