“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.” —JFK
I’ve decided that I’m living in a bit of a fantasy world. Sadly, there are no unicorns—not a one, no overriding the laws of nature, nor a profusion of magical energy that can be channeled through focused emotions or intentions. Nary a wizardly cloak to be found. I’m a muggle. Plain and simple. And I’ve bought into the self-made myth that I’ve been posting every two weeks on the regular. Except for last month. (My biggest deadline of the year is Nov. 1.) The truth is, I’m not keeping up with the deadlines I’ve set in my head. So, here’s my promise to you: I’ll pick up the pace.
I’m sure nobody’s holding their breath. But I’m gonna rectify the myth—I’m going to turn regular posting into truth. So, let’s eat cake. Back in April, I raved about Unlikely Animals; that’s when I instantly became a Hartnett fan. I checked out her first novel, Rabbit Cake, and I’m glad I did. Told through the eyes of a 10-year-old named Elvis, we learn how her family copes with the death of her mother. Elvis is a superb narrator. Both gifted and naïve, she possesses a youthful honesty that allows the reader to see her family’s emotional baggage for not finding a way to save their sleepwalking mother from drowning.
Each family member has an extremely unique method of mourning, which naturally unveils memorable, quirky characters. Once again, Hartnett deftly blends humor with sensitivity. Once again, I was a bit mesmerized by her animal factoids. I’m with author, Kevin Wilson: “Annie Hartnett's Rabbit Cake is fantastically original, a story about loss that expands in such exciting, unpredictable ways that I found myself completely won over by the unique Babbitt clan. Hartnett has such a gift for absurdity without ever losing the essential heart of the story.”