Bunny Sex: The Collection (Stories 1 to 4)

The Death of Bunny Munro

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Death is too good for this breed of megalomaniac sociopath Well done Mr Cave, I like a book that really pisses me off. One hand is clapping, I guess it's my feminine side. The other one is busy wanking off. Jun 21, Sarah Etter rated it really liked it. Nov 22, Marco Cultrera rated it really liked it. I have both the book and the audio-book read by the author himself , and I ended up listening to the audio-book while completing a repetitive manual task.

I'm glad I did. Nick Cave's voice and delivery are perfect for the twisted events during the last few days of Bunny Munro's life. Also, the many music interludes are fantastic, and really add to the atmosphere. About the novel itself: Nick Cave is at his best. The man is a genius in creating incredibly compelling and flawed characters and Bunny I have both the book and the audio-book read by the author himself , and I ended up listening to the audio-book while completing a repetitive manual task.

The man is a genius in creating incredibly compelling and flawed characters and Bunny Munro is no exception. Bunny is as disgusting a human being as it gets, and the juxtaposition with his 9-year old son couldn't be greater. As I kept listening, looking forward to the end of Bunny's miserable life, so that Bunny Jr. Is Bunny Munro just a colossal asshole and a sex addict who brought his misery on himself or it was inevitable, given his past?

Or, in other words, am I allowed to feel sorry for him, giving myself whatever justification I need? The great thing is that I'm not really sure even now, after I finished the book. The David Lynchian ending, as it should, doesn't really answer my question. If, as I suspect, Cave wanted to leave the answer to each one of us, he succeeds.

Great book, just shy of the 5 stars mark, because of a little too much self-indulgence in some of the sex scenes and pop culture references. In , I was unemployed, had moved back in with my father, and was pondering the imponderable: I remember being enthralled by his lush, complex sentences and his stark imagery. Looking back, perhaps it was the right time for me to read a tale of a strange boy stuck In , I was unemployed, had moved back in with my father, and was pondering the imponderable: Looking back, perhaps it was the right time for me to read a tale of a strange boy stuck in a private, angry world.

I would be truly frightened to read the prose that beat it. He is a dreamy boy, with an affliction that makes his eyelids sting so that the very act of looking at the world hurts him. Obviously, this is a book that deals in heavy-handed metaphors. Boy and father go on the road, with Bunny showing Jr. Reading the book becomes an eternity of punishment. The book was only made bearable thanks to the audio. For one, there is a some fantastic original music by Cave and his regular composing partner, Warren Ellis.

Two, Cave is a fantastic reader, and his deep tones are wonderful to listen to. Aug 27, Hosein rated it it was amazing. Jan 22, Lizzie rated it it was ok. Given that the title makes the ending somewhat obvious, you'd've thought Bunny's journey toward meeting his maker would offer some kind of dramatic tension.

Character, plotting and setting are weak, and for a tragedy which I guess we could label the book, there is no dramatic arc, just a never ending stream of vaginamania and the rampant misogyny of a man who has no demons to confront - he's already dead man walking. Where is the conflict? Th A major disappointment. Also, being in the position of living in Brighton, England, where the book is set, I am able to share this with you this: At one point we have Marine Parade, at another the Marine Parade. As for the aura of Brighton itself, its independent, fish and chip sleazy sea-side vibe are missing, and all we have are a litany of street names to identify my home town as the setting.

The two points are for the description of 'the white light' of morning after Bunny's coke binge and a few other poetic images.

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The other three taken away for a story that all too obviously was written, as the author admits, 'in four weeks. View all 3 comments. What started out promising, ultimately felt so entirely fake. The kid speaks and acts like no 9-year-old I've ever met, the main character was dim and unlikable, although that may be the point, if there was one I love Cave's music, themes related to all things macabre, but this book never would have seen the light of day if Cave's name wasn't on it. Loved the part when Bunny gets fucked by the devil.

Dec 07, Rebecca McNutt rated it really liked it Shelves: This book was really sad. It's the story of an aggrieved man who recently lost his wife and wants to find peace with his son, going on a road trip in the process. Sep 20, Leo Robertson rated it liked it. Well-written but I don't get it.

