Bunny

Okay, so this book is heavy. And by heavy, I mean mentally exhausting. At least it was for me. It's one that might horrify you, get under your skin, or worse, do both at the same time. Before I get to the review, which will probably be short, I had a song playing in my head the whole time, one of my favorites, Old Heart Falls by Katatonia. Spin it up; it has a depth of emotion and lyrical prose that I think encapsulates most of the emotions found in this book to a T.

Hmm. Where do I begin? The book follows a writer as she prepares to graduate from a prestigious art school. She does not fit in, has trouble making friends, lives in a grimy apartment, and does better expressing herself through her art than she does with words. The initial pages do a good job setting up the school and its students, but as soon as Sam starts to hang out with the Bunnies (an entitled writing group), it plunges into ghastly horrors that only a nightmare would conjure up.

All I will say about the plot is that it is definitely not for the faint of heart. It deals with some pretty distressing subject matter, but if you stick with it till the end, it makes sense. It uses familiar archetypes that, although extreme at times, have a payoff. I'm not quite sure “payoff” is the correct word to use, but all's well that ends well.

Let's put this another way. Have you seen the movie Saw? You know, the one with the puppet on a bike that traps people in precariously dangerous situations where they must choose to either leave missing limbs or succumb to their fate. Well, this book is kind of like that, but replace the extreme physical torture with more mental torment. I think we all do our best to quell extreme loneliness and the desire to belong, but it always seems to creep in from time to time, and for Sam, she has an interesting way of dealing with it.

Would I recommend this book? Hmm. That's a tough one. Again, it deals with matters that are more horrific than what's on the page. I know that doesn't make any sense, but it would be a major spoiler to bring up what that is or what I think that is. I'd say its very relatable, but if you said that to a friend and they had just read the first half, they may raise some eyebrows at you the next time you interact. Lets just say the author shines a light on a subject that might be close to home for some but oh so foreign to others.

So I started the review with a song, so let's end with one that fits with the ending and is much more uplifting.

–You're Not Alone by Lionville.