The Death of Bunny Munro

A Novel

By: Nick Cave

Narrated by: Nick Cave

Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Twenty years after the publication of his first novel, And the Ass Saw the Angel, Nick Cave brings us the final days of Bunny Munro, a salesman in search of a soul. Set adrift by his wife's suicide and struggling to keep some sort of grasp on reality, Bunny Munro drives off in his yellow Fiat Punto, Bunny Jr. in tow.

To his son, waiting patiently in the car while he peddles beauty wares and quickies to lonely housewives in the south of England, Bunny is a hero, larger than life. But Bunny himself seems to have only a dim awareness of his son's existence, viewing his needs as a distraction from the relentless pursuit of sex, alcohol, and drugs.

When his bizarre road trip shades into a final reckoning, Bunny realizes that the revenants of his world - decrepit fathers, vengeful ghosts, jealous husbands, and horned psycho-killers - lurk in the shadows, waiting to exact their toll.

At turns dark and humane - and with all the mystery and enigma fans will recognize as Cave's singular vision - The Death of Bunny Munro questions the nature of sin and redemption, and lays bare the imprints that fathers leave on their sons.

©2009 Nick Cave (P)2009 Macmillan Audio

It's an absolute decent into mental depravity.

From the title it's obvious Bunny Munro will die, and from the moment you meet him you can't wait for his demise. A downfall which is satisfying, concerning, and may only be able to be conjured from the mind of Nick Cave.

Extraordinary

Kind of a weirdest parallel to McCarthy’s The Road. I love little Bunny junior and wish him the best.

I liked it a lot.

I am a big Nick Cave fan; I'm probably biased. It isn't for young ears.

great story

loved it. nick cave's voice was perfect. his use of words is briilliant. an unforgiving look at one disturbing life, with an ending that doesn't need to leave the reader feeling 'all good inside'! fantastic

Brilliant and disturbing

With "The Death of Bunny Munro" lyrical genius Nick Cave introduces us to one of the most arguably despicable characters in literature. Bunny Munro (the second as we learn) is a master of the sales pitch and has 'a way' with the ladies... a way that brings with it a taste of bile when his inner monologue is revealed to the reader. Bunny operates on the road, leaving behind a wife whom he says he loves and a young son whom he takes for granted at best, at worst he ignores. With the suicide of his wife, Bunny has no choice but to saddle up with his son and get back out on the road, and we are witness to the downward spiral of grief-driven depravity that follows. In Bunny, Nick Cave is not so much trying to re-create Willy Loman as much as he is showing us a working man who has no aspirations beyond his own deviant appetites. He paints this man as a screaming caricature of vulgarity, perverse and misogynistic, specifically towards women, and you cannot help but hate him completely.

I have to admit that there was a certain satisfaction in knowing the title "The Death of Bunny Munro", being a woman, it was what kept me hanging on to see what happened. So why did I put up with this sexual deviant all the way to the end? It is the end that you find the true satisfaction, and it isn't at all what you expect. You forgive Bunny Munro. It is here that Nick Cave's genius truly shines, and that is with the transformation not of the character... but of the reader.

I will not say that you'll love this book. It is a novel that is not for everyone, particularly those that are easily disturbed by the grimy truths about human nature. I will say that it's a story that you'll not soon forget. With Nick Cave narrating his own work there is an uncomfortable intimacy shared. As you come to the end, you realize that its supposed to be uncomfortable, and you wouldn't get it any other way.

Nick Cave's storytelling prowess is rock-hard.😈🐰

The simple truth is that if you love Nick Cave's bawdy brand of baritone fiction and / or if you adore the murderous melodies of the man and his compatriots in crime, The Bad Seeds, you will be right at home here. And if you have never heard of Nick Cave, but you are a connoisseur of powerful storytelling and looking for something to read that's full of wit, wisdom, and willful misbehaving; something that confidently lacks the slimy, pandering underbelly of the usual tripe that trolls the Oprah Book Club; something that will make you recall the joy of reading... well, then this is for you, too... A more "mature" in tone, less "southern Gothic" in style book than "...And the Ass Saw the Angel", yet just as enjoyable (see what happened there?), "The Death of Bunny Munro: A Novel" delivers on all fronts. And though many longtime Nick Cave fans (myself included) will no doubt prefer the earlier "...Ass..."" to the later "..Bunny...", it is nonetheless an amazing book. And the excellent audio book version, with a perfect reading by the author and a glorious soundtrack by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis (also of The Bad Seeds, as well as Cave's other band, the delightfully "filthevil" Grinderman) somehow manages to do the impossible: it adds even more sparkling life to a book that is already so teeming with it, you have to feed it every day...

Disturbing

Although I found this novel very disturbing I could not stop listening until the very end. The writing was very good and I was sure that the main character would eventually redeem himself. I was wrong and therefore disappointed in the ending.

Uhhhh

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Um
WHAT
Ok, but, WHAT?

I love you Nick Cave. But what the fuck was that.

I'm Haunted By This Book

For weeks after I listened to this book it stayed with me, haunting me like a true work of art.

This book is a masterpiece.

Hopefully Nick Cave will write more books

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If I had any friends whom I thought would appreciate this story and Cave's unmistakable voice, I most definitely would. I would recommend this book because, apart from being a very good story, the linguistic efforts are fascinating.

What does Nick Cave bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His remarkable voice.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. I found it too rich to take in all at once.