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Cursed Bunny
Cursed Bunny | ???
Cursed Bunny is a genre-defying collection of short stories by Korean author Bora Chung. Blurring the lines between magical realism, horror, and science-fiction, Chung uses elements of the fantastic and surreal to address the very real horrors and cruelties of patriarchy and capitalism in modern society. Anton Hur's translation skillfully captures the way Chung's prose effortlessly glides from being terrifying to wryly humorous.
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IMASLOWREADER
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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this book is a collection of short stories and my favorites were the embodiment, snare, home sweet home and goodbye my love…nice quick read with some stories that made me feel uneasy like the head… #audiophile #readdinggoal #readinglife

8 likes1 stack add
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Jari-chan
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Well, I managed one #BookSpinBingo - that's fine with me. Read both my #BookSpin and my #DoubleSpin for May. Now I just need to finish writing my reviews (it's always the same at the end of the month/the beginning of the month)😅

@TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Fantastic month!! 6mo
Jari-chan @TheAromaofBooks Thank you!! 6mo
23 likes2 comments
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Jari-chan
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

Wow, this was uncanny, uncomfortable and spooky. I loved it. The stories differ quite a lot, which is impressive. It made me shiver. Not only because the author uses the horror elements really good, but also because she writes about feminism without pointing it out. That makes it even more stunning. This book would've slipped my mind if it wasn't for the Translation Prize of the Leipzig Book Fair.

@TheAromaofBooks #DoubleSpin

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! I weirdly love that cover. 7mo
34 likes1 stack add2 comments
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vlwelser
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Pickpick

Creepy Korean short stories? Bunny on the cover? Sold!

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

rockpools I still have images from this book firmly in my brain, a year on. 9mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 9mo
46 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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TalesandTexts
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Mehso-so

Started out well, fizzled off at the end. Predictable for the most part and relying on common horror tropes (common if you consume enough horror content elsewhere).

However, stories like “The Head”, “The Embodiment”, “Snare” and “Goodbye, My Love” were well-written and I did enjoy them.

Won‘t dismiss this author - I do want to read her new book “Your Utopia”.

I did not like the translation - it lacked soul and perhaps made this book meh (?)

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ReadingOver50
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

3.5 Stars

A collection of short stories. The Head, the first story in the book was the most unsettling for me. Truthfully, I enjoyed the first 3 stories the most. After that, the rest of the book just felt average to me. Not bad, but the stories weren't that engaging either. I would give this author another try.

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NikkiM5
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

I can see why Cursed Bunny is up for a lot of rewards. Head and The Embodiment (the first two stories) were my favorites. I thought the first two stories were setting the tone for the rest of the book, but the other stories included sci-fi and fantasy; so it‘s not just for horror fans. There is a nod to the societal treatment of women in almost every story, so that made it very interesting to discuss with my book club.

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Melismatic
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Mehso-so

This was extremely odd. I think I would have gotten more from it if I read the physical book rather than audiobook - bc the narration was flat and I kept zoning out despite the oddity of the material itself. A few of the stories I enjoyed quite a bit but most were just too strange, altho I think that was the point.

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Hooked_on_books
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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For the NBA translated literature list, the upper five are their shortlist and the circled are mine (I still have a third of Kairos left, which I‘m not loving, but I read the rest). Overall, I found this list really interesting. I really want to see Cursed Bunny take home the prize, as I found it just fascinating.

BarbaraBB I read Bunny a year ago and can‘t remember much. I still need to read the Erpenbeck. I am sorry to hear you‘re not enjoying it much. 12mo
38 likes1 comment
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Addison_Reads
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

#Scarathlon #SpookyGhostClub @Clwojick

What a crazy read!

This book is definitely not for everyone, but the weird worked for me. There were stories in here that made me so uncomfortable that I almost stopped reading, but then the author would pull me back in, and I couldn't pry myself away.

The creativity in this collection is impressive. Bora Chung deserves all the praise she's been receiving.

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Yuki_Onna
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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BookwormAHN Nice and creepy 🐈‍⬛️ 13mo
14 likes1 comment
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Hooked_on_books
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

Brilliant, bananas, and bizarre, this story collection starts with a head in a toilet talking to a woman, grabbing me instantly. And from there, it simply didn‘t let go. I absolutely loved this! It was definitely my brand of weird and I can see how it wouldn‘t work for everyone, but it seriously worked for me.

