We Love You, Bunny

The climactic confrontation between Aerius and the Bunnies takes place in a mirrored room, where the many reflections make it confusing for them to see one another, speaking to Authorial Control and Agency Over Narratives. A room filled with glass visually evokes the ice associated with the symbolism of the axe; the axe is an allusion to Kafka’s quotation that “a book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.” A room filled with mirrors (and eventually shards of broken glass) literalizes the idea of a frozen sea. The mirrors symbolize how the Bunnies are only capable of seeing Aerius as reflections and extensions of themselves, rather than as an individual in his own right. They are incapable of forming a loving and authentic bond with their creation because they only see themselves.

The failure of their relationship with Aerius critiques both artistic processes that center the ego of the artist and parental relationships that do not foreground independence for the child. The Bunnies wanted to hold onto Aerius forever rather than help him emerge into the world. The egotism of the Bunnies ultimately confounds them because when Kyra swings the axe, she mistakenly strikes a reflection of Aerius rather than his physical body. The Bunnies have never been able to truly see him because they have only been looking at their own reflections projected onto him. The shattering glass symbolizes the final break in their control and power over him.

Once he is free with his notebook, Aerius has one more significant encounter before he is finally set free. He meets Jonah one last time. Since Jonah did not attend the workshop, he is unaware of all the strange events that have taken place. Jonah shares another piece of wisdom with Aerius, explaining that “your Book isn’t for you” (453). This advice builds on Aerius’s understanding of how to achieve freedom: He must have agency (which he has achieved by learning to tell his story), but he also must have community and connection. When Aerius gives his notebook to Jonah, he displays the ultimate freedom: The ability to share himself with others, without coercion or threat. While other characters have tried to possess Aerius for their own ends, Jonah wants nothing from him.

After Jonah and Aerius part ways, Aerius finally achieves his ultimate goal, resolving his character arc. He transforms back into a rabbit, leaving behind all of the frustration and suffering of the human world. The transformation back into a “true form” parallels the conclusion of many fairy tales as well as the popular children’s story The Velveteen Rabbit, in which a stuffed toy rabbit is finally transformed into a real rabbit. The allusion to this text is heightened by the presence of the toy pony and discussion of whether he is “real,” as well as the novel’s overall exploration of what the concept of “real” might mean. For example, toward the end of their narrative, the Bunnies comment, “what a funny word that is, Bunny: Real. Sometimes when we say it, we really just have to fucking laugh now” (469). Aerius’s transformation could be viewed as a kind of death or as the achievement of a kind of enlightenment. He is reunited with the natural world, and importantly, has a companion (Tyler, with whom he felt a romantic connection at the party). While most other characters display very limited development, Aerius learns the lessons he needs to avoid being trapped in a prison of egotism.

The Bunnies, by contrast, show their lack of growth when they steal Aerius’s notebook from Jonah’s bag. They remain rapacious and greedy since “the only word in our hearts was Mine” (471). Even as they finish their narrative to the fake Samantha, they are preoccupied with their own fame: They want her to help them get a book deal and eagerly speculate about the potential success of their novel. The plot twist at the novel’s end adds intrigue and an open-ended conclusion; Awad has hinted that there may be a third book in the Bunny universe. The Bunnies are always narrating for themselves, rather than for their audience, so they don’t notice that “Samantha” (the individual tied up in the attic) is not actually Samantha at all until it is too late.