Set adrift by his wife’s suicide and struggling to keep a grip on reality, Bunny Munro does the only thing he can think of: with his young son in tow, he hits the road. To his son, waiting patiently in the car while his father peddles beauty wares and quickies to lonely housewives in the south of England, Bunny is a hero, larger than life. But Bunny himself, haunted by what might be his wife’s ghost, seems only dimly aware of his son’s existence.
When his bizarre trip shades into a final reckoning, when he can no longer be sure what is real and what is not, Bunny finally begins to recognize the love he feels for his son. And he sees that the revenants of his world—decrepit fathers, vengeful ghosts, jealous husbands, and horned psycho-killers—are lurking in the shadows, waiting to exact their toll.
At turns dark and humane, The Death of Bunny Munro is a tender portrait of the relationship between a boy and his father, with all the wit and enigma that fans will recognize as Nick Cave’s singular vision.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The protagonist of Cave's pleasantly demented second novel, set in England, is living out a porno: door-to-door lotion salesman Bunny Munro spends his days seducing invariably attractive women, servicing both their sexual and moisturizing needs. His wife's suicide, though, threatens to derail Bunny's amorous adventures, as he can't shake the feeling that he might somehow be responsible. Another new obstacle is the need to look after his nine-year-old son, Bunny Jr. In an effort to escape the creepiness of the apartment he shared with his wife, Bunny takes his son on the road, teaching him the ropes of salesmanship. Meanwhile, a man in red face paint and plastic devil horns accosts women in northern England before a murderous turn sends him journeying south. Bunny's deterioration from swaggering Lothario to sputtering pity case suggests he is carrying around more guilt than he cares to admit, and his obsessive behavior, while a bit of a stretch, allows for an interesting portrait of modern family dynamics. Cave's bawdy humor, along with a gallows whimsy that will be familiar to fans of his music, elevate the novel from what might otherwise be a one-note adventure. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Put Cormac McCarthy, Franz Kafka, and Benny Hill together in a Brighton seaside guesthouse, and they might just come up with Bunny Munro. As it stands, though, this novel emerges emphatically as the work of one of the great cross-genre storytellers of our age; a compulsive read possessing all of Nick Cave’s trademark horror and humanity, often thinly disguised in a galloping, playful romp.” —Irvine Welsh
"The Death of Bunny Munro, is a sexually explicit, hyperactive soap opera of a book that proves, once again, that his talents are wide-ranging. Cave is a darkly gifted storyteller . . . Cave's prose surprises throughout with flashes of grotesque beauty." —Don Waters, San Francisco Chronicle
"As in song, Cave the novelist is unafraid to launch headlong into roaring caricature, but while the sex and death quotient is significant, the book also reveals surprising new weapons in his armoury, particularly the tenderness and humanity with which he portrays Bunny Junior, a beacon of love and faith in a ruined world . . . Told with verve, studded with scalding humour." —Graeme Thomson, The Observer
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Bunny Munro, the hero of this somewhat strange novel, is a traveling salesman promoting his samples of beauty products to women in small towns around Brighton in Southern England. Visiting an oddly disparate collection of women he does much more than selling his wares. In his self-assessment he is the irresistible charmer and seducer, thanks in part to his "lovelock", that, heavily pomaded, winks enticingly at any woman he encounters. Since the suicide of his "beloved" wife Libby, his stable framework is crumbling. He feels constantly observed by somebody and suffers from premonitions of death... In desperation he hits the road to escape and to do the only thing he knows well...
Seen as a farce and satire on human, in particular male, behaviour, one might get some enjoyment out of reading the travails of Bunny and his women. The lurid descriptions, however, become predictable and repetitive... No doubt, he is a sex addict of a certain kind more than anything else; if no suitable object for his almost constant availability is in his field of vision, he gets himself into the mood for the next encounter by imagining Avril Lavigne's "mother of all" private parts.
I have to admit that this is not my kind of book. Still, I have to respect Cave's writing excellence when it comes to evoking the seedy to depressing atmosphere of the apartments, houses or restaurants and their neighbourhoods that Bunny visits. With a few deft strokes he also captures the essence of the people the salesman meets. When later on in the story he recalls images of his characters, and in particular the women's more or less attractive body parts, the reader will also remember the individuals and the encounters the hero had with them.
But, life is more complicated, exemplified by Bunny junior, Bunny's nine-year old quiet, encyclopedia-reading son who misses his mum terribly. He has to "learn the ropes" and travel with Bunny from one appointment to another, of course, sitting in the car outside. The father-son relationship, or the more or less successful efforts by both to have such a relationship, adds a more serious aspect to Cave's novel. Does it work? For me the relationship between the two did not salvage the book. Without giving away developments towards the end, one can say that roles between the two will change over time. A quote on the back book flap mentions Cormac McCarthy (and Franz Kafka!). Anybody who has read The Road (Movie Tie-in Edition 2009) (Vintage International) where the father-son relationship is central and also carries the novel beautifully, will find any such comparison here out of place. [Friederike Knabe]
Seen as a farce and satire on human, in particular male, behaviour, one might get some enjoyment out of reading the travails of Bunny and his women. The lurid descriptions, however, become predictable and repetitive... No doubt, he is a sex addict of a certain kind more than anything else; if no suitable object for his almost constant availability is in his field of vision, he gets himself into the mood for the next encounter by imagining Avril Lavigne's "mother of all" private parts.
I have to admit that this is not my kind of book. Still, I have to respect Cave's writing excellence when it comes to evoking the seedy to depressing atmosphere of the apartments, houses or restaurants and their neighbourhoods that Bunny visits. With a few deft strokes he also captures the essence of the people the salesman meets. When later on in the story he recalls images of his characters, and in particular the women's more or less attractive body parts, the reader will also remember the individuals and the encounters the hero had with them.
