Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Rabbit Hutch

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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fpcat99's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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cmpoynt's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.75

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araowl's review against another edition

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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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namizaela's review against another edition

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dark sad tense

3.75

This book is undeniably brilliant. Through a cast of intriguing characters, a non-linear and unconventional storytelling method, and fascinating commentaries on violence at the intersection of gender and class, I feel like this novel was as much a manifesto as it was a story.
However, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I admired it. There were some parts, such as the storyline about Moses, that felt too underdeveloped to make an impact on the whole story. I think this novel would have been more compelling if it had focused entirely on Blandine, her roommates, and James. I still enjoyed reading about the side characters, but I viewed them more as a distraction. Additionally, this is just my personal preference, but some of the dialogue in the book felt extremely unrealistic, as if the author was just using the characters as mouthpieces for conflicts of different schools of ideas. The particular conversation I'm thinking of is

the last confrontation between James and Blandine

, which I felt devolved into more of an academic debate than an actual conversation. It took away some of the immersion of the novel at the cost of introducing some great ideas, so it wasn't all bad.

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stwo3389's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense 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

4.5

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acorn192k's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

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