Alistair's Reviews > The Burrow

Within the covers of this slender novel lies a perfect familial storm. There are only four characters, five counting the rabbit, and, in short chapters each is given their voice, not counting the rabbit. Parents, Jin and Amy, their daughter Lucie and Amy’s mother Pauline, who has temporarily moved in with her daughter’s family after breaking her wrist. Each carries unexpressed pain, blame and/or guilt. Except the rabbit. Jin escapes domesticity in favour of work; Amy retreats into herself, unable to emotionally connect with husband or child; Lucie develops an unhealthy appetite for the macabre (for a ten year old). Outwardly, only Pauline appears to remain her true self, something that enrages her daughter. Even the rabbit only occasionally conquers his innate fear to interact with the humans. It’s a testament to Cheng’s incisive writing style that in a mere 184 pages we come to know so much about this troubled family and their fear of the past and future. Well worth a read.