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Rabbit Skin Glue
A woman comes to terms with the human condition.
94 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 24, 2021
17 people are currently reading
687 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Bedlam
92 books246 followersElizabeth Bedlam is a writer of satire, dark humor, and low-brow literary fiction. She has been featured in anthologies and zines that you've probably never heard of including Anti-This/Anti-That, Low Life, Horror Sleaze Trash, and Soiled Purity.
Her most-read works include Rabbit Skin Glue and Lucy the Satanist. She has been praised for her realistic depictions of neurotic females.
Elizabeth is a Michigan native. She currently lives and writes from Melbourne, AU.
Correspond!
Instagram: @elizabeth.bedlam or @swann.bedlam
Email: elizabethbedlam@gmail.com
Website: swannbedlam.com
Her most-read works include Rabbit Skin Glue and Lucy the Satanist. She has been praised for her realistic depictions of neurotic females.
Elizabeth is a Michigan native. She currently lives and writes from Melbourne, AU.
Correspond!
Instagram: @elizabeth.bedlam or @swann.bedlam
Email: elizabethbedlam@gmail.com
Website: swannbedlam.com
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
January 14, 2022
Ever wanted to take a deep trip into the mind of insanity? In Rabbit Skin Glue Iris beckons us to take that journey. Fasten your seatbelts, it is a hell of a ride. We find our main character, Iris, commissioning a painting. Not just any painting. A painting that will predict how she will die. While she is waiting she becomes convinced a rabbit, called Slipshod, is residing within her body. As her madness deepens you will find your mind slipping too. Soon Slipshod will need to be born from his constrictive womb. Will Iris survive the labor to bring her beloved rabbit into reality?
This was some serious good writing. I felt like I was wrapped up in the madness that was Iris. Very good read.
🐱🐱🐱🐱
This was some serious good writing. I felt like I was wrapped up in the madness that was Iris. Very good read.
🐱🐱🐱🐱
September 1, 2021
'Bedlam's back with a bloody big BANG!'
Quite a fantastic surreal, psychological thriller about a well-to-do female socialite slowly descending into the world of insanity, murder and hideous mayhem all the time being led by a talking hibernating rabbit who could very well be either her saviour or a representation of the very devil himself.
The setting had a very definite 'Roaring 20's' feel to it, whilst also containing smatterings of an even deeper, darker and mildly more sinister version of a grotesque and completely mad 'Alice in Wonderland'.
Lots of great action with a storyline which certainly provides plenty food for thought - well crafted and highly intelligent in construction, although I did feel that one or two areas could have been revisited, addressed further or simply given more attention in order to provide the reader with an even greater insight into several of the sub-plots which ultimately would have taken this already pleasurable experience to a possible stratospheric level.
Yep, as is the case with many of the more recent Bedlam adventures, Liz shows once again that she is a master craftsman when it comes to mental illness and on this occasion one is left asking themselves if young Iris actually does manage to find a kind of peace in her eventual corporeal release from anxieties such as temptation, fear and uncertainty. Gawd- that damned rabbit!
I swear this lady's writing is just getting better and better, then again I do count myself lucky enough to be one of her most ardent of fans. Well done Liz, once again, loved it!
Right, let me think, what just happened...??
Not quite the complete article, but not far off - highly recommended.
Rating: 4.5 beautiful stars on the road to ultimate insanity.
Quite a fantastic surreal, psychological thriller about a well-to-do female socialite slowly descending into the world of insanity, murder and hideous mayhem all the time being led by a talking hibernating rabbit who could very well be either her saviour or a representation of the very devil himself.
The setting had a very definite 'Roaring 20's' feel to it, whilst also containing smatterings of an even deeper, darker and mildly more sinister version of a grotesque and completely mad 'Alice in Wonderland'.
Lots of great action with a storyline which certainly provides plenty food for thought - well crafted and highly intelligent in construction, although I did feel that one or two areas could have been revisited, addressed further or simply given more attention in order to provide the reader with an even greater insight into several of the sub-plots which ultimately would have taken this already pleasurable experience to a possible stratospheric level.
Yep, as is the case with many of the more recent Bedlam adventures, Liz shows once again that she is a master craftsman when it comes to mental illness and on this occasion one is left asking themselves if young Iris actually does manage to find a kind of peace in her eventual corporeal release from anxieties such as temptation, fear and uncertainty. Gawd- that damned rabbit!
