Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung

28 reviews

vixenreader's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The translation from Korean to English is a bit off at times. However, that does not dim the bizarre beauty of this collection. 

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niamphoone's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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kitplays's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The most striking part of this collection is in its arrangement. It starts with the absurd, sometimes humorous tales about things like feces children and a cursed rabbit lamp. The last three or so stories, by comparison, were touching and heartbreaking discussions of harsh reality, loss, and loneliness. It's such a curiously good morsel of human emotion. I really enjoyed this collection.

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sauvageloup's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I whistled through these very disturbing little stories. 

pros:
- they're definitely gripping, and the writing style is sparse but clear and evocative, with the descriptions being vivid.
- the stories felt self contained and satisfying overall, even as many ended in tragedy.
- the last book of short stories I read, i struggled to jump from one story to another, maybe because they were so different and by different people. this one wasnt like that at all, and i had no problem reading straight through, pretty much.
- i liked the variety in length and themes of the stories, from birth horror, to supernatural, to fantasy fairy tale and modern criticisms on feminism and capitalism. i think i mainly read very on the surface and didnt look hard at metaphors and such, a reread might help me see this more.
- I liked the sheer imagination though and how Chung makes you care for characters who often arent even given a name.

cons: 
- the first two stories especially, but a lot of them overall, were pretty horrible and graphic. they did their job in making you feel things! but it reminded me too much of just horrible nightmares and intrusive thoughts and I wouldnt read those two again.
- I also felt there was generally a lack of hope in the stories, but that's personal taste I guess.

overall, well written and gripping but too horror for me and dont think I'll seek out more of her work, but I might reread this in time. 

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rlhreads's review

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challenging dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

A hard to read boot at times - definitely one of the most messed up books I’ve ever read 

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mariakureads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

What an interesting bunch of short stories.
All are different from each other and none repeat in tone, world building or characters.

Chung packed a lot of details in each short story to create the needed atmosphere for each story without going over the top and I for one can't wait to see what her next book is about!

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virginplatonic's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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scifi_rat's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.75


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lovelymisanthrope's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I received this in a book subscription box and was very excited to pick it up because it had already been on my radar.
"Cursed Bunny" is a collection of short stories that are both haunting and creepy. This was such an excellent way for me to kick off October.
Overall, I was really captivated by most of the stories, and I was impressed with the writing. The first short story, "The Head", has haunted me since I read it. In this tale, a woman is haunted by her own waste. The story is told in graphic detail, and it left me slightly concerned about what I may be flushing down the toilet. This was also such a bold choice for the first short story. "The Head" really set the tone for the weird horror that was about to follow.
I really appreciated that each story had its moment, and each story was fleshed out enough that I felt like I was reading a collection of novellas. Additionally, I appreciated that all of the stories were different, but equally unsettling. I had the same feeling of "what the hell am I reading" throughout the entire book, all while I got to enjoy different stories.
Overall, I really enjoyed these stories and I look forward to trying to find something similar in tone to read in the future. 

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cocopeia's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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