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RABBITBOX
Not yet published
Expected 12 Mar 26A transfixing, heart-rending work which follows a mother and her young son living under the shadow of an all-consuming domestic threat, by T. S. Eliot Prize-shortlisted poet Wayne Holloway-Smith.
24 Coalbrook Street. The house is trembling with a father's anger. It makes a rabbit of a young boy, sends him burrowing into a wardrobe, and leaves his mother standing hapless and mute over the kitchen sink. In this house, how far can a mother’s comfort travel?
From the safety of his hiding place, from the magnitude of his fear, a young girl appears offering a way out. Taking him by the hand, reaching through time, she leads him elsewhere; a mother’s love dreaming him away from their reality to the promise – beautiful yet flickering – of a river.
Haunting, precise and tender, RABBITBOX heralds a major new work from one of Britain's most exciting writers.
--
‘It takes a rare poet to make such magic of such brutality, but Holloway-Smith is the rarest tender, curious, vivid, and wild. He bunches language like a fist, one that unravels into shadow butterflies, the idea of escape...
24 Coalbrook Street. The house is trembling with a father's anger. It makes a rabbit of a young boy, sends him burrowing into a wardrobe, and leaves his mother standing hapless and mute over the kitchen sink. In this house, how far can a mother’s comfort travel?
From the safety of his hiding place, from the magnitude of his fear, a young girl appears offering a way out. Taking him by the hand, reaching through time, she leads him elsewhere; a mother’s love dreaming him away from their reality to the promise – beautiful yet flickering – of a river.
Haunting, precise and tender, RABBITBOX heralds a major new work from one of Britain's most exciting writers.
--
‘It takes a rare poet to make such magic of such brutality, but Holloway-Smith is the rarest tender, curious, vivid, and wild. He bunches language like a fist, one that unravels into shadow butterflies, the idea of escape...
Kindle Edition
Expected publication March 12, 2026
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 1, 2025
Trigger Warnings
▸ Domestic violence
▸ Abusive husband and father
▸ Excessive alcohol consumption
RABBITBOX is a poetic masterpiece, utilising the art of the long-sentence to depict the brutal realities of a mother and son living under the thumb of an abusive husband and father.
This was a poignantly written book: every raw emotion was encapsulated in a powerful, truthful and intensely thought-provoking manner — from the ferocity of a mother's love and the guilt that can often coexist with this, to the fear from both a child's and an adult's perspective.
However, there were also times of peace throughout this book, such as the times of the mother's hope and longing for a calmer life, and the son's maladaptive daydreaming used as a form of escapism from the abuse. Several times I found myself dreading the end of these more peaceful verses as I knew the father would soon be making another appearance — likely mirroring the mother and son's own dread regarding his arrival home.
I found the repeated reminder of there being "no photos" an interesting element in this book. — There are no photos that serve as a reminder of the events, but the memories are a reminder likely more vivid than any camera could ever capture.
"The mind recalls" — and that it did. It recalled. It dwelled. It repressed. And then it recalled again.
This book has made a lasting impression on me; one in which I was expecting, but not quite expecting to this extent. Bravo to you, Mr. Holloway-Smith!
Thank you to NetGalley, Wayne Holloway-Smith, and Simon & Schuster UK | Scribner UK for gifting this eBook in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.
❀ Tia ❀
▸ Domestic violence
▸ Abusive husband and father
▸ Excessive alcohol consumption
RABBITBOX is a poetic masterpiece, utilising the art of the long-sentence to depict the brutal realities of a mother and son living under the thumb of an abusive husband and father.
This was a poignantly written book: every raw emotion was encapsulated in a powerful, truthful and intensely thought-provoking manner — from the ferocity of a mother's love and the guilt that can often coexist with this, to the fear from both a child's and an adult's perspective.
However, there were also times of peace throughout this book, such as the times of the mother's hope and longing for a calmer life, and the son's maladaptive daydreaming used as a form of escapism from the abuse. Several times I found myself dreading the end of these more peaceful verses as I knew the father would soon be making another appearance — likely mirroring the mother and son's own dread regarding his arrival home.
I found the repeated reminder of there being "no photos" an interesting element in this book. — There are no photos that serve as a reminder of the events, but the memories are a reminder likely more vivid than any camera could ever capture.
"The mind recalls" — and that it did. It recalled. It dwelled. It repressed. And then it recalled again.
This book has made a lasting impression on me; one in which I was expecting, but not quite expecting to this extent. Bravo to you, Mr. Holloway-Smith!