I swear this lady's writing is just getting better and better, then again I do count myself lucky enough to be one of her most ardent of fans. Well done Liz, once again, loved it!
Right, let me think, what just happened...??
Not quite the complete article, but not far off - highly recommended.
Rating: 4.5 beautiful stars on the road to ultimate insanity.
October 2, 2021
This book was well-written and carefully crafted. As I read the first third I felt I was in for a treat. The protagonist was visiting a fortune-teller in order to ascertain when she would die. Her sister had just died and apparently suicide ran in her family even more strongly than it does in the Hemingways'. I liked the family dynamics that were slowly being revealed through the protagonist's actions and memories, the relationships with the household staff, and that she was worried now that she was the last of her family.
Then at the one third point the story took a sharp turn and the protagonist revealed herself as an unreliable narrator. I felt sad at this because I had liked and trusted this protagonist and was sympathizing with her, but now I would have to carefully filter what she was revealing to me her reader because she was clearly a little bit crazy paranoid. I was going to miss this protagonist voice that had got me on her side. But okay, we still have an interesting story going here.
Then the story took a very sharp turn into bizarro world. Then, at maybe the 38% point the story became difficult for me to follow, especially in the chapter where we meet Iris's fiancee, Lawrence, complete with the the hard partying and tons of new throw-away characters, and the illusions that resulted due to the drugs taken. In fact, the author lost me as a reader at this point initially.
Almost a week later, I decided to come back and give the book another try, picking up from where I left off at about the 49% point, and boy am I glad I did! The book clears up nicely and is truly a suspense roller coaster ride after that. We get lots of action, lots of conflict between Iris and Slipshod, the rabbit. It's a good tension between whether everything depicted is really happening or whether Iris is just batshit crazy. That tension never completely resolves, though I prefer to read it one way. The neat point is the tension doesn't have to resolve. It doesn't change the story whichever the case happens to be.
The book had a wonderful and appropriate ending too. I will definitely read more of this author.
Then at the one third point the story took a sharp turn and the protagonist revealed herself as an unreliable narrator. I felt sad at this because I had liked and trusted this protagonist and was sympathizing with her, but now I would have to carefully filter what she was revealing to me her reader because she was clearly a little bit crazy paranoid. I was going to miss this protagonist voice that had got me on her side. But okay, we still have an interesting story going here.
Then the story took a very sharp turn into bizarro world. Then, at maybe the 38% point the story became difficult for me to follow, especially in the chapter where we meet Iris's fiancee, Lawrence, complete with the the hard partying and tons of new throw-away characters, and the illusions that resulted due to the drugs taken. In fact, the author lost me as a reader at this point initially.
Almost a week later, I decided to come back and give the book another try, picking up from where I left off at about the 49% point, and boy am I glad I did! The book clears up nicely and is truly a suspense roller coaster ride after that. We get lots of action, lots of conflict between Iris and Slipshod, the rabbit. It's a good tension between whether everything depicted is really happening or whether Iris is just batshit crazy. That tension never completely resolves, though I prefer to read it one way. The neat point is the tension doesn't have to resolve. It doesn't change the story whichever the case happens to be.
The book had a wonderful and appropriate ending too. I will definitely read more of this author.
October 3, 2022
Story 5/5
Narration 5/5
Rabbit Skin Blue by Elizabeth Bedlam, is a very creative bloody story about depression and madness.
I loved it!!!
🐇🐰🐇🐰🐇
Narration 5/5
Rabbit Skin Blue by Elizabeth Bedlam, is a very creative bloody story about depression and madness.
I loved it!!!
🐇🐰🐇🐰🐇
October 22, 2021
This is a strange book, very dark and confusing at times. It is easy to read so much into this story as we don’t know what is real or not, and hence the confusion.
A short book with a nicely told crazy story, with plenty of humour amongst the gore (there is quite a lot of blood). I liked the way the author writes; one moment it is quite sweet and then the next really quite shocking.
I really liked the protagonist too, she is a very old fashioned young lady, all alone and clearly suffering with paranoia. She is too young to be so alone. Somehow being so utterly bonkers, naive and rude all at the same time and she manages to be oddly endearing.
