In an ambitious narrative structure reminiscent of Robert Altman's classic film Nashville Larry Brown weaves together the stories of a sprawling cast of eccentric and lovable characters each embarked on a quest for meaning fulfillment and love -- with poignant and uproarious results. Set in Memphis and North Mississippi The Rabbit Factory follows the colliding lives of among others Arthur an older socially ill-at-ease man of considerable wealth married to the much younger Helen whose desperate need for satisfaction sweeps her into the arms of other men; Eric who has run away from home thinking his father doesn't want him and becomes Arthur's unlikely surrogate son; and Anjalee a big-hearted prostitute with her own set of troubles who crashes into the lives of the others like a one-woman hurricane. Teeming with pitch-perfect creations that include quirky gangsters colorful locals seemingly straitlaced professors and fast-and-loose police officers Brown's spellbinding and often hilarious story is about the botched choices and missed chances that separate people -- and the tenuous threads of love and coincidence that connect them. With all the subtlety and surprise of life itself the story turns on a dime from comical to violent to moving. Masterful profound and full of spirit The Rabbit Factory is literary entertainment of the highest order.
