Reviews with content warning for Pregnancy - The Book Eaters

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Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

169 reviews

toopunkrockforshul's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Super interesting premise and setting, and some beautiful prose

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bsparx's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I loved the concept of The Book Eaters. I enjoy the twists on original ideas, legends, and myths, but I feel it’s rare to come across an adaption of an idea which is so original. So interesting. The Eaters are akin to vampires, but not. They subsist on books. Books! What a marvellous idea to consume books and therefore consume all the knowledge within. I love that concept. Of course they have their supernatural gains and their limitations.

The Book Eaters have strength, night vision, move with stealth, and amass a great deal of knowledge, but they can’t write and they aren’t creative thinkers. Throughout I kept thinking, “but why not utilise accessible technology?” They’d just have to eat up on it. As I read on though I realised the eaters really do not think outside the box. They’re very controlled and regimented with their existence. What they’re fed with books dictates their worlds and they don’t get a chance to develop critical thinking. Their environments are quite abusive and toxic.

A Note: I didn't find the story too triggering though, regarding the toxicity and abuse, except for in some instances 
so please be aware of triggers if you decide to read The Book Eaters. It's a very controlled and misogynistic environment

Apart from the trigger warnings and toxic environments, which is part of and does add to the story, The Book Eaters is not only about survival and breaking against your predetermined confines, but it’s about love. What we do for love, how we define it, and how we define ourselves in the face of it.

The story itself was a steady pace and easy to follow along. I felt there could have been more, but the plot was entertaining and I do love there was some LGBTQ+ representation in there without making a big show of it. I feel there could be more stories in this world too. It’s a stand-alone novel, but I found the story of The Book Eaters had me wondering more about the hidden lives that only got touched on.

The Book Eaters is definitely a dark fairy tale full of interesting concepts. It’s a book I’m happy I was able to read and am pleased to be able to pass it on to someone else to enjoy.

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georgia7's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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monnibo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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takarakei's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This is a very dark book. Oddly it fits as a Christmas read since a lot of it happens during that time, there is a lot of reference to Christmas. I did enjoy it for the most part while reading it, but after finishing it and sitting with it a bit I'm still not sure how I really feel. The concept of Book Eaters is very cool, but I expected that cool idea to be a bigger part of the book. Ultimately this story is about a woman and mother who is brought up in a horrible patriarchal society (separate from ours) and is basically a comment on how far a mother will go to protect her children. It's told in multiple timelines (the past of her whole life for background and present).

Jarrow is the best character. Protect Jarrow.

There is also a minor romance subplot which feels... very underdeveloped. Hella insta-lovey and I just didn't really understand why it needed to be there if it was so underdeveloped. It does have LGBTQIA+ rep.

I'd say this is maybe give it a try if this is your genre cause it's short, but borrow it from your library.

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books_and_fairy_lights's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

It was good, I can't say I didn't like it. I read it pretty fast and got somewhat into it because I really wanted to know what had happened in the past and what was gonna happen now. The story was well built, in that it really kept the reader wondering while still getting some answers. That part was great. The story was also quite original I think, or at least I don't think I've ever seen anything else with book eaters or anything close to that (which is actually quite surprising, thinking about it). So yeah it was a good book. However, it was often "too obvious" for me. Like it was very often trying to make a point/give a lesson/preach some point of view - and I'm not saying it was wrong in its ideas, it just didn't leave much room for nuance in those instances. Ironically I found it very black and white, for a book that was advocating that "things are more complicated than they seem" and "there's no good and bad" it made a heavy emphasis on what it considered "the right idea" and didn't really let the readers decide for themselves. Also, the whole "life isn't a fairytale" thing was really lacking in subtlety in my opinion. In addition to being (sorry if it's harsh) unoriginal, it was also very heavy and expressed too forcefully for me. Like, of course life isn't a fairytale, and I'm the first person to agree with the fact that reality is brutal and full of disappointment and disillusion, but you don't have to say it so plainly. In fact, I think that a less obvious, more subtle way of making it clear (through hints and ideas and metaphors and what not) is way more efficient than just saying it like that. It gives more room for people to interpret it in a way that resonates with their own feelings and experiences.

