findyourgoldenhour's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. An odd story to be sure. Based on an obscure occurrence that happened in England in the 18th century, this book explores themes that are relevant today: how do we explain the unexplainable?
In 1726, Mary Toft tricked doctors into believing she had given birth to several rabbits. Yes, you read that right. Yes, this really happened. (The tricking doctors part, anyway). I told you it was odd!
I liked how this book explored the ways people try to explain, to themselves and others, what they do not understand. Some immediately turn to science. Some immediately turn to faith. Both are legitimate reactions when confronted with a curiosity that triggers fear.
I don’t think I’ve read anything quite like this. I’ll think of it, and the various characters’ reactions, the next time I’m confronted with something I cannot explain. In other words, this book will stay with me, which is high praise. But it is an odd, odd story.
In 1726, Mary Toft tricked doctors into believing she had given birth to several rabbits. Yes, you read that right. Yes, this really happened. (The tricking doctors part, anyway). I told you it was odd!
I liked how this book explored the ways people try to explain, to themselves and others, what they do not understand. Some immediately turn to science. Some immediately turn to faith. Both are legitimate reactions when confronted with a curiosity that triggers fear.
I don’t think I’ve read anything quite like this. I’ll think of it, and the various characters’ reactions, the next time I’m confronted with something I cannot explain. In other words, this book will stay with me, which is high praise. But it is an odd, odd story.
mschlat's review against another edition
3.0
I really appreciated Dexter Palmer's [b:Version Control|25733442|Version Control|Dexter Palmer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439837238l/25733442._SY75_.jpg|45426167], so I was intrigued to see his next novel, a fictionalization of the scandal of Mary Toft, a woman in eighteenth century England who purportedly gives birth to rabbits (albeit dead ones). It's all based on the actual events (recounted in detail at this site complete with a Hogarth engraving), but Palmer adds quite a bit to the proceedings and tells the story primarily from the first surgeon who attends one of these births (John Howard) and his apprentice (Zachary Walsh).
Howard, Walsh, and Toft live in Godalming, far from London, but the news of the births soon reaches that city, and we quickly have the appearance of London surgeons (including a huckster of the first caliber) and then a trip to and stay in the City, which takes up most of the second half of the book.
That focus on London is important, because at its heart much of this book is focused on the power of sensation and mob mentality, and you really can't have that without a large population. Palmer wants to explore the movement of credulity within a people and the possible passions and tribalism that credulity can inspire. (There is a brief but powerful scene where Zachary makes his way through a throng of people nearly coming to blows over who is the best opera singer.) Not for nothing do we get an early and morbid version of "The Emperor's New Clothes" being told by one of the London surgeons.
[So, yes, I found it hard not to read this and think of Trump, especially during the January 6th insurrection. If not a commentary on Trumpism in particular, the book clearly shines a light on our ability for self-delusion and the dangers of misinformation.]
The problem I had is that the London half of the book felt less focused. There's an early urgency in the novel (neatly driven by the question of when will the rabbit births stop) that fades away in the second half. Besides the question of credulity, Palmer also wants to explore questions of identity formation, the concept of blackness in the eighteenth century, domestic abuse, and the willingness of the rich to torture the poor for their own entertainment. (There's a fairly disturbing scene of animal torture.) That's a lot for half the book, and I felt the momentum start to drag as the concepts piled up.
Still, I'd rather read a so-so Palmer full of intellectual exploration over many other works. I just wish the focus of the first half extended to the second half.
Howard, Walsh, and Toft live in Godalming, far from London, but the news of the births soon reaches that city, and we quickly have the appearance of London surgeons (including a huckster of the first caliber) and then a trip to and stay in the City, which takes up most of the second half of the book.
That focus on London is important, because at its heart much of this book is focused on the power of sensation and mob mentality, and you really can't have that without a large population. Palmer wants to explore the movement of credulity within a people and the possible passions and tribalism that credulity can inspire. (There is a brief but powerful scene where Zachary makes his way through a throng of people nearly coming to blows over who is the best opera singer.) Not for nothing do we get an early and morbid version of "The Emperor's New Clothes" being told by one of the London surgeons.
[So, yes, I found it hard not to read this and think of Trump, especially during the January 6th insurrection. If not a commentary on Trumpism in particular, the book clearly shines a light on our ability for self-delusion and the dangers of misinformation.]
