The Death of Bunny Munro

July 6, 2009
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.

When Munro's wife, Bunny, commits suicide, he continues his life as a traveling salesman, taking along his son. More accurately, while the father is engaging in vividly (and crudely) described sex with his clients, his son is sitting in the car reading an encyclopedia. While the soundtrack running through much of the narration may be of interest to fans of Cave's music, it adds little to the performance and at times is distracting. Nonetheless, Cave's narration captures the tones of a dissolute man who is losing his grip on reality. A subtle recognition of (but not necessarily regret for) a wasted life is always present in Cave's delivery. This undercurrent makes the character of Munro, and the melancholy of his deteriorating personality, sadly believable. J.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine