Emily Vance Brown

by Mona Awad

After reading most of Mona Awad’s repertoire and discussing them with friends, I’ve come to the conclusion that whether or not someone likes one of her books depends primarily on how much they connect to the situations being satirized. I have friends who are obsessed with Bunny, who thought All’s Well was boring as hell, and who love the fairytale-style of Rouge. Personally, I don’t like Awad’s writing style in general but I am intrigued by her method of choosing niche, personal subject matter that’s almost akin to telling an inside joke—if you get it, you get it, and if you don’t, you just don’t.

My individual reviews, in order from lowest to highest rating:

• Rouge, 2/5: I thought this story, and the writing, were lackluster. It didn’t ever really do what it seemed like it was trying to do. I wanted Rouge to delve deeper into the social commentaries on race and beauty, but Awad only ever skimmed the surface of these topics. Aside from that, none of the characters underwent any kind of development or transformation, and the romance felt forced.
• Bunny, 3/5: I didn’t explicitly dislike this one, but I didn’t really like it either. I have the distinct feeling that this story isn’t meant for me, and that’s okay. My friends and coworkers who were involved in sororities in college really liked this one; they’ve said it reminds them of those types of clique-ish relationships found in sororities and other similar women-only groups. I’ve never had that type of experience with female friends, so I think I just didn’t get it! I would still recommend it to someone looking for a woman-led magical realist story, or to someone specifically looking for a satire of mean girl cliques.
• All’s Well, 4/5: This was my favorite of Awad’s work, and the only one that I would actively say I enjoyed reading. I thought Miranda’s interactions with her doctors and coworkers are a beautiful example of what it feels like to experience medical trauma and gaslighting and how it feels to suffer from invisible chronic pain. As a fan of Shakespeare, I also really enjoyed the theatre element and the thematic allusions to Macbeth. That being said, I think All’s Well is similar to Bunny in the sense that it seems like it would only hit home if you have a personal connection to the subject matter, so I’d only be likely to recommend it to someone who has experience with and is okay with reading about chronic illness.