Bunny

Literary body horror novel about women at university

Content warning: bullying, sex slavery, horror

Ages ago I requested this book on Netgalley not because I love rabbits, but because the description was really intriguing. Unfortunately it was in my early days of the platform and I didn’t realise you had to download books within a certain timeframe and I didn’t get a chance to read and review it. However, I have remained intrigued by this book ever since and eventually I caved and bought a copy for my Kobo.

“Bunny” by Mona Awad is a literary body horror novel about a young woman called Samantha Mackey who has won a prestigious scholarship to study creative writing at Warren University in New England, USA. There are four other students in the cohort, a clique who call each other ‘Bunny’ as a term of endearment. She and her only friend Ava privately make fun of the Bunnies, and Samantha has even come up with a special nickname for each: Cupcake, Creepy Doll, Vignette and the Duchess. However, one day the Bunnies invite Samantha to their Smut Salon, and slowly and seemingly despite her better judgment, Samantha is brought into the fold. With Ava all but forgotten, the Bunnies show her how they really use their creativity and Samantha has to decide where she draws the line.

This was an incredibly refreshing book and I am so glad that I went and bought a copy. Awad wrote with an exquisitely twisted clarity, shifting tones easily between Samantha before the Bunnies and Samantha after. Warren University is like an parallel universe where everything is a little darker, a little more dangerous and a little more possible. A big theme of this book is loneliness and isolation, and Samantha’s difficulty connecting with people was cleverly written. The characters are erudite and mysterious, and Awad seamlessly weaves in modern social issues into their conversations. There was a lot of interesting commentary about university culture, and the banality of academic privilege juxtaposed against the surreal events of the book was, in my view, far more captivating than other books set in universities I’ve read recently. There is an excellent twist to this book and I won’t spoil it by saying anything more, but while I had some guesses, I did not come close to appreciating the full story. I also really enjoyed Awad’s commitment to the rabbit theme with subtle references throughout the book.

There was only one very minor thing about this book that I found a bit difficult and that was keeping track of the Bunnies themselves. Of the four Bunnies Creepy Doll (Kira) was probably the most distinct, and while I appreciate that they were supposed to be a bit of an amorphous blur, it was a bit hard at times to tell who was who.

I honestly was so inspired by this book that I went and made a playlist to try to capture its very particular atmosphere. This book has such a unique flavour, it really got under my skin and I am so glad I went out of my way to buy it.

It's great to be in a position to recommend much more diverse books to our young people at school. Building the senior school library as a place where students actually come and find books that they want to read as opposed to books that teachers think they ought to read is an important responsibility and one we take really seriously.
Books like this are such a positive move as they will appeal to a broader set of readers than we are usually attracting. Dealing with modern issues in a clear and captivating way with a strong narrative voice and characters that the students can relate to is critical as we move forwards. This book is both an intelligent and compelling read that will hold even the most reluctant reader's attention and keep them turning the pages long into the night. It keeps the reader on their toes and ensures that you give it your full attention too. I found myself thinking about its characters and events even when I wasn't reading it and looking forward to snatching kore time with it and I hope that my students feel the same. An accessible, gripping and engrossing read that I can't recommend highly enough. Will absolutely be buying a copy for the library and heartily recommending it to both staff and students.

One of the hype-books of the summer, Bunny has been described as Mean Girls-meets-Heathers, with comparisons also being made to Han Kang's The Vegetarian, which hints at the fact that it's far stranger than just a tale of competition and rivalry between grad students. Far stranger.

It's one of those books where the less you know before reading it the better, so I don't want to say too much, but I loved Awad's prose, her satirical take on literary criticism, the continual sense of creeping dread, and being drawn deeper and deeper into the dark rabbit-hole (see what I did there?).

I've seen some reviews where the readers have absolutely hated it, and for sure, speculative fiction like this is not for everyone. However, I'm a big fan of indie, unusual, horror films and have been keen to read some non-mainstream horror fiction, but haven't known where to start, so this was a real treat for me. It reminded me of films like Starry Eyes and Neon Demon, with a big dollop of Cronenberg and Lynch thrown in for good measure. If Bunny isn't picked up and greenlit for a movie I would be very surprised.

One of my favourite books of the year so far!

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Thanks to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t think I really “got” this book, but I enjoyed it despite that. I’ve read a lot of comments comparing it to Heathers and it's got the same kind of weird feel to it. I’m not even really sure how I would describe it, college cliques and outsiders with a healthy dollop of magical realism? It’s honestly completely bonkers but also a lot of fun too. It definitely wont be for everyone and you probably wouldn’t give it to your grandmother to read but it’s certaintly a unique and interesting novel.

I loved this book so much. It’s beautifully written, darkly poetic and moody, self aware and sharp. It completely captured me. Magical realism gone very, very wrong.
I can’t recommend it enough.

If this means anything to you:

*gif from Heathers: How Very*

then you probably ought to read Bunny by Mona Awad. But be warned, it's a bizarre book - campus-lit meets magic realism meets what-the-hell-was-that meets Weird Science...