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Who can resist that cover tho??! Reading Nick Cave is a lot like dating. Wow I can't believe I finally have a Nick Cave in my hand! I've been waiting for 2 months until I can physically see the book back on the shelf. Cave's such a talented musician and original poet great open-mic by the way , this book can't possibly go wrong. The description is observant without being trivial, dialogue minimal and the characters more philosophical then what Camus and Sartre combined.

But I'm sure Cave is just being reserved with his writing and his subtlety will sure lead to something dramatic later. They're still on the road. Do you want to do something this weekend? What do you have in mind? Darling, I know you're trying to make it up by bringing in more crazy characters and David Lynch-ish surrealism. But no, it's too late, too late. Sorry Nick, look, it's nobody's fault, we shouldn't blame each other. Somehow we've just drifted apart, these things happen you know. Maybe we're just not right for each other, I'm sure you'll find more a more suitable audience here on GR.

It has been an unforgettable, albeit short journey and you have shown me how autobiography isn't the only thing a musician can write. The sex was good as well. So that's it I guess, I'll see you around. I need a drink. Jun 06, Tosh rated it really liked it. One, it's a tight piece of work that is extremely moving about a middle-aged widow who is a traveling door-to-door cosmetic salesman who has a passion for Not really women, but just the old in-and-out and then to the next female customer.

The main character Bunny is a man totally out-of-control with his life and surroundings. And Cave captures the down spiral in nice strokes on the page. The main drift and it is sort of a drift in a Situationist sense is a road trip to sell his wares with his very disturbed son.

And Pop is even worse. With grief over his wife's suicide, Bunny goes on a road to the entrance of Hell. In many ways it sort of reminds me of "The Road," except that this is a better book and the total disaster is all made by Bunny. Nick Cave is one extremely talented guy, and I am hoping that there will be more novels in the near future. Oct 23, Agathafrye rated it it was ok Shelves: Cave has a knack for writing about the wretched among us.

The topics that I love in his music can be a hit or miss when he's writing prose. I deeply loved his first novel, "And the Ass Saw the Angel" even though it was profoundly disturbing and a total bummerfest. Cave's protagonist Bunny Munro is a traveling salesman of beauty products, serial womanizer, and terrible father. I often have difficulty enjoying a book when I can't stand the main character, and that was definitely the case Hmmm. I often have difficulty enjoying a book when I can't stand the main character, and that was definitely the case with this one.

Bunny's son, the aptly named Bunny Jr; is a beautiful and intelligent child who has drawn the short stick in the bundle when it comes to family. His mother commits suicide while his dad is out on sales calls, leaving Bunny Jr. When his dad returns to a trashed house and his wife hanging in their bedroom, he takes his son out on the road to "learn the ropes.

There are some beautiful lines tossed around in this novel, and it was definitely readable, but I expect more from the amazing Mr. Cave and this book ultimately let me down. Jun 24, Louise rated it did not like it. I am a major Cave fan! One of the greatest book ever written. This book just makes me sad. Here is a man who can make you laugh and cry at the same time. Who can make you love those no one can love. This book is so below him! It reeks of midlife crisis! And possibly even though it breaks my he I am a major Cave fan! And possibly even though it breaks my heart to say so the knowledge that he now has such loyal fan base that they'll love him no matter what.

Apart from a few really good passages concerning Bunny jr this is just like visiting a year old school boys head. Maybe I'm cruel to say so but lets face it: Cave is a true port and writer when he is miserable. He should not be writing anymore books as long as he's a happy family guy if this is what comes out of that.

May 31, Merzbau added it. Cave's narration and score pushes it to Oct 04, Vorbis rated it did not like it. I was reading an article that asked "Why can't guys write good sex scenes? Apparently there's a competition for the worst writing of a sex scene, and the majority of the front runners are guys. The article's author listed this book as an example of good sex scene writing by a guy. And I thought, hey, Nick Cave, I know that name.

