The Hare, written by Melanie Finn, is a hard but human story, beautifully written, and wrapped in the pace and structure of a great thriller.

As I am a woman, I know no other way of walking through the world - you don’t know what you don’t know, and you only know what you know. 

Therefore, I must admit that I am sometimes numb to the dangers of being female in this world. The Hare is a daring and unrelenting feminist thriller. It stirred in me a deeper awareness of the systems that surround us that not only fail to protect women, but can, at their worst, target and attempt to destroy them. 

Rose is haunted by the very relatable ailment of unrelenting loneliness. Loneliness accompanied by a lack of self worth leaves any person vulnerable to the predators that can smell crippling insecurity. 

Rose, abused as a young woman, enters adulthood with no tools to truly protect herself. She ignores her own instincts and follows societal expectations, submitting to a man in her life. She finds herself married to a con artist and a compulsive liar. 

She finds friendship with another outcast woman who teaches her to live off the land and survive by her own hands and ingenuity. She fights for her daily life, and she fights to protect her child. She finds a wildness and a will to survive deep inside her that is inspiring.

The twists and turns of the novel keep you on the roller coaster of a thriller, but ultimately this is a character study of a deeply complicated woman who inches her way toward setting herself free. 

I must warn up front that there are some trigger warnings that accompany this novel. The novel deals with childhood abuse, marital rape, and transphobia in the chapter that begins on page 259. If you struggle with or are triggered by reading about events that involve these abuses, please steer clear of this novel. 

Now, I realize that these trigger warnings suggest a very dark novel. There is a darkness to this thriller, but there is also a tremendous amount of hope and exploration of the resilience of the human spirit.

I was moved and changed by Rose’s journey to self acceptance and empowerment. I found myself reconsidering some of the unconscious biases that get baked into all of us about femaleness and standards of living. But mostly, I fell in love with Rosie and I rooted for her, believed in her, and hoped desperately that she would find her way to a peaceful and fulfilling life.