The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

3/5 stars

What's it about? Tess Gunty's debut novel centers on brilliant teen and aspiring mystic Blandine Watkins and the lives of those who intersect her orbit in Vacca Vale, a sigh of a Midwestern town. While there is much to admire in the character development and depictions of Americana, the plot goes off the rails in that peculiar contemporary way, in which an auspicious start devolves into a violent, cobbled together denouement (think Tommy Orange's There There or The Overstory by Richard Powers). Such endings always make me wonder if the publisher rushed the writer to the finish line.

How’d I find it? I picked up The Rabbit Hutch at the Books-A-Million store located next to a bar I frequent. I tell you, whoever puts their bookstore next to a bar is a genius.

Who will enjoy this book? Fans of Andrew Sean Greer, Deb Olin Unferth, and perhaps Lauren Groff's Matrix, though The Rabbit Hutch is decidedly not a slow burn.

What stood out? Gunty sketches her characters with an oddball collection of tics and thoughts and interests that bring wit and realness to the page. I particularly relished the chapter "Variables," which chronicles Blandine's relationship with her high school music teacher.

Which line made me feel something? "Yes, I wanted your mind and your words and your face and your sadness and your sensitivity and your power and your talent and your age and your imagination and your hair and your music, but ultimately — ultimately — I wanted to fuck your piano." Heartbreaking and hilarious.

Heartburn by Nora Ephron

3/5 stars

What's it about? Cookbook author Rachel Samstat discovers that her husband Mark is cheating on her at the worst time: she's seven months pregnant. What makes a marriage worth keeping? A quippy snack of a book that is simultaneously tough to put down and tough to swallow.

How’d I find it? A dear aunt with a terrifyingly voracious reading appetite passed along this book.

Who will enjoy this book? Lovers of the rom-com (especially Nora Ephron's, obviously) and Jennifer Weiner's work

What stood out? While this romance novel is rife with expected tropes, its unconventional writing sets it apart. Example: The future Rachel narrating the story punctuates the plot with recipes that I found distracting in the best way — I'm now determined to make sorrel soup. The book's major weakness is how aggressively cis and straight it is, which culminates in cringeworthy gender platitudes and off-putting treatments of LGBTQ identity.

Which line made me feel something? Make no mistake — this book is funny. I laughed out loud throughout. "I wanted a man with long legs and a small ass and laugh wrinkles around the eyes. Then I grew up and settled for a low-grade lunatic who kept hamsters."

French Braid by Anne Tyler

3/5 stars

What's it about? The loosely knit Garrett family appears to be a pack of lone wolves, but their ties persist through generations. The novel centers around Mercy, Robin, and their three children, and ripples out to new characters as the family grows. Each chapter is an intimate snapshot of one Garrett descendant that expertly paints a vivid portrait of the family as a whole. A leisurely read that satisfies.

How’d I find it? This was a Christmas gift that I’ve been longing to crack open.

Who will enjoy this book? Fans of family dramas à la Ann Patchett or Damon Galgut's The Promise and those seeking an easy, well-written novel.

What stood out? Anne Tyler writes people so expertly, and her portrayal of families is honest and relatable. As a resident of the DMV, I also appreciate the nods to East Coast culture (particularly the local accents). The chapters read like standalone novellas, which helps the novel move along at a clip. I was never bored.

Which line made me feel something? The sarcasm and know-it-all demeanor of Alice, Mercy and Robin's eldest daughter, provides entertaining passive-aggressive interludes. These were my favorite bursts of humor in the novel.

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

3/5 stars

What's it about? The novel follows Lotto and Mathilde, a couple who marries young and impulsively, and explores intimacy, performance, and the experiences that shape us as individuals and partners. We view the relationship from each perspective, allowing the reader to revisit scenes with new information (usually one of Mathilde's many secrets).

How’d I find it? A mystery. I came to Lauren Groff through Florida and hearing her speak at AWP, and somehow acquired Fates and Furies in the intervening years.

Who will enjoy this book? Fans of Ann Patchett's The Dutch House (for the chapters covering Lotto's side) and Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl (for Mathilde's), readers who enjoy relationship dramas with split perspectives (like An American Marriage by Tayari Jones)

What stood out? Come for the language! It's Lauren Groff, so the writing is candied with deliciousness and rippled with humor (see "Which line made me feel something?" below). The bracketed asides from an omniscient narrator offer lovely nuggets of wit and context. I also marveled at the excerpts from Lotto's plays within the novel and how deftly Groff inhabited her characters' creative spaces. I struggled with the thumbprint of misogyny in the novel; even when acknowledged, the treatment of women (both how they're treated and written) felt somewhat icky. It's perhaps for this reason that I found few of the characters or sex scenes believable.

Which line made me feel something? "She stretched her long arms over her head, and there were little nests of winter hair in the pits. She could hatch baby robins in those things."