It seemed to me that perhaps mental illness was at the heart of this, but then maybe life is just messed up and we should stop looking for lots of hidden meanings, maybe it’s just a fun story - I’m not sure even now.
Overall a crazy but fun read - it certainly kept me hooked and is definitely one for those who like things weird and gory, so not for the faint of heart. A decent 4*/5 for me.
A short book with a nicely told crazy story, with plenty of humour amongst the gore (there is quite a lot of blood). I liked the way the author writes; one moment it is quite sweet and then the next really quite shocking.
I really liked the protagonist too, she is a very old fashioned young lady, all alone and clearly suffering with paranoia. She is too young to be so alone. Somehow being so utterly bonkers, naive and rude all at the same time and she manages to be oddly endearing.
It seemed to me that perhaps mental illness was at the heart of this, but then maybe life is just messed up and we should stop looking for lots of hidden meanings, maybe it’s just a fun story - I’m not sure even now.
Overall a crazy but fun read - it certainly kept me hooked and is definitely one for those who like things weird and gory, so not for the faint of heart. A decent 4*/5 for me.
March 11, 2022
Well this was a wild trip. This novella will make you feel like you're going mad. This was a blast. Read this now.
November 5, 2021
what a wonderful descent into madness. richly layered franticness that filled me with joy. brilliant.
October 22, 2021
Rabbit Skin Glue follows Iris who comes from an interesting family I'd have liked to learn more of. She suffers from some sort of mental illness (or maybe it really was some sort of black magic) which leads her astray - queue the delusions, murder, cannibalism, and a story that is thoroughly entertaining and batshit crazy (or maybe that should be rabbit shit crazy!). It made for an enthralling read.
You can argue the toss about what this story is about. It's wide open for interpretation and you can find meaning in a lot of what the author has to say; or you could just take it at face value. I myself like to think Slipshod the 🐇 represented her declining mental health. As he grew stronger, she lost more and more of her mental facilities until she eventually lost the battle completely. But who really knows?
You can argue the toss about what this story is about. It's wide open for interpretation and you can find meaning in a lot of what the author has to say; or you could just take it at face value. I myself like to think Slipshod the 🐇 represented her declining mental health. As he grew stronger, she lost more and more of her mental facilities until she eventually lost the battle completely. But who really knows?
February 19, 2022
After all of Iris' female relatives died she sought out the Cony Oracle to find out when and how she will die. What follows is full of madness, paranoia, murder and a rabbit growing inside her.
I love Bedlam's writing and this book was no exception. Throughout the book I questioned whether this was something really happening to the character or if it would turn out to be a hallucination.
I love Bedlam's writing and this book was no exception. Throughout the book I questioned whether this was something really happening to the character or if it would turn out to be a hallucination.
December 18, 2021
Huh, I thought I reviewed this. Frickin' brain is turning to mush . . . anyway . . . this was one of, if not, my favorite reads this year. Give it a go, I think you'll like it. If you don't, then take comfort in knowing that you are wrong. It's too much pressure being right all of the time.
June 22, 2025
1,5 STARS! this was remarkably fucking weird, like hello, THIS BITCH WAS TALKING TO A DEMON BUNNY THROUGH HER HOOCH. the thing is it had so much potential, i usually enjoy weird shit like this and the writing was compelling in that sense, but it got too fucking weird and stopped making sense towards the end. what the fuck was wrong with her? like why did we only get hints at someone else’s pov of her, and nothing else? NO EXPLANATIONS. pissed me the fuck off. but it was also kind of funny at some points.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 22, 2024
Obsessive-compulsive Donnie Darko meets The Yellow Wallpaper. Exactly my brand of weird. 4.5/5 because the ending was abrupt and I wanted a little bit more.
April 3, 2022
My second book by Elizabeth Bedlam
My first book was Hello, Old Friend and I really enjoyed it.
Rabbit Skin Glue, was a great read. I was really expecting a final twist that did not come. The reasoning gave it 3.5 stars but I rounded it to 4. The story is very different, something I haven't read before. Rabbit Skin Glue, is a way of art and painting. Elizabeth, uses this to make a story of a painting that will tell the future of your death.
