The Hare

In this latest from Finn, whose The Gloaming was a finalist for the Guardian’s Not the Booker Prize, Rosie has seemingly escaped her abusive childhood when she meets Bennett. To the lonely, inexperienced Rosie, the older Bennett appears to be a treasure trove of knowledge, money, class, and protection, yet there is something off about him. They spend the summer in a borrowed beach house on Connecticut’s Gold Coast, where Rosie is essentially trapped without transportation or money. When they leave abruptly in the middle of the night to relocate to an unheated house in rural Vermont, Rosie begins to understand that something is not right. Left alone with baby Miranda for weeks at a time, Rosie learns from their neighbor Billie how to shoot a gun, find food in the woods, secure handouts in the nearest town, and avoid scrutiny by authorities. She also learns she can survive on her own, and Bennett is in for a surprise when he finally returns.