The ‘fantastic’ world of Mona Awad’s surreal horror novels – Bowdoin Orient

Joy One

On Wednesday afternoon, students and faculty gathered in the Shannon Room for a reading by novelist Mona Awad, the latest in Alpha Delta Phi Society’s Visiting Author Series.

Standing in front of a packed venue, with many attendees forced to sit on the floor, Awad spoke from her second novel, Bunny, which highlighted her eerie, engaging prose and trademark wit. I read an excerpt. After her reading, Awad answered questions from the audience about her writing process and the inspiration for various elements of the book.

Awad’s work offers a frightening yet humorous look at femininity, obsession, beauty standards, and privilege, told through the perspective of a characteristically unreliable protagonist. Throughout Awad’s four books (“13 Ways to Look at Fat Girls”, “Bunny”, “Everything’s Wrong”, and “Rouge”), Awad’s female protagonists combine horror, fantastical elements, and reality. Travel through a disorienting world where the worlds of

During the Q&A, many audience questions focused on the surrealism present in Awad’s work. Colleen Doucette ’24 said this ambiguity about reality is part of what fascinated her most about this author’s work.

“I thought it would be really interesting to hear about how you do that.” [Awad] I write from the perspective of seeing things as “reality.” Even if she wanted to leave that ambiguity behind. “She wants it to be a fantasy piece, in the sense that ‘there is no right answer either way,'” Doucette said.

During the Q&A session, Awad spoke about his intention to construct an ambiguous reality within his fiction.

“Horror has that tension of, ‘Did it really happen?’ or ‘Is it all in your head?’ [idea of] Fantasy, is it literal or figurative? ” she said. “All measurements are valid. That’s what excites me.”

Many of the students in attendance had read Awad’s novel in class this semester. English Department Professor Brock Clark, who introduced Awad on Wednesday, will teach “Rouge” in his elementary and advanced fiction workshops, and students in English Department Associate Professor Hilary Thompson’s Magical New Modes course will teach “Bunny” read.

Isabel Rivera Gunduran ’26, a member of Clark’s introductory workshop, spoke about her experience reading “Rouge” and learning from Awad as a new writer.

“You’re listening to the author and you’re like, ‘Oh, so this is how I want to write?’ Or you’re comparing your style to hers,” Gundrun said.

Maddy Kosmoski ’27, a student in New Modes of Magic, echoed Doucette’s fascination with the ambiguity of Awad’s writing and said it was refreshing to hear the author speak about some of the questions discussed in class. added.

“We had a lot of discussion about what certain things meant, and it was nice to hear her assert, [and say] “That’s exactly what I was aiming for,” Kosmosky said. “Everything can be interpreted in so many ways. Especially the way she writes, you never know what’s really going on and it’s very difficult to determine what’s true. I mean, she ‘s narrator is very unreliable.

Awad directly addressed this element of her writing in one of her responses.

“I often use unreliable narrators… I limit myself to their point of view and see the world through their eyes. That’s my compass,” she said.

In addition to the book talk, Mr. Awad visited Mr. Clark’s advanced workshop in the early afternoon, giving students an opportunity to ask deeper questions about fiction writing.

“It’s always good to hear writers read and talk about their work. It allows student writers to learn how to create something after years of conception, drafting, and rewriting. “My hope is that this will inspire students to pursue their own research,” Clark wrote in an email to Toyo.

Awad offered some good-natured advice to aspiring writers in the audience, especially those interested in writing horror or surrealist novels.

“For anyone interested in delving into fairy tales and surreal worlds, don’t forget to have fun,” she said.

After the talk, students had the opportunity to purchase Awad’s novel or bring their own novel to have it autographed by the author.

“I love when writers come to Bowdoin, and I think the English department does a really great job. [Alpha Delta Phi] Guest authors,” Ben Norwood ’25 said. “I went there a lot. [talks] Mona Awad was great last year and last semester and every time they knocked it out of the park. ”