In a clear homage to Heathers, Awad has created a story about a clique of post-grad narrative arts students, known as the Bunnies. They attend Warren, a small New England college. It begins with a party, or rather a 'Demitasse' because '...this school is too Ivy and New England to call a party a party.'

The narrator, Samantha, who privately refers to the Bunnies as the 'Cuntscapades', hates their preening, their simpering language, the '...A-line hems of their cupcake dresses...' and the ornate braids in their '...Game of Thrones hair.' Yet despite her outward disdain for the Bunnies, Samantha is morbidly curious about these women whose post-grad experience appears to be far more productive than her own -


No way in hell they would ever invite me to Smut Salon. That was their own private Bunny thing, like Touching Tuesdays or binge-watching The Bachelorette or making little woodland creatures out of marzipan.

But the Bunnies do invite Samantha to their soirée and, ignoring her best friend Ava's scorn, Samantha enters their strange world, filled with pastel coloured frocks, mini foods, group hugs and mutual adoration. Plus some rituals where the Bunnies conjure men from rabbits, according to their idea of a 'dream man' -

"Perhaps then we could draw from film, winkingly indulge in some campy nostalgia," offers Bunny. This means Bunny wants James Dean again, leaning against a wooden post again. John Cusack in Say Anything again, holding up his boom box in the rain again.

It's frightening stuff and Awad successfully blurs the line between satire and horror.

Although the story is rife with wolfmen wearing glitter, decapitations, and campus muggings, the dialogue is alarmingly realistic, probably because Awad skewers campus life and academia so perfectly. She describes '...the students walking here and there, discussing Derrida and their nose jobs...', exposes the ridiculousness of the language, and the pompous ideas -

I still don't quite understand what it means to write about The Body with title caps but I always nod like I do. Oh yes, The Body, of course. Other words I've been keeping track of: space, gesture, and perform. "I appreciate the uncertainty the piece gestures toward... I just think she could go further into the dream space."

Awad's razor-sharp one-liners are poetic - 'I am quiet as rainbows' and '...clapping her hands like he's an approaching parade' - as well as funny - 'Last night seems as unspeakable as money or a fart' and 'She gives me the full hate bouquet of her smile. Every fuck you flower' and '...the poets brace themselves for imminent, overeducated poverty.' Her descriptions are arresting. Of her ex-boyfriend's voice, Samantha says -

'He had one of those deep, serene, all-knowing voices like a documentary narrator. Like any moment he could tell you a fact about a penguin or the war and you'd believe him. It was soothing. But sexy too. Like a tongue was being dragged up your inner thigh every time he said hi.'

And in their writing workshop, Samantha notes that the Bunnies '...would look down at each story I submitted like it was a baby that just gave them the finger, and then side-eye each other for a long time.'

Although Awad's antagonists obviously riff off the likes of Heathers, Carrie and Mean Girls, and it seems she leans on these references a little too much at times, the writing is so sharp and memorable that you can't help but think how much you appreciate Awad's gesture toward creating a new space for the campus-lit-science-fiction-satire-trope (see what I did there?).

4/5 Original and very, very clever.

I received my copy of Bunny from the publisher, Head of Zeus, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This book was certainly very unique. I'd suggest going in it knowing nothing and discover if it'll speak to you or not. I really enjoyed its weirdness and quirkiness. It was well written and very interesting.
Thanks a lot to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Bunny might be fluffy, but this novel certainly isn’t. Rabbits have teeth and claws and can kick and bite. This is my second Awad novel and she still does not take prisoners. She is a brilliant writer so expect a visceral, vibrant novel with ideas and attitude – a very distinct attitude – and be warned that this one is even closer to the edge of the extraordinary – her particular vision of this tale.
Without giving too much of the plot line away: Samantha Heather MacKey has won a scholarship to the creative writing programme at Warren College. From a more deprived background, and coping with a shortage of money and courage too, she feels very much an outsider. As she approaches her second session she has found two possible friends Ryan a student poet and Ava, a college drop out. She has apparently had a falling out with her male supervisor after a possible incident. Even worse for the first time in her life she is suffering from writer’s block. But the nature of a writing course is – we are told – to regularly produce samples of your work for review by your peers – other students and aspiring writers. Samantha is selected to join a “new initiative” for the College, the first woman only group. She will be expected to work with a tutor and four other students collectively known as “the bunnies” – because that is – we are told – they always refer to each other as bunny. They are close, supportive, better dressed and more secure than Samantha. She will be issued with an invite to the “smut salon” the private meetings of the bunnies where they meet and discuss literature and their writing in a social setting.
This is where the novel becomes progressively weirder. Attendance at the group means she steps back from her friendship with Ava, It turns out that the girls do not just discuss writing they also create something more. Strange beings. Samantha is required to attend to bring another element of ideas to the creative mix. Once she tries to break away, she sees that things do not seem entirely normal she has to revert back to her previous student life.
This is a novel of an outsider being used to explore what a person will do, or not, to try and fit in with their surroundings. Simple so far. But remember the novel is placed in a writing course so it has to be about more. What is real and what is fiction? How do you create? What are your inspirations? How much of your creations are based on the truth and how much not? It then follows that you might need to explore how real your words or world are to you. Awad will tug you down those thoughts, but do not expect a quiet or straightforward path. This route is extraordinary, compelling, but occasionally somewhat worrying too. Did Alice really see a white rabbit when she passed through the looking glass? This is another exploration of a stressed psyche – or possibly a story-line that is heading to the edge of the fantasy scale.
Definitely one to read and see what you think. Where does the line between fiction and reality lie? Is it the same for all writers? And for all of us, the readers, the question is what is the balance of your life – when you are well, and happy, or lonely, stressed and disconsolate? Enjoy!

