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Little Rabbit

Little Rabbit

Current price: $17.99
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Publisher:
Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN:
9781639731657
Pages:
256
Next Chapter Booksellers
1 on hand, as of Apr 26 10:23pm
(Fiction\General)
On Our Shelves Now

Description

PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD FINALIST * PUBLISHING TRIANGLE'S EDMUND WHITE AWARD FOR DEBUT FICTION FINALIST *CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE SHORTLIST * NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION “5 UNDER 35” HONOREE * NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORKER, THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, DEBUTIFUL, ELECTRIC LITERATURE, AND MORE.

"A darkly sensuous tale of awakening that will quietly engulf you in flames."-Ling Ma, author of Severance

"The first great book of Summer 2022, and it'll certainly be one of the best books of the decade."-Debutiful

"Bold, frightening, and magnificent."-Julia Phillips, Vulture

"A love letter to bottoming and being an artist and following yourself."-Carmen Maria Machado

"A modern queer feminist Story of O."-Electric Literature

When the unnamed narrator of Little Rabbit first meets the choreographer at an artists' residency in Maine, it's not a match. She finds him loud, conceited, domineering. But when he reappears in her life in Boston and invites her to his dance company's performance, their interaction at the show sets off a summer of expanding her own body's boundaries. Her body learns to obediently follow his, and his desires quickly become inextricable from her pleasure. This must be happiness, right?

But what does it mean for a queer young woman to partner with an older man, for a fledgling artist to partner with an established one? Does falling in love mean eviscerating yourself? Combining the sticky sexual politics of Luster with the dizzying, perceptive intimacy of Cleanness, Little Rabbit is a wholly new kind of coming-of-age story about lust, punishment, artistic drive, and desires that defy the hard-won boundaries of the self.

About the Author

Alyssa Songsiridej is an editor at Electric Literature. Little Rabbit is her first novel. A 2022 National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree, she lives in Philadelphia.

Praise for Little Rabbit

“It's the first great novel of the summer.” —Debutiful

“A sweetly shocking novel exploring identity, love, lust, friendship, art, pain and possession.” —Ms.

“Like a modern queer feminist Story of O, this nuanced exploration of desire and the unseen dance between the lover and the beloved sucks you into its lush, yet precisely-rendered reality, one edged with ambiguity regarding possession and power, perception and identity.” —Electric Literature

“Alyssa Songsiridej's Little Rabbit shocked me. It tells truths about sex, the self, and art-making that I'd never seen on the page or even known the words to think before. It's bold, frightening, and magnificent, a work deserving of this honor and many more.” —Julia Phillips, Vulture

“A worthy contemplation of sexual politics, revealing how losing and finding yourself do not have to be mutually exclusive.” —Claire Kohda, New York Times Book Review

“It's the sexiest book we've read in a long time…a seductive, deeply complex exploration of power and agency, and lust and love. It rushes through you and leaves you stunned.” —goop

“A tantalizing queer confessional, where a bisexual woman writer is pulled to the kind of patriarchal male dancer she'd never spared a second for. Here the nearness of artistic fame is so palpable, you will desire it for the narrator nearly as much as she desires the consummation of her glittering S&M relationship. Skillfully and tautly drawn.” —Chaya Bhuvaneswar, San Francisco Chronicle, "Favorite Books of the Year"

“Explores power dynamics and kink within an unexpected relationship with riveting nuance . . . Little Rabbit arrives at just the right time, serving as a fearless inquiry into the power of bodies and intimacy.” —Observer

Little Rabbit takes on the tricky issues inherent in creating with collaborators in the most incisive way I've ever seen. What boundaries are necessary, and which ones can be flexible? How can anyone advocate for themselves when their professional future could be at stake? Songsiridej unflinchingly deals with these issues and more, resulting in a book I'm recommending to all my friends who are artists in any discipline.” —BuzzFeed

“A darkly sensuous tale of awakening that will quietly engulf you in flames.” —Ling Ma, author of SEVERANCE

“A deeply empathetic and horny novel-a love letter to bottoming and being an artist and following yourself to the end of everything.” —Carmen Maria Machado, author of IN THE DREAM HOUSE

Little Rabbit is a glorious debut-riveting, soulful, cerebral, and the sexiest novel I've ever read. In this story about ambition, power, art-making, and the pursuit of beauty, perfect for fans of Luster and Bad Behavior, Alyssa Songsiridej thrillingly interrogates the conflict between reason and desire, between our public and private selves. My life is richer for having read this book. Yours will be too.” —Jessamine Chan, author of THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS

Little Rabbit turned me inside out and left me utterly in awe. This daring exploration of the boundaries between desire and obliteration will have you asking who is in control. A fearless portrayal of a young writer shaping her life and art, even as they collide.” —Sanaë Lemoine, author of THE MARGOT AFFAIR

“Eviscerating. Sophisticated. So incredibly hot.” —Rachel Yoder, author of NIGHTBITCH

“Scintillating and seductive, almost unbearably perceptive, Little Rabbit announces the arrival of a brilliant new voice in literature, one who knows how to make the body sing.” —Alexandra Kleeman, author of SOMETHING NEW UNDER THE SUN

“What a hypnotic, sexy, smart, unputdownable book! It delves into so many of my favorite subjects: erotic obsession, art, friendship, and the slippery and surprising nature of selfhood.” —Melissa Febos, author of GIRLHOOD

“A fierce and utterly compelling look at the nearly biological instinct to nurture a love affair, even when that love isn't understood by others, and it blows your world apart. Little Rabbit is a totally absorbing debut: nuanced, intelligent, and sexy as hell.” —Courtney Maum, author of THE YEAR OF THE HORSES

Little Rabbit is a brilliant debut by a rare talent. Songsiridej writes with tremendous precision, intelligence, and insight about the complexities of desire-how it can prompt the impulse to empower, possess, erase, and recreate one's lover and oneself.” —Chloé Cooper Jones, author of EASY BEAUTY

“An exhilarating story of intense desire, creative ambition, sex, and power. Little Rabbit's honest exploration of kink, control, and sexual freedom obsessed and transported me. When I reached the final page, I was stunned.” —Hanna Halperin, author of SOMETHING WILD