Thank you to NetGalley, Wayne Holloway-Smith, and Simon & Schuster UK | Scribner UK for gifting this eBook in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.
❀ Tia ❀
October 6, 2025
Sometimes you read a book that leaves indelible mark upon you; the subject and power of the content stays and keeps returning. Rabbitbox is such a book.
Wayne Holloway-Smith has written a book of such immense intensity and also" beauty". This is a book about domestic violence ; the abuse towards a mother and son by a drunken husband and father. How can a word such as beauty be used in this context ?
This is poetry that digs deep in to the lives of the mother and son and explores their raw emotions- the fear and violence but also the times of peace and calm- the sanctuaries they escape to for inner quiet and safety and this where the beauty of the prose pulls our feelings deeply as we know that there are moments of respite and tranquility amidst the 'eggshell' fear as moments can change in a second. ( tiptoeing around a drunken sleeping man)
This is a book that needs reading. Wayne Holloway-Smith's attention to the minutiae of life are magnified in their detail and power and the impact is incredible and somehow tender.
The place of safety for the boy is a wardrobe where he 'imagines' a young girl who by simply holding his hand aids a sense of escape out into the garden and beyond to water- she is his safety mechanism. Our feelings are longing for the young child and his mother to find an escape
I read this book twice and each time pausing after certain sections to breathe and reflect . This is a book that deserves attention and plaudits. One of the top reads for 2026 - no question ! And deservedly so.
Rabbitbox is shocking, tender, heart-breaking and so so powerful. Superb and highly recommended
Sometimes you read a book that leaves indelible mark upon you; the subject and power of the content stays and keeps returning. Rabbitbox is such a book.
Wayne Holloway-Smith has written a book of such immense intensity and also" beauty". This is a book about domestic violence ; the abuse towards a mother and son by a drunken husband and father. How can a word such as beauty be used in this context ?
This is poetry that digs deep in to the lives of the mother and son and explores their raw emotions- the fear and violence but also the times of peace and calm- the sanctuaries they escape to for inner quiet and safety and this where the beauty of the prose pulls our feelings deeply as we know that there are moments of respite and tranquility amidst the 'eggshell' fear as moments can change in a second. ( tiptoeing around a drunken sleeping man)
This is a book that needs reading. Wayne Holloway-Smith's attention to the minutiae of life are magnified in their detail and power and the impact is incredible and somehow tender.
The place of safety for the boy is a wardrobe where he 'imagines' a young girl who by simply holding his hand aids a sense of escape out into the garden and beyond to water- she is his safety mechanism. Our feelings are longing for the young child and his mother to find an escape
I read this book twice and each time pausing after certain sections to breathe and reflect . This is a book that deserves attention and plaudits. One of the top reads for 2026 - no question ! And deservedly so.
Rabbitbox is shocking, tender, heart-breaking and so so powerful. Superb and highly recommended.
Thank you to Scribner publishers and NetGalley for the advance read
Wayne Holloway-Smith has written a book of such immense intensity and also" beauty". This is a book about domestic violence ; the abuse towards a mother and son by a drunken husband and father. How can a word such as beauty be used in this context ?
This is poetry that digs deep in to the lives of the mother and son and explores their raw emotions- the fear and violence but also the times of peace and calm- the sanctuaries they escape to for inner quiet and safety and this where the beauty of the prose pulls our feelings deeply as we know that there are moments of respite and tranquility amidst the 'eggshell' fear as moments can change in a second. ( tiptoeing around a drunken sleeping man)
This is a book that needs reading. Wayne Holloway-Smith's attention to the minutiae of life are magnified in their detail and power and the impact is incredible and somehow tender.
The place of safety for the boy is a wardrobe where he 'imagines' a young girl who by simply holding his hand aids a sense of escape out into the garden and beyond to water- she is his safety mechanism. Our feelings are longing for the young child and his mother to find an escape
I read this book twice and each time pausing after certain sections to breathe and reflect . This is a book that deserves attention and plaudits. One of the top reads for 2026 - no question ! And deservedly so.
Rabbitbox is shocking, tender, heart-breaking and so so powerful. Superb and highly recommended
Sometimes you read a book that leaves indelible mark upon you; the subject and power of the content stays and keeps returning. Rabbitbox is such a book.
Wayne Holloway-Smith has written a book of such immense intensity and also" beauty". This is a book about domestic violence ; the abuse towards a mother and son by a drunken husband and father. How can a word such as beauty be used in this context ?