NBA shortlist, translated literature

TracyReadsBooks I really liked this one! Thought it was fantastic. 14mo
Megabooks I enjoyed this too! Really unique stories. 14mo
42 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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TracyReadsBooks
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

Here‘s the thing, once you start this one, it‘s really hard to stop, & yet, as you read with horrified fascination, you might, as I did, find yourself wondering just what it is that make these stories, about fear, alienation (from your body or others), exploitation, manipulation, abuse, hypocrisy, societal expectations, so readable. I think it‘s because there‘s an undeniable thread of truth throughout the book. Compelling, disturbing, enthralling.

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TracyReadsBooks
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Taking this one along as I head downtown…

#OutAndAbout #ReadingOnTheBus

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rachelsbrittain
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

A weird and intriguing speculative short story collection full of strange toilet creatures, ghosts, and cursed lamps. I really loves it overall-- just my kind of short stories. That said, a couple of the stories didn't really fit in with the collection and one was wildly abelist/ talking about blindness in a really derogatory way. TW for suicide, rape, incest, child abuse, and others

52 likes1 stack add
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rachelsbrittain
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Life is wild so I'm reading a really wide variety of books that I'm picking up and putting down right now. What about you? #WeekendReads

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Yuki_Onna
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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She was about to flush the toilet.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

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andioop
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
Pickpick

Heavy

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Tonton
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. Amazing collection of genre mashup short stories: magic realism and horror focused on powerlessness of women in the patriarchy, male power and moral corruption. The title story is about a lamp shaped as a rabbit; it causes the downfall of a greedy and corrupt business and family. Slow motion disaster you can‘t look away from, and genuinely scary. Time for a bite of chocolate Easter bunny!

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Yuki_Onna
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Excited for this month's #Bookspin and even more so for the #Doublespin picks!

#Bookspin was one of the LTER ( #LibraryThing Early Reviewers) eARCs still to be read & reviewed - those I need to prioritize on my TBR anyway.
That makes them perfect for participating in #ARCApril , too!

And the #Doublespin was one of my fave choices on the whole list! I was just looking for an excuse to put it on top of my TBR... 😁

@Andrew65 @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2y
Andrew65 Hope you enjoy them. 2y
12 likes2 comments
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RealLifeReading
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

These stories are disturbing, with characters who are full of greed, rage, despair. They are often nameless: “the daughter”, “the youth”. A family creates cursed objects; a trapped fox bleeds gold; a woman is pregnant after taking birth control pills. One reads like an urban ghost story, another a fairy tale, this one a science fiction one, that one a fable. It‘s impressive. It‘s grotesque. It‘s dark. It‘s mesmerizing. I couldn‘t stop reading it.

62 likes3 stack adds
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AbstractMonica
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
Mehso-so

A collection of short stories that were a mixture of horror, magic realism, and sci-fi. They were all very different from one another, and the stories took place in different parts of the world. I think the length was just right- if it was any longer I may have bailed. Some stories felt like satire, but my favorites by far were The Head, The embodiment, Scar, and The Reunion.

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AbstractMonica
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Hard to get any reading done around here.

Tamra 😜Cute! 2y
dabbe I. Can't. Even. Dat face! Dat nose! “Hey, whatcha doin', Treat-Giver?“ 💜 2y
See All 10 Comments
batsy 😍 2y
BookmarkTavern That face! ❤️❤️❤️ 2y
AbstractMonica @dabbe 😂 I‘m sure that‘s exactly what she was thinking 🦴 2y
AbstractMonica @ozma.of.oz 🐶💘 2y
18 likes10 comments
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AbstractMonica
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Book number 18 of 2023. Let the creepy short stories begin 😮‍💨

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rachelsbrittain
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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New book haul. I was hoping to get the blue edition of The Convenience Store for my shelves but the purple is quite pretty, too, especially next to Cursed Bunny.

