Book Review: “Bunny”

Bunny

Mona Awad

Hardcover, 307 pages

Publication Date: June 11, 2019

Publisher: Viking

Genre: Contemporary fiction, Horror

I had high hopes for “Bunny.” I heard it described on a podcast this summer as a creepy, niche read which would turn most people away. “Most people thought this book was really weird” was a great way to get me interested. A seemingly normal premise which takes a dark turn? Sign me up.

“Bunny” is about Samantha, a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) student at a prestigious university. She is surrounded by people she cannot stand, including most of her classmates and workshop leaders. She especially hates the other women in her MFA group, a clique of four known as the Bunnies. Their bright and frilly clothes, perfect hair and constantly calling each other “Bunny” rubs Samantha the wrong way every time she is near them. Her only friend, Ava, keeps her sane in the pretentious grad school atmosphere.

Until the day Samantha gets invited to join the Bunnies and become a member of the group she loathes. I shared Ava’s surprise when Samantha ends up joining them, and that decision became the root of one of my main issues with “Bunny.” Samantha makes it clear several times her life would be better and happier if she never saw the Bunnies again, but later in the book, Samantha slowly comes to terms with her real feelings about the Bunnies. She felt ostracized and lonely and was jealous of their close-knit group. But she never stops hating the Bunnies, even after becoming friends with them.

There is an obvious trope of women hating other women throughout the entire book. None of the female characters can simply get along with one another. They have to pretend to like each other, seething with private hatred the entire time. It came across as immature and overdone as soon as it was introduced.

While “Bunny” did take a turn for the creepy after Samantha joins the Bunnies, the entire thing comes off as more disorienting and odd than scary. It felt like Awad hoped if she could confuse the reader enough, fear would ensue. I stayed confused until the last page. While I will not completely spoil the final twist of the book, I was caught off-guard by it, mainly because it was a lazy twist. It does not feel fair to read 300 pages and have it all explained away by a character’s hidden mental illness suddenly revealed. I rank it up there with “it was all a dream” cop-outs in terms of disappointment.

I felt like “Bunny” was trying to make itself a part of the subgenre of unlikeable character books, where none of the characters are necessarily good people, but sympathetic nonetheless. “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” does this very well. “Bunny” does not. I ended up liking Samantha less at the end of the book than I did at the beginning.

“Bunny” does belong within a different subgenre, however. Samantha’s pursuit and struggles with her MFA are part of an increasing trend in American fiction. MFA degrees are rising in popularity and creating an abundance of discourse in the writing community. Books, particularly satire, about MFAs by people who have earned an MFA are becoming popular as well. Even taken as satire, “Bunny” has very little good to offer, within the MFA subgenre and as a whole.

Paige Holmes is a senior journalism major from Topeka, KS. Reading is her favorite thing to do because it teaches one how to think, imagine and live. Paige believes there is no better way to learn something or be entertained than by reading a book. Her favorite genre of books is fantasy/thriller and her favorite book is “Opening Moves” by Steven James.

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