The Head ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Embodiment ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cursed Bunny ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Frozen Finger ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Snare ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Goodbye, My Love ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Scars - DNF
Home Sweet Home ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ruler of the Winds and Sands ⭐️⭐️
Reunion ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I struggled to rate this one because I loved the first half and then the second half felt like a totally different book. Perhaps the stories in the second half could have been better liked by me if not paired with the stories in the first half.

<i>First, a thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC of this book - even though it was a looong time ago, oops!</i>

I don’t know exactly how I feel about this collection of short stories, nor do I really have a strong inclination on what sort of review to write. So I guess take that as you will.

an interesting collection of short stories that felt overall very lonely to me and dealt with themes of isolation and capitalism. i loved reading work in translation!

Thank you to Net Galley and Algonquin Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. These short stories are translated from Korean which are a combination of horror, magical realism, science fiction and I liken it to a gruesome, crazy version of the Twilight Zone. Within each, there is a meaning which relates to every day real life such as capitalism/greed, patriarchy and other ills of our society. The first three stories -- The Head, The Embodiment, Cursed Bunny -- made the biggest impressions but overall the collection was not my favorite as horror and magical realism are not my preferred genres and the graphic manner of the stories did not appeal to me. Yet, it still was good to read something different and experience stories from a different culture with stories interwoven with universal themes.

this is what i call a wild ride. It was so weird, so disturbing, in the best way possible. I love how everything felt like the horror version of black mirror.

Such a wild ride! Read this after reading Bunny by Mona Awad to continue the Bunny theme and boy did this book deliver! Definitely recommend giving this one a read!

This is not for the faint of heart! I enjoyed the stories in Cursed Bunny and appreciated the mix of horror and speculative fiction. They were distinct and quite gory at times.

CURSED BUNNY by Korean author Bora Chung (trans. by Anton Hur) is a collection of dark, genre-defying short stories. Chung blurs the lines between magical realism, horror and sci-fi in these strange and unsettling tales. For fellow weirdos who enjoy books that make your skin crawl, these compelling and melancholic stories will linger in your mind well after closing the book.

Excellent book of short stories, though the first two had me feeling pretty iffy. They’re all speculative fiction in one way or another — from robots to fairy tales to ghosts.

Beyond the difficulty of reading the digital galley, many of the stories are grimly repetitive--and the body horror is often punishingly grotesque.

I am so sorry, but I'm not able to read this. I've tried downloading it multiple times and it's always super blurry. I can't physically read it whether I view it on my phone or e-reader. I've even tried it on a PC, and it's still not readable. I've never had this trouble with any other NetGalley title before.

For starters, the cover for both hardback and paperback are absolutely stunning and eye-catching, as well as the title. We normally associate bunnies with being fun, cute, defenseless little animals, so how can one be cursed? This was a pretty short read- the length of the stories was just right, and perfect for people who read at a slower pace. I loved the bizarre twist found in each story. Though I would not necessarily categorize this book as horror, there certainly are frightful elements that are reminiscent of Junji Ito or Edogawa Rampo, who are titans in the Japanese horror world. The placement of story number one was genius, as it was just weird and scary enough to peak your interest into what is to come for the rest of the book. The translation was amazing, and made the book really flow well, and quite easy to read. I can't wait to read more of Bora Chung.

(ARC from NetGalley but I got around to it like 3 months post put date so no longer "advanced", my bad) For everyone thats a fan of weird little short stories, bordering on grotesque, and hates capitalism this is the book for you! Personally, I'm fine with being a little gross but we start off with a lot of mentions of pee...

I thought it was a really interesting authorial choice to have all these stories be perfect. It’s a really diverse collection but every story feels tied together by how appropriately cursed they are.

Like Bora Chung quite a bit, but this book sadly didn’t do it for me. Felt like it dragged on a bit.

While the stories in this collection show promise in their themes and ideas, the execution fell short for me. I also didn't love all of the content included in the stories and it was a bit out of my wheelhouse in general. The characters seemed to lack depth throughout, making it difficult to fully engage with the narratives. Overall, the collection feels underdeveloped. The final story, titled "Reunion," was my favorite in the colllection.

I really enjoyed all the stories in Cursed Bunny! While mainly horror, the stories also combine elements of surrealism, science fiction, and speculative fiction. It's an entertaining and thought provoking mix of the bizarre and macabre with a poignant perspective on modern society.

Cursed Bunny is not without its merits, but eventually falls short of truly grasping the amazing concept it resolves around. An anti-capitalist examination of misogyny, the human condition, and the world we live in full of terror, pain, suffering and love, Chung is not an author to be trifled with. The contents of her imagination flow through the words, and the passion for the craft is obvious, but I felt that she never went deep enough, but when she did, for example in the titular story, Cursed Bunny, I found myself bored. It's an interesting and confusing feeling to process, one where I want to read and discuss these topics alongside the characters and the narrative voice, but I also just want it to be over. Most stories I found went overboard, but these are the ones I also found the least interesting in theme. The first two stories I found to be standouts, the first in particular, and those I will carry with me for a long time.

Wow. This was truly incredible. I am not sure if there was a greater meaning to the majority of the stories; if there was, I missed it. But I cannot emphasize this enough: I love these stories. I love love loved them. They were weird and horrible and sad and beautiful and. Highly recommend to people who love short stories.

I love weird, dark stories and I've really been loving Korean horror, but I just didn't connect with this one as much as I wanted to. I am interested in reading more from this author. I might also revisit this at some point, maybe I just wasn't in the right mood to enjoy this as much as I had hoped.