So I didn't think it would be that bad. I'm not a fan, but I know a couple of his songs. You know how sometimes you get invited along to a theater performa I was reading an article that asked "Why can't guys write good sex scenes? You know how sometimes you get invited along to a theater performance that's held in an art school?

And as you're walking through the halls you see things on the walls that are clearly Art. They are made with intent, and obviously have some Meaning. You can't really tell what that meaning is, but by golly it's apparent it's there. And then you watch the show, and it's awkward and there are lots of different scenes all running on top of each other and you're not sure where you're supposed to start or what it's all meant to add up to?

And you have a sort of half confused frown on your face, but then the lights come up so you clap awkwardly and the person you're there to see has a big smile on their face so obviously it hasn't been a mistake, this has in fact gone the way it was meant to and this was what they were aiming for.

This book is an art book. And the Message of it, apparently, is that the main character likes sex. You know that study that said a guy thinks about sex every seven minutes?

The main character is that guy. He sees visions of floating vaginas. He has to walk out of his wife's funeral to go and beat off in the toilet. It doesn't seem to be judging him, or maybe it is, but it's not obvious? It's kind of judging everyone? And the guy has a son, and he hero worships his dad but it's obvious he's meant to be seen as a victim but at the same time it's all a bit incomprehensible? So by a third of the way through I was over the plot of this book, all the characters were nauseating to be around and it already foreshadowed that the main character was going to die that is not a spoiler, it's there in the title Artfully.

I started flipping through to find these well written sex scenes. There's about one scene from there on, through the entire book. There aren't sex scenes. There's just the constant awareness of sex. This guy has it on his brain incessantly, literally everything makes him horny. It is truly repellent to be forced to ride along inside his head. He sees his eyes in the mirror after his wife kills herself and thinks about how the loss of her makes his eyes deeper and more magnetic and how he'll be more attractive to shag now.

Sep 28, Ethan Miller rated it liked it. Songsmith, Poet, Artist, Screenwriter, Performer--of all his great talents and larger than life artistic abilities novelist seems to be the one area that he just doesn't shine quite so much.

And I love Nick Cave. I wouldn't quite say "worship" as many do, but certainly "idolize" is appropriate for my feelings toward him. As an idea "Bunny Munro" is prime Cave material and perhaps would ring with greater resonance and deeper human truth and tragedy as a song, possibly a full album or e Nick Cave. As an idea "Bunny Munro" is prime Cave material and perhaps would ring with greater resonance and deeper human truth and tragedy as a song, possibly a full album or even a screenplay.

But though the novel is about human redemption in some extremely roundabout way the author just doesn't earn his character redemption. The writing is often funny in the very very blackest, sinister and cruel way it could be and still be called humor , it is often pornographic, often the descriptions are so sharp and wonderful that you can smell the pomade dripping off Bunny's pompadour in the hot afternoon sun of a Brighton summer day as well as a lot of other too real smells from Bunny's dripping body parts.

And yet with all that it reads more like Bukowski than Norman Mailer. Like Bukowski, Cave is brilliant with a line but lacks mastery of story architecture and character nuance. Yet in his music the architecture and character nuance is often pitch perfect so the potential is there. And like Bukowski, after any bearing of the soul or glimpse at complexity into the male psyche there remains this ringing bellow of base alpha male misogyny and mean spirited masculinity at it's worst that doesn't allow the sensitive moments of emotional depth to carry much weight.

I just can't tell if "Bunny Munro" was supposed to be a cruel little dirty bit of fun or have a depth and human quality that leaves you with something you could put in your heart or want hanging around your head. Either way, it's not really that fun though one might let a couple chuckles go at any one of the many descriptions of Avril Lavigne's vagina floating through the air. A must read for Nick Cave fans only for the sole fact that a true Nick Cave fan works obsessively through every bit of his work.

I'm not sure this book holds interest for anyone else and definitely not for the faint of heart. Bunny ziet, bovendien, dat de man een ontstoken teennagel heeft. Jul 04, Craig Wallwork rated it liked it. As previously stated in my blog entry, "Drinking Panther Piss", this book was the only publication I truly wanted to read this year. I assumed that Cave was exercising his own demons through his prose.

