It feels right that The Burrow begins and ends with the pet rabbit, Fiver.

When Fiver first joins the family, he’s an annoyance to Lucie’s parents and a gift for her, a distraction. The narrative of this novel is propulsive and about much more than grief. Cheng’s choice to tell the story of a family rebuilding from the rubble of loss through multiple point of view characters works well as the reader sees how each character copes with the loss of the youngest member of the family, how they go on from such a tremendous loss alongside their own separate losses. Amy is a struggling writer, Pauline has health issues and guilt over her role in this loss, and Jin is disconnected, all against a backdrop of the pandemic. It’s a complex book despite being relatively short. Lucie’s intrusive thoughts were well written by Cheng, and it was heartening to read about a character dealing with these, to read about a character like me. I loved that Cheng ended the book with Lucie, too, with a hopeful image that felt real and not forced, a small spot of light which possibly only Lucie could see at that moment. Feels right Lucie was the one who could see it. I cried. A beautiful book not just about grief and loss but about living, family, and about how to forgive others and (maybe most importantly) yourself.

Thanks to Tin House for sending me an ARC of this beautiful book!