A review by knkoch
Bunny by Mona Awad
challenging
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I struggled to connect with this and find meaning. I had a lot of issues reading this, some with form and structure and some with theme and character building.
Watching an interview afterwards between Mona Awad and Maragaret Atwood helped clarify Awad’s intentions for me, and I understand a little more that I struggled with the satirical, horror, and deep fairy tale symbolism she employed. I enjoy character-driven, emotional storytelling, and this is not that (which is fine, obviously). I think the unconventional twists horror fiction takes throw me, and I struggled here to be interested in the Bunnies, their creations, Ava, and most strongly MC Samantha. I always struggle to empathize with characters who engage in self-destructive drinking, which is a personal thing for me, but so much of the plot felt pointless and absurd, and I lost touch with caring about the characters or what happened to them. Perhaps Awad was trying to say something about people rather than through them, but I strongly prefer the latter. It’s not that I need characters to be virtuous or without flaws, but I need them to be interesting, and I could not sustain interest in Bunny’s characters.
The writing felt quite fatuous at times, leaning into excessive hyperbole, and I didn’t enjoy the style. I did like what Awad said about unbridled vs. controlled creativity in her interview, but I did not pick up on that enough in the book itself. I guess my most positive feedback is that this was definitely thought-provoking, in that even though I disliked it, it made me think a lot about why that was, what the author was going for, and what I didn’t understand!
Watching an interview afterwards between Mona Awad and Maragaret Atwood helped clarify Awad’s intentions for me, and I understand a little more that I struggled with the satirical, horror, and deep fairy tale symbolism she employed. I enjoy character-driven, emotional storytelling, and this is not that (which is fine, obviously). I think the unconventional twists horror fiction takes throw me, and I struggled here to be interested in the Bunnies, their creations, Ava, and most strongly MC Samantha. I always struggle to empathize with characters who engage in self-destructive drinking, which is a personal thing for me, but so much of the plot felt pointless and absurd, and I lost touch with caring about the characters or what happened to them. Perhaps Awad was trying to say something about people rather than through them, but I strongly prefer the latter. It’s not that I need characters to be virtuous or without flaws, but I need them to be interesting, and I could not sustain interest in Bunny’s characters.
The writing felt quite fatuous at times, leaning into excessive hyperbole, and I didn’t enjoy the style. I did like what Awad said about unbridled vs. controlled creativity in her interview, but I did not pick up on that enough in the book itself. I guess my most positive feedback is that this was definitely thought-provoking, in that even though I disliked it, it made me think a lot about why that was, what the author was going for, and what I didn’t understand!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Gore, and Vomit