Rating: 
Summary: Existentialism, with a Southern accent
Review: The title sets the tone: Rabbits are bread as cute pets; but once they reach a "certain age", they become unsaleable. Mr. Studebaker, owner of the pet store, doesn't know what to do with these "older" rabbits. Eric--a homeless employee, looking for a friend after having run away from his abusive father--knows just what to do--kill them and freeze them for meat. How does he know? Because his father enfenced a 7 acre field, and bred rabbits for hunting. The rabbit factory.In a series of interlocking stories, Larry Brown artfully weaves together the lives of several characters, all inhabiting (all temporarily) Memphis. None have had good luck recently, and only Arthur--a former oil tycoon, now 70, in retirement, facing impotency, and trying to hold on to his 40 year old wife--seems to have ever had any. A mobster from Chicago has his privates mangled by a post hole digger; his one legged maid has her leg stolen in her battle with the family poodle; a good looking hooker looses two sugar daddy's, and is then arrested for assaulting an abusive nurse working at an old folk's home; a navy man, whose ship kills a whale, and who then suffers brain damage in an unofficial boxing match; and an ex-con, who really, really tries to go straight, but suffers a series of comic mishaps that turn him into first a murderer, and then food for lions (just in case the Rabbit factory image hasn't sunk in yet). At the end, two of the plot lines remain unresolved. Will Helen stop drinking and running around and return to Arthur, who (probably) still loves her? Will the beautiful hooker stay with the brain damaged boxing naval man? Can anyone ever find happiness? Or are we all, including authors who labor long over a book only to have it read and then discarded, simply grist for some cosmic rabbit factory we call existence. More readable than Waiting for Godot, and far more entertaining--but the point seems the same--there is no point.
Rating: 
Summary: GENIUS
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: GENIUS
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A Fun Read
Review: This is the first book I've read by Larry Brown and it won't be my last. It's good to see someone else who has captured the spirit of the White Trash South much like Harry Crews has in some of his books. Much like a Sienfeld episode, this book tracks a number of plots and characters that inlcude a cop killer/drug pusher/loser, an older man and his young wife, a prostitute, a couple of memorable dogs including one named Jada Pinkett and a punck drunk sailor. The stories and characters are all interesting, and funny at times. Unlike Sienfeld, the author doesn't make a huge effort to bring these characters together. And in the end, you kind of wonder what the point was behind the whole book. In my opinion, it doesn't really matter anyway. This book is merely a glimpse of life among a slice of people that I'm glad I can read about without having to know personally. Along the way, it gave me a few laughs and something to pass the time on my train commute. The bottom line is that this isn't literary prize winning material but it's entertaining and much better than a lot of drivle that you can buy. More importantly, he's a good writer who has no problem keeping your attention.
Rating:
Summary: An unlikely choice for me! But...
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: too much of bad things can't be good
Review: Usually I am able to fly through books by Larry Brown. I've typically enjoyed the quirkiness of his characters, especially in the short story form. Rabbit Factory was basically filled with less than endearing individuals, (hookers, mobsters, alcoholics, men with penile dysfunction) which in my opinion was difficult to deal with. In his other novels there had been some characters that created balance (i.e. Fay which had the police officer to offset her dysfunction) After months of wanting to finish this novel, I finally, with great disappointment, put it down for possible future reading.
Rating:
Summary: too much of bad things can't be good
Review: Usually I am able to fly through books by Larry Brown. I've typically enjoyed the quirkiness of his characters, especially in the short story form. Rabbit Factory was basically filled with less than endearing individuals, (hookers, mobsters, alcoholics, men with penile dysfunction) which in my opinion was difficult to deal with. In his other novels there had been some characters that created balance (i.e. Fay which had the police officer to offset her dysfunction) After months of wanting to finish this novel, I finally, with great disappointment, put it down for possible future reading.
Rating:
Summary: More than Fun
Review: You will care for these people in this novel. You will root for a dog in this novel. You will hope for a murderer in this novel. You will feel for a crime boss and the loss of his son. You will relate to a college professor and his large black police- lady friend. You will be encouraged by the loyalty of a homeless kid to an old man who can't get it up. You will laugh and you will sense the despair and hope that ooses from every word on every page. Faulkner would love this story. It is about humans. Vivillo
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