The Rabbit Factory

By Larry Brown

Book Overview

In an ambitious narrative structure reminiscent of Robert Altman's classic film Nashville, Larry Brown weaves together the stories of a sprawling cast of eccentric and lovable characters, each embarked on a quest for meaning, fulfillment, and love -- with poignant and uproarious results.
Set in Memphis and North Mississippi, The Rabbit Factory follows the colliding lives of, among others, Arthur, an older, socially ill-at-ease man of considerable wealth married to the much younger Helen, whose desperate need for satisfaction sweeps her into the arms of other men; Eric, who has run away from home thinking his father doesn't want him and becomes Arthur's unlikely surrogate son; and Anjalee, a big-hearted prostitute with her own set of troubles who crashes into the lives of the others like a one-woman hurricane.
Teeming with pitch-perfect creations that include quirky gangsters, colorful locals, seemingly straitlaced professors, and fast-and-loose police officers, Brown's spellbinding and often hilarious story is about the botched choices and missed chances that separate people -- and the tenuous threads of love and coincidence that connect them. With all the subtlety and surprise of life itself, the story turns on a dime from comical to violent to moving. Masterful, profound, and full of spirit, The Rabbit Factory is literary entertainment of the highest order.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743245245
• ISBN13: 9780743245241
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 339 Pages
• Weight: 0.71 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

another gem

another gem by larry brown. his prose is so authentic you can almost smell the tequila and fried pork skins. he follows harry crews as a blood and guts southern storyteller who can hook you into a story like no other. his characters might be low lifes, but they are never dull.

Characters that resonate with tragedy and potential

Larry Brown's characters resonate with tragedy and potential. Each flawed character's journey through Brown's native landscape illustrates the promise and pitfalls of lives lived on the margins of possibility. In The Rabbit Factory, Brown introduces us to a rich ensemble cast of loosely connected characters. Each tries to improve their lot in life as they confront a sting of improbable, but nevertheless believable events. As the characters stumble and struggle to overcome their pasts, we're rewarded with insights into their goodness and Brown's enduring empathy for them. Brown loyalists will find plenty in The Rabbit Factory to shock them. Everything from adultery to cannibalism receives the unflinching attention to detail we've come to expect from Brown. The treatment manages to avoid a voyeuristic feel while entertaining rather than repelling the reader. We will clearly miss the sympathetic, honest voice of this true Son of the South. May he rest in peace.

An unlikely choice for me! But...

This was my first Larry Brown novel and I am so glad that I happen to pick it up at the airport bookstore. I decided to take a chance on a new writer and since the description intrigued me I chose this book. I couldn't put it down. The novel would make for an exceptional film and I am hoping that it will be considered for screen adaptation one of these days. I have already cast the juicy characters in my mind. This is not the type of novel I would typically gravitate towards. It just happened upon me. And I am truly glad that it did.

GENIUS

This is a great book, carrying all of the fine nuances which we possess as humans. Larry Brown captures human life so well in this impossible to put down book.

Brown Hits Another Home-Run

In The Rabbit Factory, Mississippi writer Larry Brown does something different--this time, he lets humor take center stage. After the darkness of his other books (which were always ripe with gallows humor anyway), Rabbit Factory is a more-than-pleasant surprise. Not that everything is all chipper for his new cast of characters. Hardly. But the absudity of their situations is presented with a bit of a lighter tone this time around. Even a dog gets a few chapters to itself, and they are hilarious. The narrative moves much faster here as well--kind of like an Elmore Leonard tale. If you thought Brown's last couple of novels were a bit too heavy, give this one a shot. You won't be disappointed. The Rabbit Factory should deservedly earn Brown a legion of new fans--and one can sense a great movie just up the road apiece.