Alternatively, with Cave reaching his twilight years Christ, I hope he never reads this! Another conjecture forced me to arrive at the conclusion most writers, regardless of what they say, have some part of themselves in their characters. Not surprising then that Cave designed Bunny to have a natural magnetism which most women find irresistible. His charm has made Bunny a decent living as a traveling salesman, allowing him to work his magic to seduce lonely housewives and single mums into partaking in cheap cosmetic products, and the pleasures of the flesh.

It had ended a life, and forced him to accept the responsibility of raising his son, something quite alien to him based on his experiences with his own father. And it is because of this we see a change in character. The deeper into the journey he goes, the more Bunny searches for absolution, absolution for his sins as a father, as a son and a husband. From the beginning, Heaven was to Bunny a perfect place where you could fuck all day without consequence, and for a long time he lived a happy existence there.

Both are moving reminiscences and lessons on the theme of "things change". A definite cousin to the "Rabbit" books with its red-haired other woman. Maggie's a combo of Ruth and Thelma. Pete Seeger is referenced here and I'd but a half hour before been reading an obit! This variation on Updike's neverendingstory of adultery seems kind of harsh. The guy's both creepy and charming.

Guys look for sex and women look for love I barely remember it. I HAVE to think that the whole topic of infidelity must've meant more to Updike than most of us because he was prone to doing "it". Like the first story Did JU indulge in some nipping and tucking over those senior years? Overall these stories were not highly impactful to me. The reminiscences of serial philanderers is off-putting to me as it smacks of relentless immaturity and obsession with sex and romance - an addiction for some people.

But the final "story" is a winner and it's always a pleasure to read Updike. Nov 26, Mizuki rated it liked it Shelves: Updike is still the grand master of describing the landscapes of American middle class' life, he gives you the every aspect of this middle class' existence. Whenever I read Updike's stories, a sense of American-ness always hits me right in the face, I like how I am able to see the American landscapes and its people through his writing. But I found it weird that according to Updike's writing, middle class American men spent most of their time to: Updike seems not able to get tired of writing about extra material affairs in his stories.

I have never read anything from the famous Rabbit series, but after reading Rabbit Remembered, now I feel very fond of Harry aka 'Rabbit' and I want to know more about him! And guess what, in Rabbit Remembered, Harry is 10 years dead and he's only being mentioned by his widow, children, friends and foes! Jul 25, Colin rated it it was amazing Shelves: A triumphant late collection of stories by Updike, and a novella length addition to the Rabbit tetralogy, Rabbit Remembered. The stories cover many familiar Updike themes and some revisit aspects of his own life already related in earlier novels; The Cats is a late life reflection on the early novel Of the Farm, there is another addition to the canon of stories featuring the self-centred writer Henry Bech, and Licks of Love in the Heart of the Cold War is a picaresque Cold War odyssey in which a A triumphant late collection of stories by Updike, and a novella length addition to the Rabbit tetralogy, Rabbit Remembered.

The stories cover many familiar Updike themes and some revisit aspects of his own life already related in earlier novels; The Cats is a late life reflection on the early novel Of the Farm, there is another addition to the canon of stories featuring the self-centred writer Henry Bech, and Licks of Love in the Heart of the Cold War is a picaresque Cold War odyssey in which a banjo player finds himself on an adulterous cultural tour of the Soviet Union in the mid-sixties.

I approached Rabbit Remembered with trepidation, the Rabbit series having come to such an effective and satisfying conclusion in Rabbit at Rest, but I need not have worried. It is a beautifully observed coda to the series, set at the turn of the millennium, and revisiting Harry Angstrom's family and friends nearly ten years after his death.

There are surprises in store; characters who seemed beyond hope are now muddling through and doing good things, and life goes on. Rabbit's legacy, like his messy, mixed up, but fundamentally good life, is complicated, but largely positive. Apr 22, R. I selected this from the library's shelves mainly for Rabbit Remembered And what's he remembered for? Why, being Rabbit, of course. Rabbit when running, Rabbit when resting At least it all ends happily. Updike seems to express sincere affection for the Angstrom family in all their glorious fuckuppedness. Readin I selected this from the library's shelves mainly for Rabbit Remembered And what's he remembered for?

