Ask a Bookseller: Little Rabbit is a steamy debut

Bookseller Jason Hong didn't expect to like "Little Rabbit" by Alyssa Songsiridej as much as he did, and now he’s a fan. When he recommends the novel at Yu and Me Books in New York City, he tells people the novel is "ultimately about sex, power, and female desire."

The main character, referred to as Rabbit, is a 30-something Asian-American writer who finds herself igniting a relationship with a choreographer. Their connection is surprising for several reasons, Hong says. Rabbit doesn't like the older man when she first encounters him at a writer's retreat, but the enemies soon turn to lovers. Secondly, Rabbit is queer. This new hetero relationship makes her question herself and her desires, and it raises a point of conflict with Rabbit's roommate, who is also queer.

There are a number of ways a plot like this could go wrong, but Songsiridej evades those missteps. It's a complex exploration of relationships in a book that is decidedly sexy, Hong says, adding, the novel "gives us a look at, like, 'What does it look like to care about someone regardless of identities, etc?’ How can we give ourselves space to explore ourselves as we are outside of labels?"

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