Anyway, although not groundbreaking, it overall was a nice read and I'm glad to have read it.

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cadence99's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.25

Where to begin? This was not my favorite, to say the least. I almost DNFed this many times, but what kept me going was the potential of the main plot. I think the setup could have made a great story, unfortunately, this is not it.

To begin with, there is an undercurrent of ableism throughout in the portrayal of the main characters child being born a “mind eater”, and being portrayed primarily as a “burden” throughout the book.

Beyond this, the writing style frustrated me in many ways. It felt as if the author did not trust her audience to interpret even the slightest drop of material, as troupes were painstakingly spelled out, removing any chance for readers to explore this world themselves. The book is very guilty of telling readers what is happening instead of showing us.

In addition, many characters relationships and growth felt VERY unbelievable to me. Characters met and within days (with minimal interaction) were supposed to have developed deep feelings for one another. Other characters are portrayed as incredibly young children one moment, and the next are being expected to make life altering choices.

Overall, I would not recommend this book

1.25⭐️

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cardanrry's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

3.0

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starrysteph's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

The Book Eaters offered up a fascinating concept and - I believe - intended to weave in powerful commentary about disability. Unfortunately, I felt this work was so poorly executed that it actually became harmful & put forth unsettling rhetoric.

When I finished reading, I felt uncomfortable – something about the text simply felt “off”. After reflecting and journaling about it and talking to some fellow readers, I’ve found some clarity and I’ll try to break it apart into the components that felt harmful to me.

SPOILERS BELOW.

Disability Allegory

The author had a compelling commentary to make - I acknowledge her efforts at tackling something that is quite important and also so complicated. She is autistic and I don’t wish to invalidate her identity or experiences. But I believe this work (as it currently stands) does more harm than it offers thoughtful commentary.

The mind eaters are intended to be an allegory for disability. We are therefore viewing them as a marginalized group, and told that some are “good” and “useful” while others are “bad” and “harmful”. They can be “good” if handled by a drug called “Redemption”, given to them by their abusive handlers who institutionalize them. The book eater society is looking into ways to manage fertility - basically so that they can eliminate mind eaters entirely.

This is a snippet from a scene in which a mind eater consumes the mind of a child: “She’d destroyed that infant before giving it back. The child would have missed all its developmental milestones, by not showing emotion or personality or making attempts to communicate. All the things Devon had taken such joy in with her own children would never belong to that woman. Ten minutes to ruin a whole chain of lives.” (This is ableist language, and it is never addressed or resolved.)

Devon’s child (Cai) is a mind eater, and she is both afraid of him and treats him like an adult (he is a five year old child). She repeatedly wonders if there is any bit of soul left in him.

On Devon and Cai’s relationship: “Biologically she was his parent and always would be, but emotionally they had become something closer to partners in crime; mutual abusers locked in codependency.”

Now I believe all of the above is intended to be commentary - challenging us to consider how society treats disabled people, and how parents treat & view their disabled children. But intent does not equal impact, and the plot of the story makes it difficult for readers to comprehend that the eugenics rhetoric is, well, harmful.

Also, in the author’s FAQ she says that no characters are specifically meant to be autistic (alongside this concerning reason): “I do find it easier to write monster characters, though, because if I inadvertently give them autistic traits, neurotypical readers are less likely to complain, as they’re expecting something ur-human anyway.”

Nearly all of the mind eaters are condemned at the end of the novel & die unnecessarily. The survivors? Hester, a mind eater who has had her own long tongue docked so she can’t hurt anyone, and Cai, a child who is basically determined to be “soulless” because his insatiable desire to prey on the innocent has wiped away his own identity. It felt like the messaging became … eugenics is the way to go! These ~creatures~ SHOULD be neutralized because they are innately monstrous. I don’t think I need to explain why this messaging is harmful.

