Table of Contents
Introduction: Why Bunny Is Unlike Anything You’ve Read
Mona Awad’s Bunny isn’t just a novel—it’s an experience. A surreal, grotesque, and darkly funny descent into female friendships, MFA culture, and the blurred lines between reality and imagination. Set in an elite creative writing program at Warren University, the novel follows outsider Samantha as she is drawn into an exclusive clique of women who call each other “Bunny” and engage in bizarre rituals that quickly escalate from cultish to horrific.
Bunny is part satire, part horror, and part hallucinatory fever dream. It’s no surprise that readers obsessed with its strange, unsettling tone go on the hunt for books like Bunny—stories that offer a similarly warped view of art, identity, and female relationships.
If you’re craving books similar to Bunny that embrace the weird, the literary, and the deeply psychological, you’re in the right place. This list will guide you through the best surreal, disturbing, and darkly humorous reads that fans of Mona Awad’s twisted masterpiece will devour.
Other Books by Mona Awad
While Bunny may be her most talked-about work, Mona Awad has a growing body of fiction that explores beauty, identity, and the uncanny.
- 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl (2016): A dark, biting exploration of body image and societal pressure.
- All’s Well (2021): A Shakespearean horror-comedy about chronic pain and magical revenge in a university theater department.
- Rouge (2023): Awad’s most recent novel delves into skincare obsession, mother-daughter trauma, and gothic surrealism.
Each of these could be loosely considered books like Bunny due to their stylistic boldness, complex female protagonists, and genre-bending narratives.
More on her work can be found on her official website or via @monaawadwriter on Instagram.
Who Is Mona Awad?
Mona Awad is a Canadian-American author who studied English literature and holds an MFA in fiction writing from Brown University—the inspiration behind Bunny’s academic setting. She also earned a PhD in English and creative writing, with a focus on grotesque, horror, and trauma literature.
Her fiction often explores surreal transformations, body politics, female rage, and the absurdity of modern culture. This academic and thematic background is what gives rise to the weird but meticulous worldbuilding in Bunny—and why readers often seek books similar to Bunny that blur genre and perspective so effectively.
Fun Facts & Cultural Impact of Bunny
- Published: June 11, 2019 by Viking Press
- Adaptation: Currently in development as a TV series with Bad Robot and AMC Studios.
- Genre: Satirical horror, surrealism, dark academia
- Goodreads Rating: 3.72 ★ from 114,000+ reviews
- Cult following: Widely embraced by BookTok, particularly among fans of weird lit, dark feminism, and horror satire
Mona Awad’s ability to create unease while remaining hilarious and stylish has cemented Bunny as a modern cult classic. Those who search for books like Bunny are usually fans of works that disrupt norms and dive into female identity, group dynamics, and horror in unexpected ways.
What Inspired Bunny?
Awad has said Bunny was inspired by her own MFA experience, as well as her love for David Lynch, Heathers, and Alice in Wonderland. She was fascinated by cliquishness, power dynamics among women, and how creative environments can mutate under pressure.
The novel also pays homage to psychological horror, literary satire, and gothic surrealism—all traits that define the best books similar to Bunny.
Books like Bunny: Twisted, Satirical, Surreal
1. All’s Well by Mona Awad
Description:
Miranda Fitch, a theater professor plagued by chronic pain, is on the brink of losing her career and sanity—until three mysterious benefactors offer her a chance to rewrite her reality.
Why it’s similar:
Both books use magical realism and satire to explore female suffering, performance, and transformation. The themes of control, madness, and theatrical identity are strong overlaps.
Random Facts:
- Longlisted for the 2021 Giller Prize
- Inspired by All’s Well That Ends Well and Macbeth
- Currently being adapted into a film
Quote:
“I want to believe in miracles, because otherwise I have to believe in pain.”
2. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
Description:
An unnamed narrator attempts to sleep away her life using a cocktail of pills and privilege in pre-9/11 New York. A novel of alienation, beauty, and dark absurdity.
Why it’s similar:
Both are narrated by detached, unreliable women in absurd, privileged bubbles. Their quests for transformation—one through rituals, the other through pharmaceuticals—are equally disturbing and surreal.
