Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Bunny by Mona Awad

187 reviews

loxeletters's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What an interesting read! I especially enjoyed the themes of faux-feminism, the absurdity of academia, and the relationship between you and your creation. Regarding that last point, I think I might have benefitted from having read Frankenstein? It seems there's some links here, but that's just guess work. I still really enjoyed this, and though I didn't cry, the ending broke my heart.

It was quite depressing at times, which is why I couldn't rate this as "funny" even though the satirical aspects worked well. I guess that is the horror of this book for me - I wasn't very affected by the gore, I was never really scared, more just very depressed by the ongoing loneliness of our MC.

I can't say I could've guessed most of the major twists, which is a plus :)
Speaking of which, I agree that it's quite disorienting and difficult to figure out what is real and what isn't, but I think that's the point. I mean... They even discuss in the book how disorientation can be valuable for writing lol.

I did think the final scene was maybe a bit too clean-cut.
 

Maybe the way her relationship to Jonah is portrayed could have used some more nuance. He was always nice, sure, but I feel like her realisation that he just doesn't care about others' judgement doesn't really make up for the contempt she had for him throughout the book. He is always portrayed as so pathetic, and I can't really reconcile this with her attitude towards him at the end.

 
But this is somewhat nit-picky!

My second issue was the prose - overall it was good, but some phrasings were a bit repetitive for me. Maybe some adjectives could've been cut out as well. But that's just my personal taste, I think.

Overall, a very interesting book, which leaves you questioning what is real and what isn't, while providing some much-needed cultural criticism — exactly my cup of tea!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Toxic friendship, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Gore, Murder, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Grief, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Sexual content and Car accident

stomachpains's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Kidnapping, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Body horror, Gore, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

kaylawtzl22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

genuinely so confused. a very good read, intriguing, and hard to put down. It feels like an A24 film as a novel. A24- if you’re reading this, please hit up mona awad.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Gore, Addiction, Mental illness, Misogyny, Animal death, Alcohol, Death of parent, Slavery, Violence, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Body horror, Death, Murder, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Classism

crimsontombs's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Self harm, Bullying, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Murder, Alcohol, Abandonment, and Car accident

alexiconic's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

well-written thriller, i really enjoyed the writing style and the mystery and twists. it was a very engaging book, and i enjoyed the unreliable narrator that samantha was. the vibes put in by the book, and the writing style, put in enough doubts early on that the twists feel just unexpected enough. the mysteries and weirdness really worked for me, and that was a huge surprise. the setting of creative writing majors in a pretentious college writing a final work worked so well, it was fascinating and relatable because i, too, am starting my final thesis.

but that was also frustrating. we got so lost in samantha's mind (which is an impressive writing feat, so clearly masterfully done), that it was incredibly hard to find the "point" of the story. the book feels like it has so much to say, so much that it can say, and i wish for there to be a "point" to it all. for the book, or the author, to tell me how to read it, how to interpret it. but maybe the beauty is in how multi-interpretable it is, in the end, and maybe the fact that i feel this frustration only means the writing is that good, because this is a book that i keep coming back to and re-thinking about.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Gore, Self harm, Blood, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Violence

bootsmom3's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, and Gore

Minor: Mental illness and Injury/Injury detail

grunbean's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This is my second time reading this. The first? I dipped out after the first chapter and condemned this as a a bad book with a narrator who’s ‘not like other girls’.

I was the one thinking I was not like other girls! I had part of the story spoiled for me and I knew I had to revisit it. After the first chapter, I was hooked and could not put it down.

Is the plot perfect? No. I have a good few questions and I’m still trying to wrap my head around things. But it keeps you interested. Every page was like being allowed another lick of your favourite snack, and I was definitely full by the end of it! 

Dark, funny, and a story that will confuse you as much at it coairvates you. I know this has a mixed response as a book, but I loved it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Death, Toxic friendship, and Animal death

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

kijatai's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was actually the first audio book I ever finished. I started listening to it while on a walk and then I couldn’t get it out of my bed and finished it during the night. 

I really liked the narrator, Sophie Amoss. I felt like I was in the head of the main character when she was narrating and I could easily picture all the different characters by the voices she used. Her voice is also soothing. 

As for the story itself, I loved it.  What I actually enjoyed about it was the psychology of the main character and the depiction of creative block and the depression that can be linked to it.  I’m an artist and I could relate to some things she said. How we can feel like an impostor sometimes and feel blocked or not good enough and then craving a connection to others to get out of our self-made isolation but also not wanting to. 

I liked how all Sam’s emotions : fear, uncertainty, desires… were represented. Without spoiling anything, I interpreted the rituals depicted (please check content warnings) in the book more as a representation of creativity and desire. And I thought it was really interesting. 

It has strong dark academia vibes. Which I’m a sucker for. I like also exploring the mentality and struggles behind cults and this book definitely and intimately explores that. It has mean girl vibes and it was nice to see how the author explores the meaning of sisterhood, girlhood, love and desires. 

The relationship between Ava and Sam was what kept me hooked. I hoped for more to be honest but I won’t spoil too much. I guess that their relationship is… complex. 

I’m definitely gonna get a physical copy, re-read it and annotate the hell out of it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Alcohol, Classism, Confinement, Death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Car accident, Bullying, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content

laurelmb's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcohol, Violence, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

kiwibird5's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, and Drug use

Minor: Rape