Tea_and_Starstuff Oh that's a couple I'm looking at! (Diary of a Void and Convince Store Woman specifically). They're so pretty! I look forward to hearing your thoughts. 2y
batsy I haven't read Void yet (it's on the list) but the other two I really liked! 2y
rachelsbrittain @Tea_and_Starstuff I loved Concenience Store Woman so much I wanted a physical copy of it! And I'm very excited to read the others 2y
rachelsbrittain @batsy I'm glad to hear that! I adored Concenience Store Woman but the other two are both new to me 2y
49 likes4 comments
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Brooke_H
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

Super strong short story collection. Bizarre, surreal, horror-dark fantasy-feminist satire. Every story is ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️…hard to do!

29 likes1 stack add
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StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Mehso-so

A collection of unsettling short stories. As is often the case, a mixed bag. They were all definitely unique though.

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Coueriamb
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

Not a bad short story collection! The titular story was my favorite, and the rest were pretty solid surreal horror-adjacent stories.
There‘s something about translated stories that always make me smile- like there‘s a particular way that people talk that, when translated, stick out. I mean that in the best way- I love seeing that kind of thing.

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xicanti
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Casey returns to tell you how much I‘m loving CURSED BUNNY! If you‘re in a place where you need a nice book, steer far clear of it. If you yearn for stories packed with dark fairy tale energy and a deep consideration of how individuals‘ experiences clash with society‘s expectations, this is your jam.

batsy A weird and brilliant collection of stories! 2y
xicanti @batsy I hope it does well enough that more of Bora Chung‘s work gets translated! 2y
sarahbellum Casey! 😍 2y
See All 9 Comments
wanderinglynn Aw Casey! What a cutie! ❤️🐶 2y
xicanti @sarahbellum @wanderinglynn Casey basks in your admiration. 2y
dabbe Casey the Cocker! I had a buff-colored cocker named Caramel. She was my doggie soulmate, and she looked a lot like yours. ❣️🐾❣️ 2y
xicanti @dabbe aw, Caramel‘s such a sweet name for a Cocker! Casey‘s actually a Cavalier King Charles, at least on paper. Both the vet and his puppy school teacher agree he‘s probably got a Cocker grandparent, though, because he‘s so much larger than Cavaliers usually get! 2y
dabbe @xicanti I should have known by the face! But those paws just SCREAMED cocker to me! 🤣 2y
xicanti @dabbe he does have very Cocker paws! They‘re like fluffy little mops. 2y
50 likes2 stack adds9 comments
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Emilymdxn
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Now my masters essay is done and I can breathe again, I‘m finally finishing this really excellent and very weird book of horror short stories. I bought it before Christmas so I‘d have something non-masters-essay to read while I hid at my parents over the holiday doing my term paper, then had very little time to read it!

Probably not for everyone - you have to be alright with q a lot of body horror, but it is SO original and well done

StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego I have been seeing this book everywhere, must be a sign. 2y
bookishdawg Congratulations on your accomplishment! 😊 2y
Gabbymags123 Congratulations on you‘re masters well done!! 2y
CharismaRaven13 Congratulations on your accomplishment! And I have this one on my TBR. 2y
93 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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jhod
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

Not a beach read! But still a great one, and a fitting end to a messed up year in the world. One of my faves was The Frozen Finger. Here's to 2023!

dabbe And what's in the glass? Looks YUMMY! 😋 2y
jhod @dabbe haha! The remnants of an aperol spritz! 😁 2y
dabbe @jhod My husband's going to the store as I type this. Looks like a new drink will be added to ring in the new year! Thanks! 🤗 (edited) 2y
See All 8 Comments
jhod @dabbe love it! Enjoy!!! 🍸🍸🍸 2y
EKonrad That was one of my faves too! Also loved The Embodiment and Reunion too. Such a creepy/wonderful book! 😊 2y
jhod @EKonrad agree! The only one I didn't like so much was the one about the building, I think it was because i wanted more oddness! 2y
Cathythoughts Happy New Year 🥳♥️ 2y
jhod @Cathythoughts and to you Cathy! 😘🎉🍸 2y
65 likes8 comments
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Booksandtea23
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Booksandtea23
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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annahenke Wow, what a year!! 🥳 2y
KateReadsYA You did amazing! Lots of reading 🤗 2y
Booksandtea23 @annahenke thank you 😊 2y
wanderinglynn Congrats! 🎉👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 2y
22 likes4 comments
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Booksandtea23
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Booksandtea23
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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12 likes1 stack add
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EKonrad
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

I would definitely recommend this collection to anyone who loves magical realism (especially when it strays to the dark side). But beware: there are some major trigger warnings – especially if you‘re squeamish around blood or gore.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Full review at: https://erinkonrad.com/2022/12/06/cursed-bunny-book-review/

34 likes2 stack adds
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ClairesReads
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

Absolutely bizarre, but also great, but also disturbing.