Iris' family has all died and she pays to have a painting made that will tell her when she will die. The first part of this is to sacrifice a rabbit, that then takes up resident inside her. The rabbits name is Slipshod and he wants to be reborn from iris with the help from her. As madness depends and murders take place will iris find out how she dies, will slipshod be reborn?
My first book was Hello, Old Friend and I really enjoyed it.
Rabbit Skin Glue, was a great read. I was really expecting a final twist that did not come. The reasoning gave it 3.5 stars but I rounded it to 4. The story is very different, something I haven't read before. Rabbit Skin Glue, is a way of art and painting. Elizabeth, uses this to make a story of a painting that will tell the future of your death.
Iris' family has all died and she pays to have a painting made that will tell her when she will die. The first part of this is to sacrifice a rabbit, that then takes up resident inside her. The rabbits name is Slipshod and he wants to be reborn from iris with the help from her. As madness depends and murders take place will iris find out how she dies, will slipshod be reborn?
October 21, 2021
Contains: Mental illness, homicide, cannibalism, and a 1920s setting.
Genre(s): Horror, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism
Summery: It's questionable whether or not the main character has an actual mental illness or is truly at the mercy of magic-gone-wrong, but this is the story of her spiralling out of control with the encouragement of her "spirt animal" - a fluffy bunny of dubious intent which lives inside her body.
What I enjoyed about this story: It was just so bizarre an idea I couldn't stop reading. I needed to find out what ultimately happens to the main character.
What I didn't enjoy about this story: The author writes about such an interesting family that I just wanted to learn more about them.
Official rating: 4 stars
Genre(s): Horror, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism
Summery: It's questionable whether or not the main character has an actual mental illness or is truly at the mercy of magic-gone-wrong, but this is the story of her spiralling out of control with the encouragement of her "spirt animal" - a fluffy bunny of dubious intent which lives inside her body.
What I enjoyed about this story: It was just so bizarre an idea I couldn't stop reading. I needed to find out what ultimately happens to the main character.
What I didn't enjoy about this story: The author writes about such an interesting family that I just wanted to learn more about them.
Official rating: 4 stars
April 18, 2023
Rabbit Skin Glue is a novel about a rich, spoiled woman's rapidly deteriorating grasp on reality, leading her to insanity. Because her family have all died or disappeared she's obsessed with her mortality, paying an even richer, more spoiled woman to paint her portrait showcasing her destiny. This involves some white voodoo involving a sacrificial rabbit slaughtered so its blood and entrails will be used for paint in the portrait.
Bedlam's spare, quick writing style is replaced with a slower, more cerebral style, which makes the story drag longer that it needs to. The ending also doesn't play out to full satisfaction, either. There almost feels an evasiveness to ending things the way they should. Rabbit Skin Glue was amusing but frustrating.
Bedlam's spare, quick writing style is replaced with a slower, more cerebral style, which makes the story drag longer that it needs to. The ending also doesn't play out to full satisfaction, either. There almost feels an evasiveness to ending things the way they should. Rabbit Skin Glue was amusing but frustrating.
July 15, 2024
Rabbit Skin Glue
By Elizabeth Bedlam
Well that was a mind fuck.... This was a dark bleak descent into obsession and madness. This was a brutal, psychological fever dream that will keep you turning pages and guessing until the end. Elizabeth Bedlam rules she just has a very unique and intelligent writing style that just draws you in and then just hits you with violence and ultimately leaves you going holy shit that's really fucked up. I highly recommend this and anything Elizabeth Bedlam wrties.
By Elizabeth Bedlam
Well that was a mind fuck.... This was a dark bleak descent into obsession and madness. This was a brutal, psychological fever dream that will keep you turning pages and guessing until the end. Elizabeth Bedlam rules she just has a very unique and intelligent writing style that just draws you in and then just hits you with violence and ultimately leaves you going holy shit that's really fucked up. I highly recommend this and anything Elizabeth Bedlam wrties.
May 12, 2024
I loved this.
It was a descent into madness that was reminiscent of Esther Greenwood (The Bell Jar) and Alice in Wonderland. A combination of rich, out-of-touch psychosis and an unreliable narrator in a world that doesn't make sense.
There was A LOT of murder all performed by a crazy lady who believed a rabbit was living inside her and telling her what to do.
