Audiobook itself was of good quality, but unfortunately I couldn't connect with the story and ended up DNFing at around 2/3 of the way through. Possibly better in print due to the high number of characters, but I found it difficult to follow and didn't really connect with it. I did think the opening story (with Blandine and the boys) would be interesting but I don't want to wade through the rest to find out what happens there.

**Listened to the audio book**

I hate to say it, but I really struggled with this book. I think if i had read a hard copy of this book it may have been easier for me to get into. However, I listened to the audio book and really hated the narrator. She was very monotone and had a real whiney american accent.
I have to say, I struggle at the best of times when books have lots of characters, and this book had tons of characters to keep track of. The narrator didn't help with this either as she made the characters sound the same.
I just couldn't follow this book and ended up DNF'ing at 30%.
Not for me.

I may try again with this book by reading a hard copy, in the hope that it was just the narrator, and audio book I didn't like rather than Tess Gunty's writing.

A compelling debut which I found difficult to put down but which was also quite disturbing.

Set primarily in one housing complex - the titular Rabbit Hutch, this book follows several of the residents and how their lives intersect, culminating in one night when a terrible event occurs. The complexity of the characters and their stories made the book so gripping, although it was hard to like any of them.

Cleverly plotted and with believable dialogue this book is unlike anything I’ve read before and I will be interested to see what the author writes next.

I’d liked the use of multiple narrators as this always helped me to identify more with the characters and become more engrossed in the story. I particularly liked that the author narrated parts of the book and thought she did an excellent job.

I am happily suprised by how much I enjoyed this one. It's definitely not the type of book I would naturally pick up and probably would not have, without it being crowned winner of the Waterstones Debut Book Prize.

It is a real slice-of-life novel set in a rundown part of Indiana. Each chapter either focuses on Blandine, one of the residents of the apartment block nicknamed 'The Rabbit Hutch', or another person either in her life or in the orbit of the Rabbit Hutch.

Blandine, recently graduated from the foster system and lives with 3 young men, who she met in foster care. She has a troubled past and has become obsessed with the idea of becoming a catholic mystic. Largely viewed as a manic pixie dream girl by most of the people in her life, she strives to become more than herself.

I had tried reading a physical arc of this and hadn't connected with the writing style, so I am glad I tried it in another format. It was pretty dark in places, but it does discuss a lot of important issues, and overall I thought it an excellent read.

A rich and compelling debut. Dark and quirky this audiobook begins with an act of violence before rolling back one week in time and following the characters within one apartment block named The Rabbit Hutch. Once a thriving town with a prominent car business, all is now folded and boarded up; it is a dying and decaying town. We are like voyeurs gazing into the apartments of various individuals and seeing snapshots of their lives: 4 teenagers who have aged out of foster care and are cohabiting, Blandine at their centre - a girl, who has dropped out of school and lives shrouded in a greyness. She is obsessed with mystic Christians who can transcend their bodies and she desires to echo the experience. Her flatmates become obsessed with her and animal slaughter. Nearby apartments house a new mother struggling to adjust, a man obsessed with his internet dating scores, a woman who works for an obituary column and has upset a 53year old male whose celebrity mother has died. He commented negatively on the post and is angered that his comment was remove. He seeks to make the columnist pay for this error in judgement. An older couple argue and smoke and carry on with their mundane daily activities. This melting pot of individuals create a strange mix of persons both uplifting and unsettling. Gunty takes this treadmill of monotony and makes it pulsate with life. Tess Gunty deftly narrates one of several narrative voices in the audiobook. It was almost impossible to hit pause as I wanted to unravel the next part of the narrative. #TheRabbitHutch #TessGunty #NetGalley #stunningdebut

The rabbit hutch is the nickname of a block of flats set in the Midwest. The story starts with an act of violence that takes place in one of the flats, it then goes back over the events that led to this act.

This book is like an anthology with stories of the residents of the rabbit hutch. Many of the stories cross over and it was interesting to read who would cross over with whom.

I took me a little bit of time to get into this book but after the first few chapters I was really intrigued about where the story was going.

The author touches on important themes such as vulnerable, lonelinesses, mental health, abuse and animal cruelty. This book has quite dark and depressing undertones but also a host of interesting characters.

Overall I thought this debut was bold, dark and intriguing.