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Down the Rabbit Hole
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
31 posts | 20 read | 37 to read
"A brief and majestic debut." Matas Nspolo, El MundoTochtli lives in a palace. He loves hats, samurai, guillotines, and dictionaries, and what he wants more than anything right now is a new pet for his private zoo: a pygmy hippopotamus from Liberia. But Tochtli is a child whose father is a drug baron on the verge of taking over a powerful cartel, and Tochtli is growing up in a luxury hideout that he shares with hit men, prostitutes, dealers, servants, and the odd corrupt politician or two. Long-listed for The Guardian First Book Award, Down the Rabbit Hole, a masterful and darkly comic first novel, is the chronicle of a delirious journey to grant a child's wish.
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Bertha_Mason
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos

"If you want a Honduran passport there are two options: you‘re either a real Honduran or you go to jail. The worst thing for Mazatzin is that the men from the government of the country of Honduras think he‘s made fun of the country of Honduras. That‘s what the vice president said, that he also made fun of them by trying to use the ridiculous name of Franklin Gómez. The vice president was called Elvis Martínez."

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Bertha_Mason
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos

"Human remains aren‘t kept in baskets or crates of vintage brandy but in plastic bags from the supermarket, as if you could buy human remains in the supermarket. At the most you can buy cow, pig, or chicken remains in the supermarket. I think if they sold severed heads in the supermarket people would use them to make pozole."

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Bertha_Mason
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos

"I always cry when I get these pains, but I‘m not a faggot. Being ill is different from being a faggot. If you‘re ill it‘s all right to cry, Yolcaut told me."

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Bertha_Mason
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos

"We don‘t use our tigers for suicides or for murders. Miztli and Chichilkuali do the murders with orifices made from bullets. I don‘t know how we do the suicides, but we don‘t do them with tigers. We use the tigers for eating the corpses. And we use our lion for that, too."

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Bertha_Mason
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos

"It seems like the country of Liberia is a disastrous country. Mexico is a disastrous country, too. It‘s such a disastrous country that you can‘t get hold of a Liberian pygmy hippopotamus. Actually, that‘s what you call being a third-world country."

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Bertha_Mason
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos

"I like French people because they take off the crown before they cut off their kings‘ heads. That way the crown doesn‘t get dented and you can keep it in a museum in Paris or sell it to someone with lots of money, like us."

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Bertha_Mason
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos

It's finally spring here, and early spring is Juan Pablo Villalobo season.

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Bertha_Mason
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos

"The most normal thing to do is to cut off the head, although, actually, you can cut anything. It‘s because of the neck. If we didn‘t have a neck it would be different. It might be normal to cut bodies in half down the middle so as to have two corpses. But we have a neck and this is a really big temptation. Especially for French people."

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Bertha_Mason
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos

"Some people say I‘m precocious. They say it mainly because they think I know difficult words for a little boy. Some of the difficult words I know are: sordid, disastrous, immaculate, pathetic, and devastating. There aren‘t really that many people who say I‘m precocious. The problem is I don‘t know that many people."

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JGadz11
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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What an absolute dark romp. 🙏🏼to @britt_brooke for a brilliant reccomendation🤌🏼

britt_brooke 🤗 2y
5 likes1 comment
review
vlwelser
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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Pickpick

This is a fun little book. I think it's technically a novella (under 100 pages). The unreliable narrator is a 7yo boy, obsessed with hats, samurai films, and Liberian pygmy hippos, but is also the son of a Mexican drug lord. It's funny and slightly horrifying when you actually think about it. I kind of loved it. I immediately added another book by the author to my library wish list.