I thoroughly enjoyed this quick read
It was a descent into madness that was reminiscent of Esther Greenwood (The Bell Jar) and Alice in Wonderland. A combination of rich, out-of-touch psychosis and an unreliable narrator in a world that doesn't make sense.
There was A LOT of murder all performed by a crazy lady who believed a rabbit was living inside her and telling her what to do.
I thoroughly enjoyed this quick read
January 28, 2023
This book is an invitation to become mad together with our protagonist, Iris. I find her very likeable.
Be prepared for a satisfyingly bloody and mad journey, and be very prepared to never look at a bunny the same way again afterwards.
Be prepared for a satisfyingly bloody and mad journey, and be very prepared to never look at a bunny the same way again afterwards.
June 30, 2023
I don’t even know what the hell I just read. It will take some time to scrub the image of consuming rabbit skin glue porridge from my psyche, though. I really want to not like this book because it was so icky to me, but suspect that was the goal. And I’m a morbidly curious person. So…
February 26, 2024
I am so grateful that I listened to the audiobook for this because I can’t imagine it would have been quite the same without hearing the author herself narrating it. She was hilarious, flippant, and very much aware of how absurd her writing is. I wish more authors narrated their own books.
March 29, 2024
I really loved this novella, it was weird and trippy. Some scenes felt like I was reading a strange dream someone had. But I did feel like the ending was missing something for me. That is the only reason why I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars. I will be reading more from this author.
February 6, 2024
What the hell.
May 4, 2025
I enjoyed the book a lot. I can’t put this book down.
May 13, 2025
A lot of parts just felt like they were trying too hard for me…
June 11, 2025
Well...um...hmm...yeah, Elizabeth Bedlam is a weirdo. And I mean that in the best possible way.
July 1, 2025
She good?
August 19, 2023
This book is literally impossible to explain. It is psychosis and I love it.
February 21, 2025
Wow. I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t that.
🔸Summary:
Our low maintenance but upturned & spoiled Iris loses her entire family & finds herself wondering about her own demise. She seeks help from the Coney Oracle, who commissions a painting from the entrails of a rabbit Iris chose to butcher in order to predict her future. Iris becomes entangled in this act & finds herself more connected than she originally signed up for.
🔸Review:
This book is batshit insane. This is my third read from Bedlam and it did not disappoint. The greater message here I am still not sure of but it was quite an eventful read. I loved it except for the ending. And if I have said it once I’ve said it a million times, Bedlam seriously needs to invest in a good editor. The spelling & grammatical errors drive me insane. Thankfully in Rabbit Skin Glue they are few and far between but I personally tend to nitpick & hyper focus on them.
🔸Overall, the entire story was extremely entertaining & such a unique original idea. In particular, I thought it was very interesting to see the contrast of how Iris treats humans vs how she treats inanimate objects. The slow but painful downfall unfolding in this book is compelling. It’s like hate watching your evil neighbors house burn down. And the breakdown of the human psyche is harrowing when you come to terms with our delicacy.
🔸Summary:
Our low maintenance but upturned & spoiled Iris loses her entire family & finds herself wondering about her own demise. She seeks help from the Coney Oracle, who commissions a painting from the entrails of a rabbit Iris chose to butcher in order to predict her future. Iris becomes entangled in this act & finds herself more connected than she originally signed up for.
🔸Review:
This book is batshit insane. This is my third read from Bedlam and it did not disappoint. The greater message here I am still not sure of but it was quite an eventful read. I loved it except for the ending. And if I have said it once I’ve said it a million times, Bedlam seriously needs to invest in a good editor. The spelling & grammatical errors drive me insane. Thankfully in Rabbit Skin Glue they are few and far between but I personally tend to nitpick & hyper focus on them.
🔸Overall, the entire story was extremely entertaining & such a unique original idea. In particular, I thought it was very interesting to see the contrast of how Iris treats humans vs how she treats inanimate objects. The slow but painful downfall unfolding in this book is compelling. It’s like hate watching your evil neighbors house burn down. And the breakdown of the human psyche is harrowing when you come to terms with our delicacy.
October 2, 2023
A fever dream book. I loved it so much. I’m a huge Alice in Wonderland fan and this is the horror, old money, nightmare, witchy version of that story.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews