Cursed Bunny
Stories
Contributors
By Bora Chung
Translated by Anton Hur
Read by Greta Jung
Formats and Prices
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$24.98Format
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- Audiobook Download (Unabridged) $24.98
- ebook $14.99 $19.99 CAD
- Trade Paperback $18.99 $24.99 CAD
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“Cool, brilliantly demented K-horror—just the way I like it!” —Ed Park, author of Personal Days
A stunning, wildly original debut from a rising star of Korean literature—surreal, chilling fables that take on the patriarchy, capitalism, and the reign of big tech with absurdist humor and a (sometimes literal) bite.
From an author never before published in the United States, Cursed Bunny is unique and imaginative, blending horror, sci-fi, fairytales, and speculative fiction into stories that defy categorization. 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. But in this unforgettable collection, translated by the acclaimed Anton Hur, Chung’s absurd, haunting universe could be our own, illuminating the ills of contemporary society.
“The Head” follows a woman haunted by her own bodily waste. “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. Another story follows a young monster, forced into underground fight rings without knowing the force of his own power. The titular fable centers on a cursed lamp in the approachable shape of a rabbit, fit for a child’s bedroom but for its sinister capabilities.
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. 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.
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“If you were the kind of child who was enthralled by Scary Stories to Read in the Dark, Bora Chung writes for you. Like the work of Carmen Maria Machado and Aoko Matsuda, Chung’s stories are so wonderfully, blisteringly strange and powerful that it's almost impossible to put Cursed Bunny down. In short, this collection may, in fact, be a cursed object in the best possible way.”Kelly Link, bestselling author of Get In Trouble
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"Bora Chung's Cursed Bunny mines those places where what we fear is true and what is true meet and separate and re-meet. The resulting stories are indelible. Haunting, funny, gross, terrifying—and yet when we reach the end, we just want more."Alexander Chee, author of How to Write an Autobiographical Novel
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“Whether borrowing from fable, folktale, speculative fiction, science fiction, or horror, Chung’s stories corkscrew toward devastating conclusions—bleak, yes, but also wise and honest about the nightmares of contemporary life. Don't read this book while eating—but don’t skip these unflinching, intelligent stories, either.”Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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"[Chung's] glorious anglophone debut, enabled by award-winning Anton Hur, is poised to shock and delight. Bizarrely enigmatic, Chung’s collection proves irresistible."Terry Hong, Booklist (starred review)
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“Nothing concentrates the mind like Chung’s terrors, which will shrivel you to a bouillon cube of your most primal instincts.”Rhoda Feng, Vulture
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“Bora Chung Soars with a provocative collection of stories. ...remarkable... The 10 stories are beyond imagination: breathtaking, wild, crazy, the most original fiction I have ever encountered. …each more astounding than the last.”Louisa Ermelino, Publishers Weekly
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“Like a family in a home, fantastic stories gather together in this book. The stories not only take their revenge, but also love you, and comfort you. You'll end up completely endeared to this fascinating collection!”Kyung-sook Shin, New York Times Bestselling author of Please Look After Mom and Violets
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"Cool, brilliantly demented K-horror—just the way I like it!"Ed Park, author of Personal Days
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“A collection of exquisitely crafted, spooky and unnerving tales that haunted me long after reading. Each story is a macabre gem, shot through with visceral horror, wry humor, and subtly profound insights on human nature. These stories convey how the traumas and transgressions of the past, individual and collective, and erupt into the present, distorting and eroding our perception of reality. Bora Chung is an amazingly inventive and daring writer. I will revisit these stories whenever I need a reminder of how fresh and vital prose can be.”Kate Folk, author of Out There
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"What made this book truly transcendental was the sense of absolute dread that many of its stories summoned. Chung’s work fits neatly beside that of Brian Evenson and Kelly Link—cerebral fiction that might give you nightmares."Tobias Carroll, Words Without Borders
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“Disturbing, chilling, wrenching, and absolute genius. I wanted Chung to write a story about a reader getting a deep look inside her fantastic swirling mind. I had to take breaks and gulps of air before plunging back into each story. Magnetic, eerie, immensely important.”Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face
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“Fables of frightening moral clarity told in calm, bell-like prose, Cursed Bunny aims to unsettle. It's as assured and brilliant as a nightmare. With an unflinching gaze and a sly humor, Chung has built a world both unfamiliar and eerily familiar, whose truths echo into our own. The indelible work of a master.”Shruti Swamy, author of The Archer and A House is a Body
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“While the stories in Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung blend elements of horror, fantasy and the surreal, each is viscerally rooted in the real fears and pressures of everyday life.”International Booker Prize judges
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“Chung debuts with a well-crafted and horrifying collection of dark fairy tales, stark revenge fables, and disturbing body horror. Clever plot twists and sparkling prose abound. Chung’s work is captivating and terrifying.”—Publishers Weekly
- On Sale
- Dec 6, 2022
- Publisher
- Hachette Audio
- ISBN-13
- 9781649041449
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Available January 30, 2024!
u003cstrongu003eThe new story collection from the author and translator of u003cemu003eCursed Bunnyu003c/emu003e, a finalist for the 2023 National Book Award in Translated Literature!u003cbru003eu003cbru003eu003c/strongu003eu003cemu003eYour Utopiau003c/emu003e is full of tales of loss and discovery, idealism and dystopia, death and immortality. “Nothing concentrates the mind like Chung’s terrors, which will shrivel you to a bouillon cube of your most primal instincts” (u003cemu003eVultureu003c/emu003e), yet these stories are suffused with Chung’s inimitable wry humor and surprisingly tender moments, too.
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