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BarbaraBB
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Mehso-so

I haven‘t been feeling well for the last few days (the flu I think) and this book was obviously not the best companion. A mix of horror and violence and SF and monsters and rats and abortions… I had a hard time finishing these short stories, especially the ones in the second half of the book. Definitely not among my favorite short story books.

#InternationalBookerPrize2022

LeahBergen Oh, I definitely think you might need somethings cozier to read! Feel better soon! 😘😘 3y
merelybookish Hope you're on the mend! Maybe a different read will help. 3y
AmyG Feel better! 3y
See All 11 Comments
CarolynM Might be time for some Furrowed Middlebrow or Persephone🙂 Hope you feel better soon💐 3y
BarbaraBB @CarolynM @LeahBergen @merelybookish You are so right! I have been reading a Dutch one (that‘s quite comforting for me as well) but have a Persephone lined up 🤍 (edited) 3y
Bookwomble I hope you're soon feeling more comfortable 💖 3y
sarahbarnes I had mixed feelings about this one, too. 3y
BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes I was happy to read your review! I thought I‘d be the only one! 3y
BarbaraBB @Bookwomble @AmyG Thank you 🤍 I feel better already! 3y
Bookwomble @BarbaraBB 😊👍🏻 3y
Megabooks I think I‘ll skip it. I hope you continue to feel better! 💕💕💕 3y
59 likes11 comments
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BarbaraBB
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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#WeeklyForecast 17/22

I am still making my way through the #InternationalBookerPrize2022 longlist. Paradais and The Books of Jacob are in progress, next will be Cursed Bunny, which is shortlisted. I also need to get to our #NYRBBookClub selection, which I get a feeling is all but an easy read.

Cinfhen I love both your covers!! 3y
TrishB What @Cinfhen said ❤️ 3y
BarbaraBB @Cinfhen @TrishB I do too. Unfortunately I had to bail the left one so I am hoping the right one will live up to the expectations raised by its cover 🙌 3y
Cinfhen 🤞🏼🤞🏼 3y
Megabooks So curious about 3y
59 likes5 comments
review
Simona
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

I think that short stories collections can‘t compete with novels, this collection is an exception. Each individual story is a commentary either on social happenings, or the depravity of people, greed, selfishness, abuse ... and all this is told through magical realism on the border with fantastic elements, often grotesque, bizarre and surrealistic situations. The simplest description is that the stories are strange and always with a very … 👇

Simona … dark twist. Strange - in a good way. Stories that make the reader restless, uncomfortable, but they are also stories that give the reader space to think. The collection is strong, thoughtful and simply - great. 3y
batsy Lovely review 💕 Glad that it was a pick for you. Love the point about how it gives space for the reader to think—so true! 3y
See All 8 Comments
Simona Thank you @batsy I think that this book is the strongest short stories collection that I have ever read. 3y
Ruthiella Great review! I am slowly reading this now and have only read three stories. The first two were very discomforting! 😱 3y
Simona @Ruthiella Thank you ☺️ I‘m afraid that that is connecting thread of this collection … 3y
BarbaraBB Now I want to read this one too. 3y
Simona @BarbaraBB I‘m sure that you won‘t regret it. Stories are weird, but in the good sense. 3y
50 likes8 comments
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sarahbarnes
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Mehso-so

These stories are wild. I liked some of them and others felt like a bridge too far for me. The title story was one of my favorites. For me it was a mixed bag, but it was worth the read for the ones I enjoyed.

