The Rabbit Back Literature Society
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3.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Only nine people have ever been chosen by renowned children's author Laura White to join the Rabbit Back Literature Society, an elite group of writers in the small town of Rabbit Back. Now a tenth member has been selected: a young literature teacher named Ella.
Soon Ella discovers that the Society is not what it seems. What is its mysterious ritual known as "The Game"? What explains the strange disappearance that occurs at Laura White's winter party? Why are the words inside books starting to rearrange themselves? Was there once another tenth member, before her? Slowly, as Ella explores the Society and its history, disturbing secrets that had been buried for years start to come to light. . . .
In Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen's chilling, darkly funny novel, The Rabbit Back Literature Society, praised as "Twin Peaks meets the Brothers Grimm" (The Telegraph), the uncanny brushes up against the everyday in the most beguiling and unexpected of ways.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Part detective story, part fantasy tale, Jaaskelainen's novel succeeds only partly in its efforts to elucidate the mysteries of literary creativity. On the night that substitute teacher Ella Amanda Milana is to be inducted as the 10th member of the elite Rabbit Back Literature Society a prestigious writers group that has nurtured from childhood "the most important names in Finnish literature") the group's founder, celebrated children's book author Laura White, disappears under seemingly supernatural circumstances. Induced by an offer to write a history of the notoriously secretive society, Ella begins delving into the group's past and challenging fellow members through "The Game," a truth-detecting process of stripping away the personal fictions each has come to believe in "people dress themselves in stories" is the way one member puts it in exchange for intimate personal information that the challenged can later use in their own fiction. In the course of her investigations, Ella uncovers evidence of a previous 10th member whose involvement with the group and premature death are shrouded in mystery. Jaaskelainen tells his tale with a variety of quirky, offbeat subplots, among them a book virus that rearranges the letters of printed texts and rewrites scenes of classic novels, a fantastical dog pack that menaces one of the group's writers, and Laura White's own bestselling Creatureville novels, whose characters sometimes seem to have achieved a life independent of the printed page. While these help to invest his insights into writers and their imaginations with a sense of the magical, their lack of explanation and resolution makes this tale read like a shaggy-dog story.
Customer Reviews
a fun journey with plenty to recommend.
Part of the joy in reading comes from perspectives: from the author, from the characters they create, and even their cultural differences. Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen has created a story that, at the outset, feels very light and fun, but not unlike the more sanitized stories from the Brothers Grimm, hold a darker edge just below that surface. A story that is almost pure magical realism in feel, there is a touch of mystery and some psychological games mixed in the twisty plot.
Rabbit Back is a small Finnish town, where all is not as it seems. A small literary society, always numbering 9 until this story, is comprised of well-known children’s authors. A gathering party is held to welcome the new 10th member Ella, the first in years. Ella is unusual in the group: firstly she has only written one short story, but that she is convinced there is a mystery around the group.
With a disappearing member, a book ‘plague’ that causes the contents of previously published works to alter, Ella is discovering that there are many layers to the members and secrets in Rabbit Back. With members required to divulge their innermost secrets, multiple characters telling their stories, and the addition of several surrealist dreams, there is no lack of input to keep a reader wondering.
There were many elements to keep straight in this story, fortunately the ride was a fun one where they all started to fall into place reasonably early. The prose and descriptions are lovely, with a sense of foreboding that is offset by lighter moments from pure silliness to the descriptions of place. The writing was very smooth and polished, with the exception of some repetitive moments. Translation for this story was provided by Lola Rogers, and having read several translated works there was no stilted feel to the translation that can happen when elements unique to a world or culture are translated from the original.
Take a chance to immerse yourself in the world of Rabbit Back, it was a fun journey with plenty to recommend.
I received an eBook copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.