Random Facts:
- New York Times bestseller
- BookTok favorite in #sadgirl genre
- Sold over 1 million copies
Quote:
“Sleep felt productive. Something was getting sorted out.”
3. Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
Description:
Natsuki believes she’s an alien, emotionally disconnected from society’s expectations. As her life spirals, she escapes to a cabin in the woods for one final act of self-preservation.
Why it’s similar:
A deeply disturbing, fantastical narrative about rejecting societal norms and embracing personal delusion. Like Bunny, it takes “outsider fiction” to extremes.
Random Facts:
- Banned in some Japanese bookstores for explicit content
- International bestseller
- Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori
Quote:
“Everyone is a factory. Factories make people. Factories make babies. That’s what adults are.”
4. The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Description:
A woman stops eating meat after a disturbing dream, unraveling her life and marriage. A deeply poetic and horrifying meditation on control, rebellion, and female autonomy.
Why it’s similar:
Both novels center on a woman’s descent into madness as an act of resistance. Blends horror with beauty and critiques of patriarchal norms.
Random Facts:
- Won the 2016 International Booker Prize
- Translated from Korean by Deborah Smith
- Inspired by visual art and Buddhist philosophy
Quote:
“I had a dream. And I stopped eating meat.”
5. Boy Parts by Eliza Clark
Description:
A female photographer becomes increasingly unstable as she photographs male subjects in disturbing ways. A black comedy about sex, art, and psychological collapse.
Why it’s similar:
Darkly funny, grotesque, and feminist. Like Bunny, it explores femininity as performance, art-world absurdities, and the unraveling of identity.
Random Facts:
- Published by independent press Influx
- Cult classic in UK alt-lit scene
- Optioned for a TV adaptation
Quote:
“I don’t want to be known. I want to be seen.”
6. A Touch of Jen by Beth Morgan
Description:
A Brooklyn couple becomes obsessed with the social media life of a girl named Jen—until their fantasy turns into a cosmic horror reality. A satire of influencer culture and unstable identities.
Why it’s similar:
Bizarre, genre-defying, and deeply unsettling. Like Bunny, it dissects female archetypes, group think, and identity distortion in surreal, horrifying ways.
Random Facts:
- Featured in Vulture’s Best Books of 2021
- Blends horror, comedy, and social commentary
- Debut novel by a former The Onion contributor
Quote:
“You’re in the wrong story, and you know it, and it’s eating you alive.”
Comparative Table: Books like Bunny vs Recommended Reads
| Book Title | Tone/Genre | Themes | Narrator Style | Similarity Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bunny | Surreal Horror Satire | Female Identity, Cliques, Rituals | First-person, fragmented | — |
| All’s Well | Magical Realism + Horror | Pain, Performance, Control | Unreliable, emotional | ★★★★★ |
| My Year of Rest… | Literary Absurdist | Alienation, Narcissism, Disillusion | Detached, cynical | ★★★★☆ |
| Earthlings | Bizarro, Psychological | Escapism, Abuse, Anti-society | Distant, haunting | ★★★★☆ |
| The Vegetarian | Poetic Horror | Rebellion, Madness, Autonomy | Multi-POV | ★★★★☆ |
| Boy Parts | Feminist Black Comedy | Art, Objectification, Breakdown | Brutal, graphic | ★★★★☆ |
| A Touch of Jen | Horror + Satire | Social Media, Identity, Delusion | Hyper-aware, chaotic | ★★★★☆ |
FAQs about books like Bunny
Is Bunny by Mona Awad horror or satire?
It’s both—a surreal satire with psychological horror elements and dark academia aesthetics.
Is there a Bunny movie or TV adaptation?
Yes, a television adaptation is in development with AMC Studios and Bad Robot.
What is the meaning behind Bunny’s ending?
Interpretations vary, but many see it as a commentary on identity, transformation, and creative madness.
Why is Bunny so polarizing?
Its surreal style and unclear boundaries between real and imagined events can either captivate or alienate readers.
Are all of Mona Awad’s books connected?
Not directly, but they share themes like transformation, horror, and societal critique, making them great books like Bunny.
Where can I find more books similar to Bunny?
You can browse literary horror and surrealist lists on Goodreads or follow curated guides on My Plot Review.
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