The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty: A review


Set in the dying (fictional) town of Vacca Vale, Indiana, The Rabbit Hutch introduces us to four teenagers who share an apartment in the housing development officially named La Lapiniere Affordable Housing Complex but more familiarly known as "The Rabbit Hutch." They are Blandine, Jack, Todd, and Malik, all 18 or 19 and recently aged out of the state's foster care system. 

As a bit of an aside, we also get to know of a plan to develop an area adjoining Vacca Vale, a place called Chastity Valley. As a further aside, we learn about a child star from a 1960s sitcom. But always at the center of the story is Blandine, once known as Tiffany.

Blandine is a brilliant and talented high school dropout who is fixated on the lives of female mystics and saints. The events of her story take place over five days from July 15 through July 19 in some unstated year. The book is divided into five parts and the various chapters in each part are told from the perspective of one of the characters.

We see Blandine as very much alone in the world in spite of all the people around her. Moreover, she is obsessed with the idea of saving that world. She is essentially a very idealistic and hopeful character. Her hero is Hildegard of Bingen, "prophet, composer, botanist, abbess, theologian, doctor, preacher, philosopher, writer, saint, Doctor of the Church. A veritable polymath." She strives to live up to that image.

There were a lot of characters in this book and I found it a bit difficult to keep up with them all and to keep them all separate in my mind. Some of the guys just seemed to blend together. Those guys were part of several different storylines, and again, I found it hard to follow them all while keeping these characters individualized in my mind. (I admit that may be a shortcoming of my mind!)

This book was well-written. Tess Gunty definitely has a way with words. My only criticism really is that it felt to me as if she was trying to do too much here. Maybe she could stick to one storyline and a smaller cast of characters next time. I would definitely like to read that book!   


 

Comments

  1. Lark May 26, 2023 at 11:27 AM

    Sounds like she had enough characters and story lines for 3 novels; too bad she tried to fit it all into one. I am intrigued by the Rabbit Hutch with all those teens recently aged out of foster care living there though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersMay 26, 2023 at 4:17 PM

      It was a very good story. I just think it could have been made better by a bit of judicious editing.

      Delete
  2. CarmenMay 26, 2023 at 6:49 PM

    I was curious about this one as it was named among the best books of last year by Amazon editors. It seems that the author tried to go in too many different directions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersMay 27, 2023 at 9:58 AM

      It doesn't really surprise me that it was named one of the best. It is indeed a very good book, but, yes, I think it could have been better if it had been a bit more...focused.

      Delete
  3. thecuecardJune 3, 2023 at 8:43 AM

    Yeah I had picked this novel up from the Library and leafed through it but didn't start it. It did look like various characters & moving parts. I think I will hold off but maybe her next one!

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    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersJune 3, 2023 at 9:32 AM

      I think a tighter focus might have improved the book. Still, I found it quite enjoyable to read.

      Delete

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