The Rabbit Hutch Review
Title - The Rabbit Hutch
Author - Tess Gunty
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scare 😱 - 1.5 (the ending has some suspense)
plot 📖 - 3
characters 🧍- 4
stars ⭐ - 3.5
This book is so hard to rate because I feel that the plot left a lot to be desired and yet I loved it so much.
While the words themselves were eloquently aligned within each individual storyline there was some major disconnect throughout the book. I understand the whole premise of the book is to outline the people living in the Rabbit Hutch, and it's a great premise. However, when you are outlining the lives of several people interconnected throughout an apartment building along with additional persons it's A LOT. I think two of the storylines could have been easily dropped and the book would have been a lot more cohesive. The characters are weird, but not in a poetic way - think more "Look at me, I'm so weird". *tongue out emoji* *peace sign emoji* I will say that Gunty portrays certain characteristics so well, especially the immaturity of Blandine, Todd, Malik, and Jack. The element of the car industry no longer being in the Vaca Vale economy and the effects that it had was something so real and scary for the towns in America that rely on one industry. Without it, the economy crumbles until nothing is left but the shambles of the town that once stood. Crime, poverty, and depression move in, leaving people feeling stuck somewhere that was once a perfectly fine place to live.
The Rabbit Hutch grabbed me by the mother freaking throat at the start and I whipped through the first 130 pages in 2 days. The way information was inserted into the story was fuel for my brain to keep powering through the book. Then it lost its sparkle about halfway through. All of the characters were introduced, it was all set up to be knocked down, it was quirky and different and I was fully immersed in the scene. Then BOOM, literally nothing. It became try-hard as hell and a little fever dream-y. The plot did progress but it didn't have any bite to it. Then the ending came and went, it was like driving through a small town - blink and you'll miss it. There was so much build-up to the ending just to have it be a ripple in the sea of the plot.
There were some elements in the book that were extremely imaginative and different that did make up for some of its shortcomings. While the plot did falter Tess Gunty can WRITE, she actually writes how you all think Colleen Hoover writes. Especially for a DEBUT NOVEL are you kidding me? Whilst this book is not the best thing I've read this year, I cannot imagine where Gunty can go from here. I really hope she keeps publishing books because I am so excited to read more and watch her writing blossom.
Here are a few rapid-fire thoughts to close this review out:
- I've never wanted to annotate a book until I began reading The Rabbit Hutch. Take from that what you will.
- The Catholic elements (especially the anti-Catholicism ones) are *chefs kiss*!
- I would recommend this book to someone who wants to read something out of their comfort zone. I can't imagine this book being in anyone's comfort zone.
- Blandine's character is messy as hell, but somehow the boys' characters are messier?
- The new mother's storyline was by far my favorite in the whole book.
❤ Les
View my review on Goodreads here.
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