Unfortunately, for a lot of this novel we’re stuck inside these people’s heads. Bunny, it’s not always pleasant there ... Awad’s great gift lies in her ability to deftly weaponize prevailing notions of good taste ... I admit that Awad’s enthusiasm for a Netflix-ified version of gothic...sometimes made me want to beg for mercy ... Maybe this book is either too fun to hate or hating it is fun, even if it lacks the complexity of the original Bunny. ... Here’s some wisdom seldom taught in school: If you aim at anything too frequently, you’ll inevitably miss the mark.
This follow-up has the key strengths of the original, particularly its scabrous satire on upper-middle-class American femininity ... There is a brinkmanship to this kind of satire; it can all too easily cross into misogyny. But while Awad happily annihilates these characters, she seems to get a real kick out of femmeness ... Suffers from a certain sequelitis. It’s baggier than the original. Its metaphors for creativity feel less earned ... Inhabiting their loathsomeness becomes a bit of a chore. This is redeemed, however, when we come to the last voice of the novel ... Awad is here to show us that romantasy can be serious literature, and nothing can really be too camp.
Incredibly gory and hilarious fun, as Awad makes lacerating use of both sharp objects and literary jargon to skewer current intellectual pretensions ... The shocks can feel like a sucker punch; you’re laughing one moment, splattered with viscera the next. The writing is also beautifully atmospheric ... The novel triumphs when it transcends the cleverness of its conceit to become a tale that astonishes and moves us. The side story of a teacher who plagiarises the students who worship her is genuinely wrenching.
Awad adds another brilliant roast of academia to the shelves, once again unmatched in playful language. Readers will laugh to tears and be fully immersed in this ethereal trip back to Warren.
Her command of acerbic wit and satiric plotlines, talent for characterization, and sharp metacriticism of creative writing programs make her story sing in the way only bleeding tongues, broken hearts, and battle axes can.
Satirical and surrealist ... Awad’s pacing is uneven, but she sticks the landing with a delightfully unexpected and unhinged ending. Her wit, humor, and metafictional prowess are on full display in this prequel, sequel, expanded upside-down revision, or whatever you want to call it. Hilarious, grotesque, and standing slightly in the shadow of its sibling.