The problem I had is that the London half of the book felt less focused. There's an early urgency in the novel (neatly driven by the question of when will the rabbit births stop) that fades away in the second half. Besides the question of credulity, Palmer also wants to explore questions of identity formation, the concept of blackness in the eighteenth century, domestic abuse, and the willingness of the rich to torture the poor for their own entertainment. (There's a fairly disturbing scene of animal torture.) That's a lot for half the book, and I felt the momentum start to drag as the concepts piled up.
Still, I'd rather read a so-so Palmer full of intellectual exploration over many other works. I just wish the focus of the first half extended to the second half.
beneficial_pudding's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
catbooking's review against another edition
4.0
The book was pretty good, but it left a bit of a unpleasant feeling at the conclusion that the narrative draws out for the reader.
First, you should not believe anything. Believing in something opens you up to be made a fool of. If you are always the skeptic there is never a chance for you to be caught looking silly. Second, don't believe the things you believe about yourself because they are just self delusions. In reality you are way worse than what you think of yourself and everyone can see you are a fool while you remain blind.
These are some pretty dark conclusions to draw about reality and our view of it. The sort that keep you up at night and make you feel like nothing around you is real and true.
First, you should not believe anything. Believing in something opens you up to be made a fool of. If you are always the skeptic there is never a chance for you to be caught looking silly. Second, don't believe the things you believe about yourself because they are just self delusions. In reality you are way worse than what you think of yourself and everyone can see you are a fool while you remain blind.
These are some pretty dark conclusions to draw about reality and our view of it. The sort that keep you up at night and make you feel like nothing around you is real and true.
carmen_jimenezv's review against another edition
4.0
I really, really enjoyed this title, with its depictions of London and England in the XVIII Century. The characters were interesting and the story catchy and unimaginable – completely grabbing!
I particularly enjoyed the conversations between Howard and Zachary, master and apprentice, and their different views and interests in life and religion. It was a very interesting read, mostly because it's based in real events, which is of course really shocking.
The Rabbit Queen is also a very well-written novel that dives into our subconscious and asks the readers deep questions about ambition, the inexplicable, God and human nature.
The ending felt rushed though and I would have loved to understand the reasons behind the events, though maybe leaving the reader wanting more is completely intentional.
I particularly enjoyed the conversations between Howard and Zachary, master and apprentice, and their different views and interests in life and religion. It was a very interesting read, mostly because it's based in real events, which is of course really shocking.
The Rabbit Queen is also a very well-written novel that dives into our subconscious and asks the readers deep questions about ambition, the inexplicable, God and human nature.
The ending felt rushed though and I would have loved to understand the reasons behind the events, though maybe leaving the reader wanting more is completely intentional.
sonia_reppe's review against another edition
4.0
I'm giving this 4 stars even though the animal cruelty in the last third of the book was disturbing, but by then I was already appreciating this historical fiction of 1700s England. A 14-yr-old boy is an apprentice to a country doctor. It is through his third-person view that tells the story of a strange occurrence: a country woman is birthing rabbit parts. A macabre atmosphere surrounds the story, and the writing has a dark glittery quality to it.
When the series of events calls for the apprentice and doctor to go to London, they find themselves in a different world of filth, seediness, glamour and new experiences.
Like I said, sometimes disturbing, but I can't deny that this is an excellently written book.
When the series of events calls for the apprentice and doctor to go to London, they find themselves in a different world of filth, seediness, glamour and new experiences.
Like I said, sometimes disturbing, but I can't deny that this is an excellently written book.
hekate24's review against another edition
5.0
Read this one on a whim and was totally blown away. This is so visceral and cutting and immersive, with many parallels between the past and today.
nanatheblonde's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
siria's review against another edition
3.0
In early eighteenth-century England, a woman began to give birth to rabbits. This sounds like the premise for a very strange fantasy novel, but Dexter Palmer's novel is in fact based on historical events. Palmer has an eye for detail and for historical grotesqueries, and clearly did quite a deal of research in order to write Mary Toft; Or, the Rabbit Queen.
However, the novel never quite clicked for me. Palmer stressed the thematic parallels between past and present too much where a less didactic hand would often have served him better. And in the end, after all the blood and gore and the human fallibility, I'm not quite sure what the point of it all was.
(Neither, to be sure, is Mary Toft.)
However, the novel never quite clicked for me. Palmer stressed the thematic parallels between past and present too much where a less didactic hand would often have served him better. And in the end, after all the blood and gore and the human fallibility, I'm not quite sure what the point of it all was.
(Neither, to be sure, is Mary Toft.)
lucyna's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75