Book Review: Bunny

Written by Mona Awad, Bunny is a dark comedy/horror story which centres around a university student by the name of Samantha Mackey. Her time on Warren University’s prestigious MFA program has been less than ideal on account of the struggling grades and limited social opportunities. This issue is only reinforced by the presence of the unbearably obnoxious group of rich girls in her writing classes who call themselves the Bunnies. Their overly pink fashion style and never-ending judgemental gazes put Samanatha far on the border of their social circle that she can only gaze in longingly. Samantha’s only respite from her struggles is her best friend Ava who happily reminds Samantha how better off they are from the shackles of modern society and culture. All of this changes through when Samantha receives a mysterious invite to the Bunnie’s “Smut Salon” where they decide to formally induct her into their group through some bloody and horrific traditions. What follows is a bizarre and perplexing journey down the rabbit hole for Samantha, one she may never be able to come back from.

I found that I liked one third of this book’s story, the other two thirds though I found difficult to enjoy. I think the concept at play in this story is unique and offers a very strange but all-together interesting thread for the reader to follow, the main issue is its structuring and delivery for me. There’s just very little order to this story that makes it feel like it’s progressing in a cohesive fashion. I appreciate maybe that was Awad’s point in the fact that the narrative goes from tame to outrageous so easily is meant to invoke the same lost feeling that Samantha as the central character feels throughout the course of the book. Despite the intent though, it doesn’t translate for an altogether cohesive experience to read through. There’s also quite a bit of padding that doesn’t integrate itself all that well into the story so you end up noticing when the narrative is just trying to drag you along without any actual point at times.

I also feel Awad’s writing style reinforces the positive and negative aspects of the book too. Awad is clearly a very descriptive writer who goes to great efforts to put the reader inside the head of Samantha as she takes a deep dive into this lucid and bizarre clique. The positive aspect is it really allows you to understand her as a character and what drives and motivates her. The negative is I think this style of writing becomes obnoxiously repetitive as the story progresses. There’s just so much commitment to describing every thought, every motion, every stare, frown or questionable look. Awad ends up bogging the book down with an overabundance of descriptive work in the end which doesn’t even help with clarifying the crazy events which transpire in the book.

Bunny was definitely an experience, one that holds some core value if you can forgive its more glaring issues. I like the ideas at play in this book but I just feel Mona Awad goes overboard in trying to outline it all and as a result you end up feeling more confused and lost by the end of the book. I know there’s probably people out there who will get along with the structure and writing style Awad offers in Bunny, but I’m mature enough to admit I am not one of those people.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