Woman, Eating

Books | Fiction / Fantasy / Contemporary

3.5

(65)

Claire Kohda

An IndieNext Pick! A Best Book of 2022 in Harper's Bazaar, Daily Mail, Glamour, and Thrillist! Most Anticipated of 2022 in The Millions, Ms. Magazine, LitHub A young, mixed-race vampire must find a way to balance her deep-seated desire to live amongst humans with her incessant hunger in this stunning debut novel from a writer-to-watch. Lydia is hungry. She's always wanted to try Japanese food. Sashimi, ramen, onigiri with sour plum stuffed inside - the food her Japanese father liked to eat. And then there is bubble tea and iced-coffee, ice cream and cake, and foraged herbs and plants, and the vegetables grown by the other young artists at the London studio space she is secretly squatting in. But, Lydia can't eat any of these things. Her body doesn't work like those of other people. The only thing she can digest is blood, and it turns out that sourcing fresh pigs' blood in London - where she is living away from her vampire mother for the first time - is much more difficult than she'd anticipated. Then there are the humans - the other artists at the studio space, the people at the gallery she interns at, the strange men that follow her after dark, and Ben, a boyish, goofy-grinned artist she is developing feelings for. Lydia knows that they are her natural prey, but she can't bring herself to feed on them. In her windowless studio, where she paints and studies the work of other artists, binge-watches Buffy the Vampire Slayer and videos of people eating food on YouTube and Instagram, Lydia considers her place in the world. She has many of the things humans wish for - perpetual youth, near-invulnerability, immortality - but she is miserable; she is lonely; and she is hungry - always hungry. As Lydia develops as a woman and an artist, she will learn that she must reconcile the conflicts within her - between her demon and human sides, her mixed ethnic heritage, and her relationship with food, and, in turn, humans - if she is to find a way to exist in the world. Before any of this, however, she must eat. "Absolutely brilliant - tragic, funny, eccentric and so perfectly suited to this particularly weird time. Claire Kohda takes the vampire trope and makes it her own in a way that feels fresh and original. Serious issues of race, disability, misogyny, body image, sexual abuse are handled with subtlety, insight, and a lightness of touch. The spell this novel casts is so complete I feel utterly, and happily, bitten." -- Ruth Ozeki, Booker-shortlisted author of A Tale for the Time Being

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More Details:

Author

Claire Kohda

Pages

233

Publisher

HarperVia

Published Date

2022

ISBN

0063140888 9780063140882

Community ReviewsSee all

"I liked this one it was more so character focused than plot driven which I read alot of and tend to enjoy. The themes explored in the book were thought provoking. Thinking about identity, acceptance, belonging and morality. I really enjoyed the art aspects of the book as well and thought it was cool that the main character was an artist. It’s short and was a smooth read didn’t find myself getting bored. I wish there was a half star cause it’s almost really good to me but there was something that kept it from being a fave for me, not sure what. "

Kirsten

"I adored this book. Have I had a life long interest in vampires? Yes. Do I love a good deep dive into self analysis? Yes. Do I love unique takes on an old standard (the vampire) and mixing it up with modernized and universal themes? Yes. Do we literally ALL struggle with accepting ourselves and finding our place in the world? Yes. This book is all character and little plot. The only resolved bit of the story we are left with is that of our protagonist. If you have any food issues/disordered eating, know that it could be a possible trigger going in. "

CaitVD

"10/16/23 nothing really happened plot wise but what a beautiful exploration of self despite the paranormal."

alex

"this whole thing is a giant stream of consciousness "

Hannah Blodget

"That scene where she looks into a mirror while drinking blood from a dead duck, and she thinks to herself “God, I’m beautiful”. She is so real for that"

K G

Kaily Gonzalez

"A unique vampire novel that explores complex themes. I was particularly interested in the dynamics between emptiness and desire, humanity and power, as well as denial and acceptance. Woman, Eating is read best as a character study and exploration of complex themes rather than a plot-driven work. From a critical standpoint, I wish the book explored race in more depth. As someone biracial and half Asian, the first half the novel felt shallow when discussing these topics, especially in scenes when her mother was mentioned. That said, Lydia eventually finds her racial identity is directly tied to self-acceptance. This is something I enjoyed a lot more. As a coming-of-age novel, Woman, Eating has a lot to say about inheritance and building a more complex view of the world. Lydia learns to accept things as they are instead of grappling to possess small moments of beauty after they’ve passed. She finds that life, even for a vampire, is made up of big and small things. This is what makes our heroine Lydia deeply human. 3.5/5 stars! "

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Amanda Hall

"I recently read Women Eating the Book by Choi In-hoon and was intrigued by the unique premise. The idea of women gaining intelligence and power through the consumption of books is fascinating, and I enjoyed the author's use of magical realism to add depth to the story. However, there are some problematic elements to the book. The women's revenge is primarily directed at men, which reinforces the idea that women can only gain power by tearing down men. Additionally, the women's intelligence is only gained through the consumption of books written by men, which reinforces the idea that men are the only ones with valuable ideas and knowledge. Despite these flaws, I still found Women Eating the Book to be an interesting and thought-provoking read. The author's use of magical realism adds a layer of complexity to the story, and the themes of power and revenge are explored in an interesting way. Overall, I would recommend this book with the caveat that it does perpetuate some problematic ideas about gender and power. I know that the book revolves around tearing down men but still it just wasn't up to my tastes but more power to you if you enjoyed it."

Neg

"This story was so raw and hauntingly beautiful captivating so. The story line and the moments this book describes with the life of this woman lid is so deeply moving and devastatingly powerful. I was glued to every single page and couldn’t put it down I was clinging to every word and was deeply moved by the end 5/5⭐️s best book of the year for me I will read anything this authors writes phenomenal story"

Jessica Carco

"I was told this book was more literary than horror, and that's very much true! It's less of a vampire tale than a tale of a woman struggling with her identity and desire, like Acts of Desperation with elevated stakes (ha). I really enjoyed it. I listened to the audiobook and there were points where I zoned out a bit, but the writing was gorgeous and I love the struggles of the main character. I wouldn't say it's necessarily atmospheric, but definitely more of a character study than something you read for plot."