Religious Aspects

“The book eaters did what they have always done best: encourage human technology to advance from the shadows, and then borrow from it. The basics of IVF they mastered long ago…”

The book eaters are scary, inhumans foreigners who have a shadow society and secretly control human progress from afar (these are often red flags for antisemitism). The book eaters are vampirically inspired, and Devon’s family specifically was a nod to Dracula, who has antisemitic origins. (Note: I don’t believe vampires are inherently antisemitic, but it is important to acknowledge their history - and if you are including them in your work of fiction, you should a. do your research on the history of these characterizations and b. employ a sensitivity reader to help catch potential pitfalls or unfortunate tropes.)

Within the text, the book eater society is framed in many ways as Christian. The mind eaters - by extension - read as “disgraced” Christians who feed on the bodies of the innocent (similar to blood libel tropes, and a sub-society of mind eaters even does a sacrificial ritual using an innocent body in the ending segment of the book). In a chapter introduction, mind eaters specifically are linked to Lilith.

Other Issues

Those were the two issues that stood out the most to me, but I didn’t feel as though the queer representation and the framing of women were handled particularly well. The writing conflates ace and aro identities. It wasn’t clear why it would be an issue for a male book eater to be asexual (in fact, you would think the opposite). Devon’s insta-love attraction to Hester and her thought patterns around her queerness were … strange. (It was very “straight woman writing a lesbian” if you know what I mean.) It felt very sloppy.

The women in this book are treated terribly. Now again, that isn’t inherently a problem with the text (and in fact I believe is also attempted commentary), but the issue I had here was that the way women were treated was frequently VALIDATED within the text. Devon and the other Book Eater women are infantilized, treated as cattle who cannot think for themselves or be trusted to make decisions. And Devon truly cannot! I’m also a little alarmed that the author did not include a warning for sexual assault or rape in her content warnings. Did she view Devon’s forced pregnancies as consensual???

Finally, I was just generally let down by the concept. Book eaters were such a cool idea - but ultimately the book-eating aspect didn’t play a significant role in the story at all. The plotting and limitations of the families just didn’t make sense. The attempted feminist critiques played to the individuals and not the systems.

In the author’s notes, she leaves a few comments about the bleakness of the material.

“That impenetrable sense of exhaustion and flat, dull, continuous lack of joy is a common experience for many. We do not all lead happy lives, and I suppose that makes it hard to write happy fiction.”

“The reality of our world is that most suffering is pointless, most stories [aren’t] happy, and sexual violence is the norm [rather] than the exception.”

Well. Message received.

This was not the review I had hoped to leave for The Book Eaters. But I wanted to warn other potential readers of its content. I truly wish the author the best for her future works, and perhaps with some more eyes on future projects she can nail down some powerful commentary.

CW: sexual assault, rape, forced pregnancy, domestic abuse, child abuse (physical & emotional), murder, drug use, alcoholism, body horror, gore, violence, sex trafficking, homophobia, extreme sexism, infertility. gaslighting, grief, starvation, gun violence, car accident

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sunnydale's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book succeeds as a gothic allegory exploring the ways both targeted abuse and impersonal violence are used to maintain an oppressive culture. If it were marketed primarily as an introspective novel about a woman's journey to free herself and her children from abuse, people might not be so disappointed that the SFF elements aren't at the forefront. I don't think the physiology and culture of the otherworldly race are underdeveloped, but they aren't emphasized.

I wasn't disappointed by the focus on Devon's personal arc. I was, however, disappointed that the crucial parts of that arc happened almost entirely in the past. The present-day chapters feel like they're only there to build tension as you wait to figure out what led up to them—they don't carry the narrative weight of half the book, despite getting half the book's "screen time." Characters like Hester, Cai, and Killock are intriguing, and I wish they'd been given more depth.

Overall, I found the worldbuilding compelling, and I'd be interested in revisiting the world to learn more about mind eaters in particular.

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