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A review by loxeletters
Bunny by Mona Awad
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!
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.
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