A Halloween Special: Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung

Spooky season is upon us. While the Booker Prizes' archive might not be filled to the rafters with tales of horror, Bora Chung's Cursed Bunny is certainly ghostly and horrifying – a perfect read for this time of year. Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022, Cursed Bunny, translated from Korean to English by Anton Hur, presents a collection of fantastically surreal stories that address the very real horrors of capitalism and the patriarchy.

In this episode Jo and James talk about:

• Their own Halloween traditions
• Bora Chung and her background in writing
• The unexpected way the book found its way to western readers
• The stories in this collection, and which are their favourites
• Their theories on themes throughout the book and what the author is trying to say
• Whether these tales of terror are going to keep them up at night

Reading list:

• Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur
• Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, translated by Daisy Rockwell
• The Vegetarian by Han Kang, translated by Deborah Smith
• Hags by Victoria Smith

Further viewing:

• Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, directed by Park Chan-wook
• Old Boy, directed by Park Chan-wook
• Lady Vengeance, directed by Park Chan-wook
• Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho
• Memories of Murder, directed by Bong Joon-ho

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

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