But, life is more complicated, exemplified by Bunny junior, Bunny's nine-year old quiet, encyclopedia-reading son who misses his mum terribly. He has to "learn the ropes" and travel with Bunny from one appointment to another, of course, sitting in the car outside. The father-son relationship, or the more or less successful efforts by both to have such a relationship, adds a more serious aspect to Cave's novel. Does it work? For me the relationship between the two did not salvage the book. Without giving away developments towards the end, one can say that roles between the two will change over time. A quote on the back book flap mentions Cormac McCarthy (and Franz Kafka!). Anybody who has read The Road (Movie Tie-in Edition 2009) (Vintage International) where the father-son relationship is central and also carries the novel beautifully, will find any such comparison here out of place. [Friederike Knabe]
17 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This novel is bound to spark lots of different reactions because it is provocative and explicit and strange and dangerous and incredibly funny and genuinely challenging. But I hope that the beauty of the writing and the seriousness of the book's moral dimensions are not overlooked because of the "controversial" aspects of the novel. For this second novel by Nick Cave is a major piece of literature that makes so much of what is being written today in this country look anodyne and flaccid.
At the emotional heart of this death trip of a ride is this extremely tender and movingly captured relationship between the Bunny Munro of the title and his nine year old son Bunny Junior. It has real depth and is utterly convicing and so when you do get to the end of the rollercoaster you feel literally spent.
But along the way you will experience some of the sharpest and funniest writing you are likely to find this year. Fans of Cave's music will lap it up like cream (and the audio book which he has recorded with an accompanying soundtrack by him and fellow Bad Seed Warren Ellis) but it should also win over a lot of new fans because it is so damn good. The novel's protoganist, the travelling salesman Bunny Munro, is an unforgettable and utterly flawed and tragic anti-hero that is going to live forever.
Rock on Mr Cave and thanks for writing such a stunning book. And please don't leave it another twenty years before you give us a third novel!
At the emotional heart of this death trip of a ride is this extremely tender and movingly captured relationship between the Bunny Munro of the title and his nine year old son Bunny Junior. It has real depth and is utterly convicing and so when you do get to the end of the rollercoaster you feel literally spent.
But along the way you will experience some of the sharpest and funniest writing you are likely to find this year. Fans of Cave's music will lap it up like cream (and the audio book which he has recorded with an accompanying soundtrack by him and fellow Bad Seed Warren Ellis) but it should also win over a lot of new fans because it is so damn good. The novel's protoganist, the travelling salesman Bunny Munro, is an unforgettable and utterly flawed and tragic anti-hero that is going to live forever.
Rock on Mr Cave and thanks for writing such a stunning book. And please don't leave it another twenty years before you give us a third novel!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Is the book pretentious? Yes of course! Nick Cave has gloried in the overly embellished cliche throughout his career. But this book is great because it is VERY funny. His writing is so much more selective, controlled and refined than his previous novel (When the Ass...) which got on my nerves because it was exactly the book I had expected from him at the time and read like he was just interested in spreading a large dollop of his public persona across the pages. But in Bunny he has created a surreal tale and a monstrous character - albeit a rather unlikely one - and I found I was not thinking on every page that this is Nick Cave writing. In other words, in spite of maintaining his extreme approach to narrative that characterises all his song writing from the Birthday Party days onwards, this book doesn't seem like Nick Cave exhibiting himself. It tells a sad and funny story, and it made me laugh, from start to finish. Yes, I agree with those reviewers who say it is not a deep or complex book, and it is certainly depraved. But like great comedy, it is also moving, tragic and memorable. Overall, fun.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Cynical and snide, a respectably trashy pulp ride
A snaky chauvinist and his son travel across Britain. The father sells cosmetics and is often beaten to savage pulp. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Kevin F. Tasker
Well written, unpleasant
This is obviously the work of a very capable writer, but to put it bluntly, it is an unpleasant read. The chief character has no redeeming value. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Harvey Ardman
god is in the house ...
I have seen this man live several times and have followed his writing, acting, art, singing career for over 20 years and still I am not sure what I think is his major talent. Read more
Published 11 months ago by J P Lane
MY FAVE
Nick Cave is a God of the written word. I know people say it all the time but I truly couldn't put this book down. THIS IS BY FAR MY MOST FAVORITE NOVEL!!!!!!!!!!!!
Published 11 months ago by Sheamus
Charisma can be deadly
After a hiatus of 20 years, The Death of Bunny Munro is Nick Cave's second novel. From the first page, Cave very effectively puts us inside the depraved mind of Bunny Munro, a... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Cloggie Downunder
give me a break!
Hundreds of great books published every year- but the GAD (Great Aussie Dilenttante) has come with a load of cobblers. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Terence Marriott
What is there to say?
Like his music, dark, sarcastic, nostalgic and a bit ..looney. You gotta love it, Nick Cave is an amazing musician and writer and this book (just like the "ass" book) proves it.
Published 18 months ago by Carielyn Satterlee
A review or something.
I've been a rabid Nick Cave fan for 22 years now; I discovered him as a teen punk with "The Good Son," immediately picked up all of his work previous to that masterpiece, and have... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Lunatic Muse
So disappointing, esp. for Nick Cave
Sorry, I loved And the Ass Saw the Angel and as a big Nick Cave fan I was predisposed to Bunny Munro. However, and to my surprise, I found it tedious and pointless. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Tintin
Absolutely Beautiful
This novel left me crying for hours, i couldn't peel myself away from it, and read it rather quickly. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Ronald Vaughn
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