I struggled to think what to say about this book. It's beautifully written, and so very weird that I just couldn't decide whether I liked it or not. Thanks to the publishers for sharing it.

Believe what everyone's saying about Bunny - Mona Awad's latest novel based on her experiences studying for an MFA is totally bonkers. Imagine if Ottessa Moshfegh had written Mean Girls and then chucked in some witchcraft and a bit of the plot of the movie Heathers and you'd be on your way to understanding what reading Bunny is like.

While this isn't really my "thing" on paper (I'll fully admit I requested this because of the hype surrounding it), and while I'm sure it won't be for some I found this unputdownable. Set in a college campus in a town called Warren (yep) where people are decapitated across the university on a reasonably frequent basis, we follow Samantha, an MFA student who views a clique of girls - the Bunnies of the title - on her course from afar with a kind of morbid/jealous fascination. Samantha is a bit of an outcast (only having one friend, Ava, an art school dropout), and against her better judgement becomes embroiled in the weird activities the Bunnies after they invite her to their "Smut Salon".

I'll leave the plot summary there to avoid spoilers, but if any of the above sounds up your street I'd implore you to pick up Bunny - there's something weirdly compelling about this novel and it's certainly the most unique book I've read so far in 2019.

Wow, this is a blast! Firstly, Awad can write - her prose is fizzing and dynamic, surprising and just so <i>fresh</i>.

Add to that a weird, funny, oh-so-knowing storyline that shoots off allusions in all directions (the campus novel, Mean Girls, The Secret History, Twilight-esque tweenie books) while also paying homage to Angela Carter's dark, feminist versions of fairy tales [book:The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories|49011]) and managing a blisteringly funny exposé of Creative Writing programmes. And piled up on that are observations on female friendship, Romance (definitely with a capital R), fantasies of love and friendship, the way eroticism is culturally constructed and the complicated relationship it has with violence.

I could see traces of [author:Ottessa Moshfegh|3276202] and [author:Joyce Carol Oates|3524] in the dark and canny mix - two of my favourite contemporary authors. My only slight criticism is that the pacing can be a bit slow in parts, but this is so original, and manages to be clever, funny, creative, icky, a bit creepy, and <i>sui generis</i> all at once.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

The beginning of the book is super creepy because the bunnies are grown ass grad school women acting like teenagers. The disconnect is really weird and I felt very uncomfortable moving back-and-forth from the protagonists actual grown-up life into the bunnies‘ Mean Girls from Hell scenario. But it’s really all is set up for the truly weird freaky shit that these bunnies do. Interesting allegorical take on female friendship

A fever dream of alienation and peer pressure taken to violent extremes - delicious.
Everyone remembers high school. The cliques, the gossip, the drama. Either you were 'in' or you were out. BUNNY ramps this up to eleven in graduate school, Samantha was always the one looking in and looking down on the cliques, who were everything she wasn't. But when they invite her into their rarified world, she cannot say no.
It's this wanting that paints the most violent pictures in this novel, as the ideas of want and desire and acceptance mesh with hallucinations and cultish fetishism. Read it - I won't spoil the contents, but prepare to be sucked into the world of the "Bunnies".

Recommeded for fans of reality-warping!

Bunny is a novel about an outsider who ends up involved with a college clique, but it doesn't go down how you'd expect. Samantha is an MFA student at a prestigious college, resentful of the rich girls who all each other 'Bunny' that she has to share workshops with. Her only friend is Ava, a weirdo from the local art college, who hates Samantha's college and the people there. Out of the blue, the 'Bunnies' invite Samantha to their mysterious 'Smut Salon', and it seems like she is being let into the fold. However, things start to get sinister and surreal as Samantha is drawn deeper into their world.

From the summary, the book sounds like another college clique campus story, but it really isn't. Samantha may seem like a classic heroine of such a novel—lonely, brooding, poor, unable to write despite it being how she will graduate—but the narrative is not. Instead, it takes a kind of twisted unreality and uses it to satirise writing (particularly the kinds of writing that the Bunnies are shown to do, variously pretentious and trying to be profound and dark) and to question what is happening to the characters. At first the style can be a bit irritating, but it settles down and feels purposeful (particularly the endless repeating of 'Bunny').

Bunny is a novel that some will find too bizarre, some will question what it really means, and others will enjoy the ride. There are some similarities with Heathers, but also with a blend of literary and teen horror; it is a book that defies reality, but also pokes fun at writing and trying to do what the novel itself is doing.