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A review by maketeaa
Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
4.75
i ADORED the first few stories -- the head literally made me GASP. there is something so unique about asian horror that's very different to western, in that a lot of it is based on very simple, routine things in life getting very fucked up (rabi thakur does this really well too in his short stories!) but bora chung takes it to a whole new level in some of the stories in this collection. her horror isn't horror for the sake of shock value, but to dig into the deep repugnance we have for certain things -- anthropomorphised human excrement, pregnancies gone wrong, child abuse, incest, brain-eating rabbits (lol) -- and makes them... plausible. it's insane. i left an annotation that said 'i am literally never using the toilet again'. her stories feel like an exercise in creativity.
buttt. the last few stories felt a little... lackluster? the beginning was SO PROMISING but like. at one point it felt a little bit less like horror and more just like... unfortunate events? particularly the story about the prince and princess, for example, or the polish man that liked being tied up. idk!! im still rating it high because my GOD when chung writes horror SHE WRITES HORROR. i just feel like the last few selections could've been better!
buttt. the last few stories felt a little... lackluster? the beginning was SO PROMISING but like. at one point it felt a little bit less like horror and more just like... unfortunate events? particularly the story about the prince and princess, for example, or the polish man that liked being tied up. idk!! im still rating it high because my GOD when chung writes horror SHE WRITES HORROR. i just feel like the last few selections could've been better!