Bridezilla by Kim Fu

Runaway Bride

In an effort to broaden my reading horizons, I have been trying to explore more contemporary short-story writers. Kim Fu’s newest collection, Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, jumped out at me, partly because of the interesting title and partly because she’s Asian-Canadian. Bonus. Bridezilla, one of the stories in the collection, ended up being a decent read: quirky, succinct and tinged with just enough speculative weirdness to keep things interesting.

A giant sea creature has suddenly risen from the ocean and seized global attention. Yet, for Leah and her boyfriend Arthur, life keeps plodding along in its normal, earthbound, humdrum way. They have decided to get married, though “decided” is maybe generous. It’s more like they have just accepted that marriage is what you’re supposed to do once you hit a certain age and have been dating long enough. The might not exactly be super compatible and often seem bored in each other's company but there’s also safety, stability and predictability, which sometimes feels like enough.

The sea monster metaphor works well enough in the context of the story's themes of female autonomy and societal pressures. The emergence of the sea monster throws the couple's engagement into sharp relief. Here’s this awe-inspiring, world-shaking event happening in the background, and yet Leah is bogged down in the minutiae of choosing flowers and venues. The contrast exposes how arbitrary and performative these traditional milestones can feel. As Leah watches the world obsess over this inexplicable creature, she starts questioning whether marriage is something she genuinely wants. 

I won’t spoil the ending but Leah does reach a moment of release. Just not in the tidy, empowering way she might have imagined. Fu plays with the idea that breaking free of expectations doesn’t always look heroic; sometimes it’s unsettling, messy, or even monstrous in its own right.

Bridezilla wasn’t earth-shattering, but it was intriguing enough that I’m curious to see what else Fu does in the rest of the collection. If nothing else, she knows how to combine human anxieties with just the right amount of speculative oddity, which is a pretty compelling combo.

You can read this story HERE.