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batsy
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

This story collection is described as "genre-defying", & I get it, but it also feels like a collection that contains multitudes, & thus all of the genres. Fables, fairy tales, ghost stories, sci-fi, fantasy, horror: everything is represented, & everything feels like it grows organically out of our own weird, horrific, beautiful, & terrifying world. It shifted my sense of reality, kind of like reading Jeff VanderMeer. Disorienting & disturbing.

batsy Big props to Korean writer Bora Chung & to translator Anton Hur, because I'm usually wary of story collections. This one is solid & strong, with every story offering something different. Body horror makes me nervous because I don't like shock for the sake of it (my beef with Mariana Enriquez's Smoking in Bed), but all of these stories tap into the underlying sadness that comes with pain, loss, grief, & suffering. #internationalbookerprize2022 3y
Ruthiella Excellent review. I‘m sold! 3y
vivastory I've had my eye on this, but you completely sold me! I was a bit hesitant because I had similar issues with Smoking in Bed & I worried this would be similar. Ordering now 📚 3y
See All 11 Comments
Simona Indeed, it is extremely strong short stories collection … I loved it too. 3y
batsy @Ruthiella Oh, good! I hope you like it if you decide to give it a try 🙂 3y
batsy @vivastory I'm glad! It's hard to determine who to recommend this book to, but I do get the sense that you might enjoy it! 3y
batsy @Simona Yay! I'm happy to hear that 🙂 3y
readordierachel So intrigued by this one. And I love that trippy cover. 3y
batsy @readordierachel It's such a great cover! And despite my general aversion/fear of rabbits in life (😅) I seem to do well with Bunny books (this and Mona Awad's). 3y
BarbaraBB Love your review. I just started this book and get what you‘re meaning. 3y
batsy @BarbaraBB Thank you! I hope you continue to find it enjoyable/worth reading 💜 3y
87 likes6 stack adds11 comments
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Simona
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Three books from International Booker Prize longlist, and the same audiobook as in previous #weeklyforecast for Reading Africa challenge. Yesterday I started The Book of Mother and the story is so raw and intense, and surprisingly - it is debut novel.

BarbaraBB Looking forward to your reviews! 3y
rockpools Have you read Fosse before? Just started and feeling that I‘m probably far too shallow to appreciate it. 3y
Simona @rockpools I haven‘t, and I‘m seriously considering to read the previous two books before reading this one … 🧐 3y
See All 12 Comments
rockpools @Simona That would be a VERY wise move. But there are so many others on the list I want to read more, it‘s not going to happen, so 🤷🏻‍♀️ 3y
Simona @rockpools I think that I have time to do so, before shortlist will be announced … 3y
Megabooks I love this graphic! 3y
BookwormM 7th April for short list announcement 😱😱 3y
Simona @BookwormM I've already read three books before announcement, I finished two books through the weekend, and except Tomb of Sand, rest of them looks relatively thin … so I think that longlist is doable. 3y
BookwormM I am waiting on library getting the books so no way I will make it 3y
Simona @BookwormM Yeah, that could be problem for me too … I ordered three books from Blackwells, they were dispatched today … so in the best scenario they will be delivered in 14 days 🤞🤞🤞 3y
shawnmooney As usual, you‘re reading a whole bunch of interesting stuff! I just can‘t keep up with you! That is a compliment! 💕 3y
Simona @shawnmooney Thank you 😊 and I could say same for you. Every year I really enjoy in International Booker longlist … I usually find in this list one or two my favourite book/s of the year. 3y
53 likes1 stack add12 comments
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nelehelen
Cursed Bunny | Bora Chung
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Pickpick

One of my fav reads of this year and now one of my fav short story collections of all time! This genre-defying collection will take you for a ride. It has horror, sci-fi, fantasy, magical realism and speculative fiction. Truly disturbing but absolutely refreshing with lots of social and cultural commentary about South Korea. Bora Chung is one to watch!

Full review: https://www.instagram.com/p/CTxiMyThIkm/?utm_medium=copy_link

#womenintranslation

Oryx Cool picture 3y
nelehelen @Oryx thank you! 3y
Reggie You had me at short stories, horror, sci-fi, magical realism, and speculative. Lol stacked. 3y
nelehelen @Reggie lol right?! Too good to pass up! 3y
29 likes3 stack adds4 comments