Does the story go a bit too far? Or is that humanity? That’s the purpose though, to show just how far revenge will carry on, what it does to all involved, how no one truly benefits. The next story was the one that changed my mind about continuing with the book it’s the title story about a family that makes cursed fetishes and what the outcome is in an act of revenge. And, I think it’s safe to say, that the complete horribleness of mankind is an extensive theme in this set of stories. This story takes on a larger theater: just how awful people can be. A woman takes her birth control pills too long (say what? Definitely sci-fi/fable territory) and becomes pregnant. Likewise, the second story, “The Embodiment” continued this downward spiral. I felt like the first story was more of a test of my own stomach stamina and wondered, editorially, if it was the best story to begin the set. Without talking to her, I have no way of knowing–although I suppose I could read through the vast quantity of reviews to obtain an answer. Perhaps this thoughtfulness is what the author intended. The first story, “The Head,” described in the blurb, could lead me to all kinds of conclusions based on excrement, aging, how we treat people we perceive as excrement, or, on a metaphorical level, what we do with the endless waste we create in our lifetimes.

The first two stories in Cursed Bunny deal with bodily excretions, if you will, and almost completed my reading. Cursed Bunny is a book that screams to be read late into the night and passed on to the nearest set of hands the very next day. No two stories are alike, and readers will be torn whether to race through them or savor Chung’s wit and frenetic energy on every page.

The titular fable centers on a cursed lamp in the shape of a rabbit, fit for a child’s bedroom but for its sinister capabilities. Another story follows a young monster, forced into underground fight rings without knowing his own power. “The Embodiment” takes us into a dystopian gynecology office where a pregnant woman is told that she must find a father for her baby or face horrific consequences. “The Head” follows a woman haunted by her own bodily waste. But in this unforgettable collection, translated by the acclaimed Anton Hur, Chung’s absurd, haunting universe could be our own. By turns thought-provoking and stomach-turning, here monsters take the shapes of furry woodland creatures and danger lurks in unexpected corners of everyday apartment buildings. Blurb: From an author never before published in the United States, Cursed Bunny is unique and imaginative, blending horror, sci-fi, fairy tales, and speculative fiction into stories that defy categorization.

Cursed bunny book review