On a lighter note, Updike betrays more knowledge of Galaxy Quest than you'd suspect from a writer of his caliber. The other short stories here are all pretty good - if you read one every few days you can kind of forgive the samenesses. Apr 29, Alexis rated it liked it Recommends it for: I was very surprised and relieved, in a way to discover this book after finishing what I thought was the last of the Rabbit series.

I enjoyed reading what was left of his legacy from the female perspectives that were so overshadowed by his presence and narration while he was alive--but I missed him--because part of what made the previous books so great was being so close to his voice. It wasn't really nessessary for Updike to go back in to this world and demystify Nelson, Janice, ect. I did enjoy Updike's commentary on 90's pop-culture coming through, at least from an archival perspective. This was a brilliant finish to the Rabbit Angstrom series with typically melancholy prose, vivid characters, gentle reminders of the 4 previous books and even - no, really?

The other short stories are also great.

It is amazing how in a few short pages, Updike breathes so much life into his characters. Feb 25, Vivienne Strauss rated it it was amazing. Really loved most of the short stories but Rabbit Remembered was my favorite. I read all 4 of the Rabbit novels several years ago and didn't want them to end. It was great finding out what happened to everyone ten years later. Updike, much like Richard Yates, writes about the weakness and sadness that is prevalent in all us humans. Dec 29, Ed rated it it was amazing. Updike often works a landscape that might seem colorless and lacking in nuance - middle-class middle-America - yet he invests that landscape with a richness and vitality that transcends category and confounds expectation.

He uses a palette deep and sensuous to paint these word portraits, and he never has failed to make me wonder at his artistry, skill, and intelligence. I have read most of his novels and many of his stories. The Rabbit series of four novels is one of the literary achievements of Updike often works a landscape that might seem colorless and lacking in nuance - middle-class middle-America - yet he invests that landscape with a richness and vitality that transcends category and confounds expectation. The Rabbit series of four novels is one of the literary achievements of 20th century American fiction, and those books are among my favorites in any genre.

This book, Licks of Love, is a collection of stories and a novella. Of course, since Rabbit - Harry Angstrom - has been dead for some time, it focuses on his family, particularly his son Nelson. The stories are perfect jewels of short fiction, but with a reliance on irony that perhaps makes for less variety and contrast between them than one might want. Nonetheless, the beauty of the writing stands above all else. Feb 12, Dean Hanley rated it it was ok. Having just read the complete Rabbit Tetralogy for the third time, I wanted to read the novella, "Rabbit Remembered," that is a sequel to those excellent works.

And my response is, it's a pleasant tale but there's really no very good reason to read it. Nelson and his newly discovered half-sister are the protagonists - but without Harry Angstrom himself, there's nothing really compelling in the story. I wanted to read this mainly for "Rabbit Remembered", to complete the Rabbit saga that I read this year. This short novel is a fitting cap to the saga. It's strange to realize how the man's influence continues to permeate the lives of those he left behind. I was also excited to read some other works from Updike.

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Some of the short stories collected here are nothing short of amazing. Oct 25, Mark Jurgensen rated it liked it. Just read "Rabbit Remembered. Jun 13, Paul Apsley rated it really liked it. Good collection of stories from Updike later in life. Also, nice to have a Henry Bech and Rabbit Angstrom story.

I have read all 4 Rabbit books and this collection in one month and I have Couples waiting for me. Updike is like crack cocaine, it's no good foe you but it's addicting. Jan 20, Jon Cohen rated it it was amazing. Naughty, in a kind of 's way, but the writing is blindingly acute and astute. Jun 21, Steven rated it really liked it Shelves: This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.

To view it, click here. Annabelle learns that Rabbit was her father and she reaches out to his family in an effort to achieve some sort of peace or reconciliation or just to have a link to her past. Of course, central to the discussion at that dinner is the case of Bill Clinton.

