Alyssa Songsiridej at Harvard Book Store

Harvard Book Store welcomes ALYSSA SONGSIRIDEJ, editor at Electric Literature, for a discussion of her debut novel, Little Rabbit. She will be joined in conversation by HANNA HALPERIN, author of Something Wild.

A Return to In-Person Events

Harvard Book Store is excited to re-introduce in-person programming this season, beginning this March. To ensure the safety and comfort of everyone in attendance, the following Covid-19 safety protocols will be in place at all of our Harvard Book Store events until further notice:

• Face coverings are required of all staff and attendees when inside the store. Masks must snugly cover nose and mouth.

About Little Rabbit

When the unnamed narrator of Little Rabbit first meets the choreographer at an artists' residency in Maine, it's not a match. She finds him loud, conceited, domineering. He thinks her serious, guarded, always running away to write. But when he reappears in her life in Boston and invites her to his dance company's performance, she's compelled to attend. Their interaction at the show sets off a summer of expanding her own body's boundaries: She follows the choreographer to his home in the Berkshires, to his apartment in New York, and into submission during sex. Her body learns to obediently follow his, and his desires quickly become inextricable from her pleasure. This must be happiness, right?

Back in Boston, her roommate Annie's skepticism amplifies her own doubts about these heady weekend retreats. What does it mean for a queer young woman to partner with an older man, for a fledgling artist to partner with an established one? Is she following her own agency, or is she merely following him? Does falling in love mean eviscerating yourself?

Combining the sticky sexual politics of Luster with the dizzying, perceptive intimacy of Cleanness, Little Rabbit is a wholly new kind of coming-of-age story about lust, punishment, artistic drive, and desires that defy the hard-won boundaries of the self.

Praise for Little Rabbit

“A deeply empathetic and horny novel-a love letter to bottoming and being an artist and following yourself to the end of everything.” ―Carmen Maria Machado, author of In the Dream House

“Little Rabbit is a glorious debut-riveting, soulful, cerebral, and the sexiest novel I've ever read. In this story about ambition, power, art-making, and the pursuit of beauty, perfect for fans of Luster and Bad Behavior, Alyssa Songsiridej thrillingly interrogates the conflict between reason and desire, between our public and private selves. My life is richer for having read this book. Yours will be too.” ―Jessamine Chan, author of The School for Good Mothers

“Little Rabbit turned me inside out and left me utterly in awe. This daring exploration of the boundaries between desire and obliteration will have you asking who is in control. A fearless portrayal of a young writer shaping her life and art, even as they collide.” ―Sanaë Lemoine, author of The Margot Affair