Never Trust a Rabbit by Jeremy Dyson

by Jeremy Dyson

This is a collection of surreal literary short stories by Jeremy Dyson where the metaphysical meets the mundane in the dark secret of the London Underground, the seemingly harmless auction of electrical goods, a flatmate born to save all mankind, and the strange phenomenon of the Cornish seabed.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Unknown Binding

First published December 1, 2000

About the author

Jeremy Dyson is an English screenwriter and, along with Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, a participant in The League of Gentlemen. He has also created and co-wrote the popular west-end show Ghost Stories.

Reviews

[Batsap · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeremy Dyson is of course one quarter of the creative genius behind The League of Gentlemen. It was a LOG fan that I read this book and in hindsight perhaps that was the wrong thing to do. Going in with preconceived notions about what to expect I was disappointed to find none of the twisted black humour or seething undercurrent of human suffering that makes the LOG so great. Although the stories are well-written, often ending in neat twists, none of them were powerful enough to linger on in my psyche much longer than the reading of the last word. Judged in their own right they are very good but nothing particularly special.

[PJ Dickinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a disappointment. It took me two stories to realise that the style, subject matter and manner of storytelling that I had expected to find in the book, a preconception entirely based upon the League of Gentlemen, was not what I was going to get.

I was a little thrown by that. I was expecting stories that would read like a hybridisation between Roald Dahl's "Tales of the Unexpected" and 60's Hammmer horror movies. I didn't mind that I was getting something different; realising that what lay before me was unknown territory was actually quite exciting. However, my mind was so prepared for the Gothic, that I was finishing the fourth story before my critical faculties kicked back in and the niggling voice at the back of my mind that had been grumbling since the denoument of the first story started asserting itself with a little more force. I caught myself saying, 'Hold on a second. That is a load of crap'.

The writing is fine. And in fact, in the story of the tide going out and keeping going out, the writing is beautiful. That is the best story in the book. The rest of the collected stories are faux-parables with weak resolutions that often employ deus-ex-machina twists to come to sudden [shock] endings.

It is as if the character's actions have been judged from on high and we as the readers are supposed to learn something about the true nature of the world/ universe/ existence from this experience. It doesn't work. Introducing an element into the ending of the story that does not exist in the beginning or middle of the same story is, in my eminently ignorable opinion, poor craftsmanship.

The reader is not stupid. They are interacting with the narrative. They are trying to enjoy the moment while simultaneously predicting what is coming next. Wrong-footing the reader time after time and then dancing away because you are the omnipotent author and therefore above reproach is insulting. The impression I got from reading this book is that in truth, the author didn't have a clue what the moral of his own stories were. Weak-minded individuals may ascribe genius to this style of story-telling but "Never Trust a Rabbit" did not communicate a genius-level of insight to me. Rather, I found myself reading a series of interesting premises constructed on foundations that lacked rigour and the experience left me feeling cheated.

The first star is for writing a book, which is a commendable achievement in itself, if not more than a little bit condescending on my part. The second star is for the one good story mentioned above, which is extremely good indeed.

PJD

[Ruth Paszkiewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting mix of the fantastical with the mundane, the short story format prevents the book from becoming too tedious but there is not enough variation in the characters or narrative perspective to really engage the reader. Not bad for a charity shop buy, but that's exactly where it is going back to now.

[Luce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I left this as plainly "read" briefly to mull over my rating and review, bouncing between a 3* and 4* I've settled on a 4*. I won't mark this as revolutionary writing, nor was it personally significant. But it was a thrilling, and at times terrifying (I don't hold up well in the thriller/horror genre as a rule), reading experience. I was hooked from the first to the last. This collection of short stories are all marked with an ever-so-slightly, shall we say unsettling, twist. Resolutions sparse, Jeremy Dyson provokes instead a curious gaze into the possibilities of quick storytelling. His experience as screenwriter is immediately apparent. Each tale could be the pilot for the next Inside no.9-esque TV programme, and it's translation onto screen would come with ease. An alltogether enjoyable read.

[jaroiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Po dočtení jsem se musela podívat, jaké je autor národnosti, protože z toho dýchá takový ten správně suchý anglický humor. Lehce hororový nádech a zajímavá atmosféra. Ale samozřejmě, některé povídky jsou lepší než jiné.
Nejvíc hororové pro mě bylo líčení "prodejní akce" v povídce Výprodej elektrospotřebičů. Šmejdi! A nejvíc se mi líbila povídka Předpovědi bankovního automatu (trochu mi připomněla logiku z filmu Jáchyme, hoď ho do stroje!). Ale líbí se mi opravdu ten nápad. Kdyby banky přidaly k lístečku z bankomatu třeba horoskop, možná bych z bankomatu i vybírala. :)

[T.C. Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most perfect collections of short stories I've ever read.

Every story in there has its merits - but my favourite by far is the penultimate one, The Engine of Desire. Genuinely unforgettable.

I've since devoured The Cranes That Build The Cranes. And the second Jeremy Dyson brings out another collection, I'll be devouring that one too.

[Sarah Staunton-lamb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had forgotten how wonderfully obtuse and down right random these stories were. I originally bought the book as a huge fan of the league of gentleman and I was not disappointed. Get read to be uncomfortable and challenged. Loved it

[Andrew Wild-Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of shorts

Short tales with a mixture of styles and feels, but all intriguing in their own way. Mr Dyson showing his imagination and story creating abilities in a wonderful way.

[Coral Davies · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautifully written but pretty damn boring. I skimmed most of the stories hence the quick, sporadic reading progress.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A interesting collection, but it's yet as confident as his latter collection 'The Cranes that build the Cranes'.

[Trinity · Rating 5 out of 5]

(p.207) "Aspici quo vos ducit Desiderii Instrumentum" - 'See where it takes you, the Engine of Desire'

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

They were all great stories.

[Estelio Ammen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, so unnerving.

[Mitchan · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5
Unmemorable stories are well written but the endings are anticlimactic.

[Dalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book let me down.

I really wanted to love it. The writing was beautiful, and the plots interesting. Most of the stories have very promising beginnings, but they end too abruptly, they just don't deliver. A Last Look at the Sea is my personal favourite, I keep going back to it. I struggled to finish The Engine of Desire, and after I did I really wished I didn't, but that's just my personal taste.

[Muhammad Hafizh · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the uniquest books I have ever read. This book is filled with some short stories which I believe had nothing in common, except; they are all philosophical. The events in the stories are not to be seen in real life, but somehow, I can relate to the stories inside it. I will definitely recommend it for someone who loves hidden moral values inside of a story.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Realized I never wrote a review for this book, but I also don’t remember much of it. Each story was a fun read honestly, but I remember being confused about each of the endings and feeling kind of unsatisfied. Overall, pretty good.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a lot of short story collections and anthologies. I read this years and years ago, but Dyson is still up there with the best.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disturbing. Magical. Alchemical.

[Kelv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only half way through - but, bloody excellent!

[TwitBookClub]

Great collection of short stories.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some intriguing short stories. As is often the way with this genre some are very good- others less so. Puts me mind of Roald Dahl's (adult) stuff though rather more surreal

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed some stories but felt some weren't quite as good.

[Jay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nedočetl jsem to. Byla to intelekutální srágora a na tyhle pseudohorory prokládáné uměním vážně nejsem.

[Mahfey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't read this if you are expecting League of Gentlemen. This is different and yes, there is a smell of Tales of the Unexpected about it, but a generation on.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Little BigGirl]

bit like the Twilight Zone, but in paperback form.

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of short stories.

[Akylina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only read "City Deep" out of this collection. I might come back to it to read more some time.