The Hare
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3.8 • 19 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
* 2021 Vermont Book Award, Winner.
* 2021 New England Book Awards, Finalist.
* A3C Reads: March 2023 Book of the Month.
"A Most Anticipated Book of 2021" —Elle, Bustle, BuzzFeed, Vulture
The Hare is an affecting portrait of Rosie Monroe, of her resilience and personal transformation under the pin of the male gaze.
Raised to be obedient by a stern grandmother in a blue-collar town in Massachusetts, Rosie accepts a scholarship to art school in New York City in the 1980s. One morning at a museum, she meets a worldly man twenty years her senior, with access to the upper crust of New England society. Bennett is dashing, knows that “polo” refers only to ponies, teaches her which direction to spoon soup, and tells of exotic escapades with Truman Capote and Hunter S. Thompson. Soon, Rosie is living with him on a swanky estate on Connecticut’s Gold Coast, naively in sway to his moral ambivalence. A daughter—Miranda—is born, just as his current con goes awry forcing them to abscond in the middle of the night to the untamed wilderness of northern Vermont.
Almost immediately, Bennett abandons them in an uninsulated cabin without a car or cash for weeks at a time, so he can tend a teaching job that may or may not exist at an elite college. Rosie is forced to care for her young daughter alone, and to tackle the stubborn intricacies of the wood stove, snowshoe into town, hunt for wild game, and forage in the forest. As Rosie and Miranda’s life gradually begins to normalize, Bennett’s schemes turn malevolent, and Rosie must at last confront his twisted deceptions. Her actions have far-reaching and perilous consequences.
An astounding new literary thriller from a celebrated author at the height of her storytelling prowess, The Hare bravely considers a woman’s inherent sense of obligation—sexual and emotional—to the male hierarchy, and deserves to be part of our conversation as we reckon with #MeToo and the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation hearing. Rosie Monroe emerges as an authentic, tarnished feminist heroine.
Customer Reviews
Crazy story
I stayed with this book but this is a an unusual read. Rich, entitled boy meets poor girl but a lot of crazy stuff happens after!
The Hare
Very strange story with an absurd ending. I hated it and I loved it! If your looking for closure this book is not for you!
Feminist Thriller About Independence
The Hare is the story of Rosie, a young art student in New York City in 1983, who falls in love with Bennett, an older man from a wealthy WASP-ish family in New England. When Rosie gets pregnant, she drops out of school to be with Bennett. After an incident forces them to Bennett’s family cottage in Vermont, Rosie starts her new life and becomes friends with her next door neighbor.
I read this for my 𝘽𝙞𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝘽𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙨 book club and I’m so glad I did because there is so much to talk about. The Hare is touted as a “feminist thriller” and I think that’s fairly accurate. This book tackles a lot of issues that affect women from pregnancy, and motherhood, to identity as a woman. With these issues, the novel explores themes of independence, freedom, security, and art. I liked that Rosie wasn’t a one dimensional heroine of this story. She makes some bad choices which frustrated me at times, but her character was developed so her choices always made sense. I liked the character of Billy and wished there would have been more exploration of their friendship. Many time jumps in the book were a bit jarring, but feel necessary to set up the motivations of the plot. One character appears later in a dinner scene who confused me at the time and I’m still trying to figure out the point of the character. The ending is a fast paced slide to an amazing finish.
I really loved this book. I read it in two days and could not put it down. Rosie’s story was frustrating and relatable. I think the writing of this book was excellent.This deal with a lot of issues which may not be suitable for all readers. I recommend it to anyone who likes a thriller. Published in January by Two Dollar Radio.