This is poetry that digs deep in to the lives of the mother and son and explores their raw emotions- the fear and violence but also the times of peace and calm- the sanctuaries they escape to for inner quiet and safety and this where the beauty of the prose pulls our feelings deeply as we know that there are moments of respite and tranquility amidst the 'eggshell' fear as moments can change in a second. ( tiptoeing around a drunken sleeping man)
This is a book that needs reading. Wayne Holloway-Smith's attention to the minutiae of life are magnified in their detail and power and the impact is incredible and somehow tender.
The place of safety for the boy is a wardrobe where he 'imagines' a young girl who by simply holding his hand aids a sense of escape out into the garden and beyond to water- she is his safety mechanism. Our feelings are longing for the young child and his mother to find an escape
I read this book twice and each time pausing after certain sections to breathe and reflect . This is a book that deserves attention and plaudits. One of the top reads for 2026 - no question ! And deservedly so.
Rabbitbox is shocking, tender, heart-breaking and so so powerful. Superb and highly recommended.
Thank you to Scribner publishers and NetGalley for the advance read
September 26, 2025
RABBITBOX by the poet Wayne Holloway-Smith is an absolute tour-de-force, a beautiful, yet brutal, story of a young boy and his mother living under the violence of a man supposed to care for them. This absolutely floored me - it so vividly real, so truthful. It is a work which made me care deeply for the boy and his mother - and fear the father's appearance. Despite the brutality there is tenderness here, warmth and real honesty. Five stars from me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
December 1, 2025
i didn’t really know what to expect when i started reading RABBITBOX. i’d group it with GRIEF IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS and OPEN THROAT — a poem-as-novel that is a precise but often abstrqct excavation of a feeling
RABBITBOX follows a young boy and his mother trapped in an abusive home, their only reprieves from violence and fear is her daydreaming into the past and his shelter in the wardrobe. the plot is, i think purposely, a little unclear — the boy has an imaginary friend named Alma who comforts him, but i think this could also be his mother as a child. they seem to escape the house and play by a river, but even that potentially only a dream. the narrator, too, is shrouded — is it the boy, the father, someone omniscient?
Holloway-Smith’s writing is moving and tender, and my favourite parts were when the narrator describes the action as shown through a film projector or as shadow puppets on a wall. a really beautiful, evocative technique
RABBITBOX has a dreamy and, at times, nightmarish quality to it, and i think i need to read it again to really grasp it. it’s powerful and it’s sad
thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for the ARC
RABBITBOX follows a young boy and his mother trapped in an abusive home, their only reprieves from violence and fear is her daydreaming into the past and his shelter in the wardrobe. the plot is, i think purposely, a little unclear — the boy has an imaginary friend named Alma who comforts him, but i think this could also be his mother as a child. they seem to escape the house and play by a river, but even that potentially only a dream. the narrator, too, is shrouded — is it the boy, the father, someone omniscient?
Holloway-Smith’s writing is moving and tender, and my favourite parts were when the narrator describes the action as shown through a film projector or as shadow puppets on a wall. a really beautiful, evocative technique
RABBITBOX has a dreamy and, at times, nightmarish quality to it, and i think i need to read it again to really grasp it. it’s powerful and it’s sad
thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for the ARC
December 12, 2025
This is a very unusual short novel written really in the form of a very long poem
The story tells of small boy living in a household with a violent father
This novel will no doubt have its lovers it’s one of those marmite books love it or hate it hate. I didn’t really manage to enjoy it there are some great bits and a feeling of tension and foreboding from the very beginning that I really couldn’t find a story in here to get my teeth into . I couldn’t really get to know the characters well enough to feel for them.
I read a copy of the novel early on NetGalley UK in return for an honest review. The book has published on the 12th of March 2026 by Simon and Schuster UK.
This review will appear on Goodreads, NetGalley UK, StoryGraph, and my book blog bionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com
After publication, it will also appear on Amazon and Waterstones online
The story tells of small boy living in a household with a violent father
This novel will no doubt have its lovers it’s one of those marmite books love it or hate it hate. I didn’t really manage to enjoy it there are some great bits and a feeling of tension and foreboding from the very beginning that I really couldn’t find a story in here to get my teeth into . I couldn’t really get to know the characters well enough to feel for them.
I read a copy of the novel early on NetGalley UK in return for an honest review. The book has published on the 12th of March 2026 by Simon and Schuster UK.
This review will appear on Goodreads, NetGalley UK, StoryGraph, and my book blog bionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com
After publication, it will also appear on Amazon and Waterstones online
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews