I read Bunny by Mona Awad because I was about to attend an event with the author. Out of the books available by the featured authors, Bunny was one that I already intended to read since many people over the past year had mentioned it, especially in conjunction with Yellowface (R. F. Kuang), another book I planned to read (still plan to read). Bunny was kinda what I expected, though part of what I expected was for it to be a little out there, a little unhinged—so I couldn’t anticipate everything. I am glad I read it. It was not my cup of tea, but I know several people whose cup it would be. Also, there’s a lot to think about and explore, though it is really modern and current and basically horror.

Samantha is the reject of her writing MFA cohort at Warren University, a New England Ivy League-esque college. It doesn’t help that she loves being alone and maybe a little depressed, or that her cohort is four joined-at-the-hip, ridiculous women who call each other “Bunny.” But when she suddenly receives an invite to one of their secretive workshops, she ditches the only friend she has to fall down the bunny-hole to some really dark and surprising places.

I have been reading a lot of books like Bunny lately, though this one was published in 2019. What kind of book is that? New horror? Gen Z-style horror lit? It’s not just horror. It’s not only a slasher. It is many other things. And this one in particular borders on the literary, especially in content. I have also read quite a bit of Japanese and Korean literature in the past couple years, and I feel like Gen Z horror is borrowing from the imported styles. Lots of body horror. Dysthymia. Layers of allegory and metaphor. Domesticity (or work) mixed up with creepy people and trippy situations. I might be missing some things. I was getting The Vegetarian (Han Kang) vibes and also Julie Chan Is Dead (Liann Zhang), which is a new one that I happened to read prior (and which nestles solidly in the social media world while this one is so very academic). I also read The Honeys (Ryan La Sala) right after, which was like Bunny for YA.

Honestly, I didn’t enjoy it that much, but I am glad that I read it. Like I said before, I know some people who would enjoy it. There was a pretentious tone going on, which felt a little ironic considering the satire that is attempted. You know, that voice that hates on everyone till there is no one left? And a couple other writing style things: sometimes the metaphors were weird enough to distract, and the writing was so current with its styles and phrases (and not just the bunnies) that I sometimes found it obnoxious. Also, the hearing-thoughts-aloud thing was a little messy. With some fine-tuning, it could have been a powerful indicator of what was actually happening, of the twists, but no.

Why was it not my cup of tea? It was gritty and had plenty of violence mixed with sex.

Why was I glad I read it? It would be a great book to teach (for older peeps). In the end, there are at least two metaphors for the story as a whole, or I guess I mean two ways to read it. Which makes for some fascinating conversation.

The following paragraph will not have spoilers, exactly, but may change the way you approach the book. So maybe you don’t want to read it before?:

Bunny can be read two ways, the second way in two ways itself. It can be a book about being a writer/artist. Or it can be a book about mental illness. The mental illness interpretation can go full-hog or half-. You could read it and think, “I see both ways. I am going to say it is like two books in one.” I think that works too, but you’ll probably lean toward one interpretation or the other. Begin with your feet on the ground. Decide at the end. I lean toward the reading of the writing life (big surprise), but find that I cannot ignore the mental illness interpretation even though I was happily reading without it the whole time. Durn. Can you also just take it at face value, a scary, postmodern, post-feminist fairy tale? I think so. But you should probably be aware there is a super-intentional other-story happening here, about artistic expression and/or mental illness.

Kinda-spoilers over.

Do I want to read the next one? What? There’s a next one? We Love You, Bunny drops on September 23 and is both a prequel and sequel where we go deeper into the lives and stories of the bunnies.

Karen on Goodreads calls Bunny “really fun and sharp and shivery, with a macabre fairy-tale overlay that gives it a unique spin on the coming-of-age tale.” I say yes to all that. A lot of readers call it unhinged, but honestly it wasn’t as unhinged as some of the other stuff I’ve read recently. I have put it in some peoples’ hands already, even with the complaints that I have as a reader. Was it meant for me? Maybe yes, maybe no. But I was interested, entertained, along for the ride.