#BookSpinBingo free space
@TheAromaofBooks

Smrloomis Now off to google Liberian Pygmy hippos… 😂 3y
vlwelser @Smrloomis you should definitely do that! They're so cute! I saw some in a zoo once (maybe Copenhagen?). 3y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3y
Smrloomis @vlwelser you‘re right, they‘re adorable ❤️😂 3y
42 likes2 stack adds4 comments
review
britt_brooke
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Told from the perspective of Tochtli, an innocent, naive young boy who reads the dictionary, thriving on words like “enigmatic” and “pathetic.” He collects hats, loves samurai, and wants a new exotic animal for their palace‘s menagerie - guilty overcompensation from his Mexican drug lord father, no doubt. The boy is sheltered, but conversely, exposed to so much. This slim novel is a wild ride! Read the glossary, too; it‘s excellent.

vivastory I really liked this one. I've been meaning to read his full length novel 3y
Cathythoughts Stacking … sounds like something I‘ve never read before ❤️ 3y
britt_brooke @Cathythoughts He‘s a unique author. This is darkly humorous, too. I forgot to mention that. 😄 3y
See All 9 Comments
britt_brooke @vivastory So far this and Quesadillas have been 5⭐️ for me. I need to get to his others! 3y
vivastory I heard about the flooding in Tennessee. I hope that you & your loved ones are safe. 3y
britt_brooke @vivastory We‘re all good - thank you for checking in! The flooding was about an hour from us. Lots of folks still missing. It‘s just awful. 😔 3y
vivastory @britt_brooke Glad to hear that you're fine! I hope that the missing turn up soon. Can't imagine 3y
kspenmoll Britt so glad to hear you & your family are ok. Heartbreaking for TN.❤️ 3y
britt_brooke @kspenmoll Thank you! 💚 It‘s absolutely devastating. 3y
75 likes9 comments
review
Mitch
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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Pickpick

Violence, drugs, gangland warfare, drug lords and vice- but all told from the view of a 7 yr boy. He's a wonderfully charming, unreliable narrator - showing us how he sees the world, in the language in which he sees it. It was quirky and comical (only for a split second - until you realised the world he is describing with your adult eyes) - but also deeply sad and tense. For only 90 pages - it's left a very deep impression.

56 likes3 stack adds
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Mitch
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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Puppy forgot the clocks changed last night and we were meant to have an extra hour in bed! He‘s final crashed on the sofa - so I‘m reading for tomorrow‘s Bookclub meet-up. It‘s a short novella about a Mexican drug cartel told from the viewpoint of a 7 yr old. Love it when Bookclub takes you out of your comfort zones!

BethM So strange to me - I never knew clocks changed differently in the world. US doesn‘t change until next week. 4y
Mitch @BethM I know - it throws you out a bit! Still - it‘ll be nice to enjoy some lighter mornings for a while 👍🏼 4y
charl08 Aw! Adorable pup. I now get thrown by the way the phone changes automatically. Thank goodness for an old fashioned clock to check. 4y
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Amiable A few years ago my husband and I were traveling in Germany when the clocks changed there. Then we came home and the clocks changed here in the U.S. the following weekend. I still feel like somehow we managed to cheat the system as time travelers that year! 😀 4y
Oryx Luckily our old gal Daisy appreciated the extra hour in bed (and therefore so did I). 4y
Mitch @Oryx how long do I need to wait??🤣 4y
Mitch @Amiable it still freaks me out travelling forwards and backwards in time! 🤣 4y
Oryx @Mitch only about six years or so 😂 4y
MicheleinPhilly @Amiable @Mitch I will never forget traveling home from Australia. We left Sydney at 2:30 in the afternoon on Sunday and arrived in Los Angeles at noon on Sunday. Longest day EVER! 4y
Mitch @Oryx 🤣🤣🤣 4y
Mitch @MicheleinPhilly that‘s a long day! 🤣 4y
SheReadsAndWrites Such a sweet face! ❤️ Sleepy baby. 😴 4y
80 likes12 comments
blurb
Sace
Fiesta en la madriguera | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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I am posting one book per day from my extensive collection. No description. No explanation. Some will be old. Some will be new. Don't judge me. I have a lot of books. Join the fun if you want.

