Mona Awad's 'We Love You, Bunny' Brings Kookiness Back - And We Love It

All around the world tens of thousands of fan girls dressed in pink pony shirts or black Victorian attires sipping their mini appletinis and Lady Grey teas are hit with the news... They push aside their bitch curtains, put away the Derrida they've been engrossed in, and start jumping for joy because THE BUNNIES ARE BACK! If you too missed the Smut Salon, the restaurant "Mini", the fiction girls and poetry boys, then it's time to rejoice, as the most infamous clique of literary absurdness doesn't fail to deliver for a second time.

'At least it's Ivy League, Coraline.', mother was saying, 'There's that.' And she took a very long sip of her Sauvignon Blanc, which is the Episcopalian way of thanking God. 

If you haven't already done so yet (and it's recommendable you do by reading the first installment Bunny), come on over and meet the Bunnies: the mom-oppressed, self-harming, blonde rich girl Cupcake Coraline; redheaded creepy doll Kira; Goth-girl Vic, who has "the most Victorian face, like she might faint, or get tuberculosis any minute", and finally the secret head of this grotesque sorority, Elsinore, aka The Duchess. After the events recounted in the first book, these four decide to give main character/author of Bunny, Samantha, a run for her money and kidnap and gag her in order to make her listen to their side of the story. And if you thought Bunny was confusing and psychedelic, then wait until you've read all of it from the points of view of the Bunnies themselves, because they have been holding it in (and have even been to therapy about it). 

'We just got out of David's workshop.'

'Oh really? How was it?' I asked.

'Edifying.' they all said. 'Unlike some people, we enjoy hearing critique.'

The critique the Bunnies don't want to hear, as implied by their arch enemies Poetry Boys during their epic showdown in the Uni Hall, comes from the Scottish teaching assistant Alan, whose honest words concerning Coraline's writing are perceived as an assault, prompting the Bunnies to inadvertently conjure a man-creature out of a regular bunny, who, naked and confused runs around campus with an axe in his hand. After being used and abused by various parties on campus, this naive and perturbed Frankenstein's bunny escapes to find his own path. And he would have too, if he didn't (inexplicably) have to rage and kill each time he hears the name "Alan".

Although the book rests on the premise of being from the point of view of the Bunny gang, the narration is split between them, bunny man Arious (I'm not sure if that's how his name is spelled, as I received an advanced audiobook copy, so I might correct as soon as I get my hands on the print version) who is named for an allergy drug and since he is a product of the collective Bunny gang, whose literary style oscillates between Shakespearean dramatic and school girl text messages; and finally, the cosmically electrocuted Head of the Fiction Department, Ursula.   

For newbies to Awad's lush, droll style, We Love You Bunny comes as a good opportunity to explore this outstanding author, as it is described as "both a prequel and a sequel, and an unabashedly wild and totally complete stand-alone novel" by the publisher. For those who already know her, it comes as a long awaited fever-dream feast. Intrigues, tempestuous emotions, greed, literary obsession, inspirations gone wrong, friendship and fiendship in academia... all this packaged in delicious pink goo.

It's common knowledge by now, Mona Awad is one of my Top5 authors whose writing bursts with originality, relatability, and hilarity, - all built upon an underlying sense of not taking oneself too seriously. I need this kind of writing regularly, it's my fix. So, of course I too, Bunny, was jumping for joy when I was given a review copy from Libro.fm via the Otherland. The publication date is still ahead, September 23rd. And if that kooky and weirdly hypnotizing picture above is the actual cover, I am so buying the hard cover edition. Can't wait!