Rouge by Mona Awad


I’m obviously not the target audience for this, but I really loved Bunny.

This is sharp satire and truly original writing. The dreamlike storytelling and ever-increasing weirdness were absolute catnip to me. It was funny and clever. I absolutely devoured it.

Until the spell broke at around the 2/3 mark. Suddenly the book felt tedious, and became a bit of a chore. I’m not sure why, maybe the one storyline just went on too long, or maybe the sense of confusion lost me just enough to shake me out of the dream. Whatever the case, suddenly it felt like watching late episodes of the original Twin Peaks or The Servant – where nothing has tangibly changed but it stops mattering.

The last section catches fire again, but it was too late, I was mostly disengaged.

Whatever the case, it was a bit of a let down. Awad is a fantastic author and I will preorder whatever she does next, but this one wasn’t quite the stunner that Bunny was.