This is day 29

#tbrpile
Original idea of- @StaceyKondla @cortg

Courtesy tags for @Trashcanman @Catherine_Willoughby

review
codirebe
Fiesta en la madriguera | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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Pickpick

As a Latin American history and culture enthusiast, I loved this dark yet playful, funny insight into the world of Mexican drug cartels. Simple vocabulary and sentence structures from a child‘s mind make it a PERFECT read for Spanish second language learners. Also, it‘s free on iBooks!

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shawnmooney
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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saresmoore 😂 7y
Tamra That‘s funny! 7y
Suet624 That‘s hysterical. 7y
38 likes3 comments
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shawnmooney
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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Reecaspieces Should be #rambleofthday. Love it. 7y
36 likes1 comment
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shawnmooney
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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shawnmooney
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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shawnmooney
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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❤️ this opening to the novella!

#QuoteOfTheDay

38 likes1 stack add
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shawnmooney
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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Twitter just brought this Mexican novella—about a Mexican drug lord‘s kid who wants a pygmy hippo from Liberia as a pet—to my attention and since I see I have the ebook on Scribd I think I‘ll read it pretty much immediately! I also now see that @Marchpane has read and liked it.

Marchpane It's a good one! How do you usually fare with precocious child narrators? I tend to like them but I know a lot of people don't! 7y
Soubhiville Sounds pretty interesting. Stacked! 7y
shawnmooney @Marchpane Good point - often I don‘t fare so well but I‘m going to give it a shot! 7y
46 likes5 stack adds3 comments
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Zoe_reads_books
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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The best part of any day is when an Amazon package arrives!

review
SoniaC
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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Pickpick

What a beautifully written but heartbreaking book. Innocence lost and the poor innocent doesn't even know. What happens when you grow up in a completely toxic world thinking it's normal.

slhbooks I love beautifully written and heartbreaking books! Stacked📚📚 7y
SoniaC @slhbooks I hope you like it! 7y
Jenniferlikes2read I could not find this in Goodreads 😐 7y
SoniaC @Jenniferlikes2read did you try looking it up by the author. It's there. 7y
Jenniferlikes2read @SoniaC I found it...added to my massive TBR mountain...thanks so much! 7y
44 likes3 stack adds5 comments
blurb
Marchpane
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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#mexicanwriters #maybookflowers

Drug wars as seen through the eyes of a small child, who happens to be the son of an Escobar-style drug lord.

Little Tochtli lives in a palace and all he wants is a pygmy hippopotamus for his private zoo. This book is darkly funny and chilling at the same time. I've been meaning to check out the author's other work.

94 likes13 stack adds
review
Soscha
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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Pickpick

An odd little book written in the voice of a precocious 7 year old son of a Mexican drug lord.

This was my choice for the #ReadHarder #ReadHarder2017 challenge category "Read a Debut Novel"

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Soscha
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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"Hair is like a corpse you wear on your head while you're alive."

LeahBergen 😂😂 That sounds like a quote from 1980s me! 8y
11 likes1 comment
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SoniaC
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Novel | Juan Pablo Villalobos
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Subscribed to a very unique small publisher called & Other Stories. I got the intro package. It included the book and mug, a free e-book (I picked All Dogs Are blue and I am subscribed to the next four books they publish. They specialize in translations. This is very promising.

LeahBergen I think all books should come with matching mugs. 😉 8y
Marchpane Such a terrific book and I love the mug too ❤️ 8y
Lindy Ali Smith gave it a blurb. That's promising. 8y
See All 8 Comments
SoniaC @LeahBergen lol agreed! 8y
SoniaC @Marchpane I am looking forward to enjoying them both. 8y
SoniaC @Lindy yes it is. 8y
Hobbinol I checked out their website. Their publications look great! Enjoy! 8y
SoniaC @Hobbinol I love the options they have. 8y
64 likes2 stack adds8 comments