A review by syinhui
Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung

dark mysterious reflective tense

4.25

I really did not expect to enjoy all the 10 stories, after all, like in many short story collections, only a few truly shine while the rest often fall flat. So Bora Chung’s Cursed Bunny is for me, a rarity. 

Each one of these stories serves as metaphor and/or allegory for the injustices and toxic culture existing not only in the Korean/Asian setting but in contemporary society as a whole. 

Some stories are predictable, some take a rather bizarre turn but there’s always a cyclic pattern in the end. In retrospect, the endings are one in all, ominous and sinister. There’s always some part of the monster - both literal and figurative - that survives and lives on, quite possibly repeating the same horrifying and tragic tales. My favorite and perhaps the most impressive story in the collection, Scars is a good example. Was the youth finally freed of It or did he become It? 

In a Booker Prize Podcast Episode discussion of the  book, it was mentioned that during an interview with Chung she was asked about the overall theme and what message she wants to send with these stories to which she replied, “The theme is: I’m so scared, I’m so confused. I don’t know what is going on.” Amongst the stories, The Frozen Finger, fits that bill perfectly and amazingly, encapsulated my overall reading experience as well. 

The dread is when something is not quite right or finding oneself in a surreal situation where nothing quite makes sense and you don’t know what’s coming. However the true horror lies in the stark reflection of reality found within the strange world of Cursed Bunny.