Annabelle and Nelson wind up defending Clinton, much to the consternation of Ronnie Harrison and his family. In many ways, though President Clinton and his character are similar to that of Rabbit and by defending Slick Willie, they are also defending Rabbit in his absence. Indeed, Nelson seems to have come full circle. Scott has a wonderful essay about this book which notes the similarity of Rabbit Angstrom to Lester Burnham, which is just simply brilliant Annabelle reveals that her stepfather sexually abused her and the moment is quite tender.

You generally have faith that things will work for Annabelle and that Nelson and Pru will get back together. Jun 23, Jogle rated it it was ok Shelves: I think that is how most readers will come to this book. Ten years have past since his death and life has continued for the family up to the millennium. New lives are being formed and Rabbit is less and less a feature, except in that he is the link between the relationships. This continues the theme but without the anti-hero, Rabbit himself, and his memory is not strong enough to hold the story together.

Rabbit in memory is included in this collection as the other short stories maintain mostly a similar theme; love and sexual encounter remembered from later age.

Licks of Love: Short Stories and a Sequel, "Rabbit Remembered"

This takes time in all his novels. Rabbit is not likeable, but after four books he is loved. The short stories never really get going and are too similar in theme. There is too much of Rabbit in other stories and characters; the conquests remembered, the flawed aging sadness crying out how he really did love them all in his own way, but almost too ambivalent with his loves to wish to live it all again.

Feb 17, Stacy rated it liked it. I really enjoyed the novella continuing the Rabbit series, but most of these short stories weren't for me. They got repetitive it could of been the same guys cheating on their wives and the ones that were different were weird. Apr 19, Volkert rated it really liked it Shelves: I mainly got hold of this volume to follow up on the Rabbit series. The other short stories help to underscore the impression I got of Updike reading the earlier Rabbit novels: It's not a pretty sight, but as I look around me, I see that virtually everyone I know has been impacted by it, directly or indirectly.

I think that's why I kept returning to the Rabbit series. In the final novella, we see Rabbit's son, his I mainly got hold of this volume to follow up on the Rabbit series. In the final novella, we see Rabbit's son, his illegitimate daughter, his estranged daughter-in-law, and the son of one of his previous flings converge for an imperfect, but still hopeful, celebration on the eve of the new millenium. Rabbit's many imperfections are brought to the surface and to put it simply, he's described at one point as "selfish.

That pretty much sums up the mess that Rabbit has created and that the next generation has inherited. Like I said in a previous review: Dec 07, Jay Winters rated it liked it. The books is basically divided into two parts. The first half is short stories, almost entirely dealing with the subject of marital infidelity. It appears that Updike needs a little longer set up to really get a plot in motion. His prose is beautifully descriptive, but it slows his stories down into what appear to be simple character studies with no sense of plot. Feb 04, James F rated it it was ok Shelves: A collection of a dozen short stories, and a sequel to the Rabbit series which I didn't read.

The book was published in , but the stories are somewhat older. The stories were uneven, some had some good passages but as a whole I wasn't impressed. When I started reading Updike, I was surprised that he seemed to be a serious writer, when I had assumed he was basically a commercial "best-seller" author; these stories are more in the latter vein -- he seems to be writing for the sake of writing A collection of a dozen short stories, and a sequel to the Rabbit series which I didn't read. When I started reading Updike, I was surprised that he seemed to be a serious writer, when I had assumed he was basically a commercial "best-seller" author; these stories are more in the latter vein -- he seems to be writing for the sake of writing rather than having something original to say.

Maybe it is inevitable when one reads a lot of a prolific author all at once, but these stories all have a certain "sameness", as if he's recycling the same characters and anecdotes under new names. The central theme is adultery; perhaps because I've never been married, this doesn't really titillate me. What I liked about the earlier stories was the realistic description of the fifties, but he seems to have become stuck in that mode -- the stories from the sixties, seventies, and so on all seem to be fifties too, as if he's never gotten beyond Peyton Place.

Dec 17, Matt rated it liked it.

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