Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

31 reviews

01ivia's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

natspat98's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ameliasbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

araowl's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.



    



Expand filter menu Content Warnings

minipliny's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.5

I loved Blandine so much in this book - she's not romanticised or an object of pity but just so much herself; I love the way that Jack sees how much she doesn't belong in Vacca Vale and yet Vacca Vale belongs in her. I felt like the book captured online life in a way that's actually funny and accurate and hard to pull off. It takes a lot of risks and not everything lands but it was so much more interesting and emotional and thought provoking than a less risky book. The awful grooming teacher and his self deception was so well done. Blandine would also do numbers on tumblr.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

alexdayhey's review against another edition

Go to review page

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


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

maevebm's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • 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

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

calamitydane's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

Simultaneously one of the realest and most surreal books I've ever read. Blandine is, in equal parts, endearing and insufferable. She reads very much like the very knowledgeable but not very wise epitome of her age. I loved the little asides of odd but remarkably real looks into other people's lives and how they all tied together.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

indigo666's review against another edition

Go to review page

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


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

bethany_grace's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

beautiful, beautiful writing 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings