Rabbit, Fox, Tar

P C Verrone

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Book cover for Rabbit, Fox, Tar
Image for variant 9781646223176
Book cover for Rabbit, Fox, Tar
Image for variant 9781646223176

Rabbit, Fox, Tar

Rabbit, Fox, Tar

P C Verrone

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Description

A mesmerizing, fable-like debut novel about a mysterious young Black woman whose arrival in an insular neighborhood threatens to shake its foundations

When Baby appears in Original Hill, her name is on everyone's lips. A young Black woman is a rare sight in this part of town, and she sits all day on the Foxes' garden wall, swinging her bare feet and speaking to no one. That is, until the charismatic Lucius "Lucky" Foote comes along and touches her, sparking their romance. Arm-in-arm with Baby, who seems to exert a seemingly supernatural pull on the other residents, Lucky is confident he will secure the open city council seat away from Baby's uncle Eugene Fox, the back-from-retirement white incumbent.

With protestors reopening old wounds around the Black neighborhood that was leveled by the nearby highway decades ago and Lucky threatening his position, Fox believes it's not just a city council seat at stake, but the "soul" of Original Hill.

As Baby is woven further into the unraveling community, she begins to stray from Fox's strict rules and question everything, from where she came from to who--and what--she truly is.

About the Author

P.C. VERRONE's work has appeared in FIYAH, PodCastle, Nightmare, and numerous anthologies. He has been a Tin House Resident, a Playwrights' Center Fellow, and a WNDB Black Creatives Revisions Workshop winner. He graduated from Harvard College and holds an MFA in creative writing from Rutgers University-Newark. He lives in Dallas with his husband, a historian.

Critical Reviews

Literary Hub, A Summer Must-Read
Debutiful
, A Most Anticipated Book of the Year

"A novel that does it all . . . It works on a sentence level and a structural level and a political level. It works as a fable and as a grounded, human story . . . It's an outstanding, singular novel that kept me under its spell until the very end." --McKayla Coyle, Literary Hub

"A novel that breathes new life into a classic folktale . . . [Verrone's] pacing is excellent, keeping the reader in suspense to the startling end . . . This reimagining is quite good; Verrone seems to have a boundless imagination, which bodes very well for his literary future. A strong and inventive debut." --Kirkus Reviews

"Verrone grounds the story with references to the very real history of Black Americans' displacement in Minnesota and develops Baby's character with fascinating bits of folklore and magical realism. There's a lot to enjoy in this ambitious tale." --Publishers Weekly

"Verrone's sparkling reworking of American folklore's tar baby tale compels, haunts and delights all at once--a remarkable debut!" --Claire Messud, author of This Strange Eventful History

"P.C. Verrone's debut novel Rabbit, Fox, Tar is as haunting as it is enchanting. Innovative in its play on one of America's best known folktales, adroit in its exploration of themes ranging from gentrification, political campaigning and racial dispossession to the complexities of race, desire and selfhood, and written with incomparable lyricism and verve, Rabbit, Fox, Tar offers a striking new take on a quintessential American story." --John Keene, author of Punks

"Rabbit, Fox, Tar is a reminder that history clings to us, and we can never completely escape its grip. Verrone demonstrates a true tenet of Sankofa, going back into the past to retrieve what is important and bringing it forward to assist with the troubles of today and prepare for the future. Inspired by Black American folklore and rooted in West African principles, this is magical realism that is relevant, timely, and haunting." --Eden Royce, author of Hollow Tongue

"Rabbit, Fox, Tar moves like a story that knows where it comes from and reads like a conversation between folks who understand Black life not as spectacle or lesson, but as a gift and an inheritance." --Natashia Deón, author of Grace and The Perishing

Publishing Information

Publisher: Catapult
Pub date: 2026-06-02
Length: 304 pages

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