Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - The Rabbit Hutch

The writing was really quite good. I did not enjoy the lack of discernible plot and the seemingly extraneous characters whose role I could never quite figure out. This book made me anxious the whole way through waiting for this “event” that just seemed overly gory. Wouldn’t recommend.

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sjw_creates's review

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Loved this book. Stunning prose with a variety of threads that all came together. I can’t believe it was a debut.

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danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition

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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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rhalpin's review

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was extremely weird and dark but I loved it. I can totally see why other people would hate it but I was truly captivated.

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tisalwayssunny's review

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dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

As nicely as possible, I was not surprised by the author writing this in an MFA program. The writing just had those stylistic little flairs but I think it works well for this novel. The perspectives were distinct although I felt like there were a couple too many near the end. An interesting and engaging read.

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notartgarfunkel's review

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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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morecrocs's review

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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

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deedireads's review

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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

4.5

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.

TL;DR REVIEW:

The Rabbit Hutch is a visceral, engaging novel with especially good prose. I definitely liked it and thought it was an impressive debut.

For you if: You like literary fiction with a dark tone.

FULL REVIEW:

The Rabbit Hutch is an impressive debut novel that was shortlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction. (It may win; as of the time of this writing, the award hasn’t been announced yet.) It was one of the few books on this year’s longlist that had previously been on my radar, so I was glad for a (good) reason to pick it up. It’s dark, visceral, and at times disturbing, but I thought quite good.

The main character in this book is a former foster child named Blandine who lives with three boys (also former foster children) and idolizes Hildegard of Bingen. However, we also meet (briefly) several of the other tenants who live in The Rabbit Hutch (a low-income housing complex), as well as the son of a recently deceased famous actress. The book opens mid-act of violence and flashes back to the few days leading up to the pivotal moment, plus Blandine’s time in high school.

Some reviewers disliked the use of periphery characters in this book, wanting either more from them or wishing they’d been removed, but I actually really liked it and thought it worked. In many ways they felt atmospheric to me, and I liked the way Gunty used them in the first and last sections to emphasize Blandine’s state at the time. I know some also thought the ending was too tidy, and although it didn’t surprise me, I actually also liked that and thought it was satisfying. Overall I was impressed with how deep we got into Blandine’s mind and character, with just enough touches of how the outside world is complicit in the systems and circumstances that led to not only the violence, but also the ways she responded and coped and changed.

Where Gunty stands out most is in her prose; the sentences are excellent and I found the book overall to be super engaging (I read the whole thing in just a couple of days). It does work quite well on audiobook, but FYI, there are some in-book illustrations you’ll miss if you only experience it in that format.

If you like literary fiction with a dark tone, this could be a good one for you.

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