Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - a certain hunger

i had so many thoughts while reading this, and now i have none. this is a freaking work of art, as messed up as it may be. i must admit i skimmed the overly-descriptive meals, but the rest i. ate. up. like a woman starved

dorothy, you psycho, “maneater” is your song

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zsineb's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

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

4.5

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mcrespo's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.5

despite the main character being insufferably hypocritical, arrogant, smug, and a truly evil white woman down to her core, i thought that this novel so wonderfully described the complexities of feminine rage, love, and female friendships. summers' prose is rich and a sensory delight, however, i found that at times, the descriptions and literary devices summers employed detracted from the storyline. the repetition became tedious, and the descriptions dragged on for paragraphs at a time. i found myself frequently fighting the urge to skip over a large chunk of text that went into great detail on the process of preparing and consuming duck confit or baked alaska. i can appreciate the way that food tied into this novel, and i understand the importance of creating this idiosyncratic description of food to immerse the reader, but at times, it definitely detracted from the real meat of the story. overall, i was happy to have read this, and i loved the way that themes of love and female relationships were explored, even through this really unlikable character.

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miaafterhours's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

I support women’s wrongs.

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spbaer's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

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

2.0

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semeyers's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

This was such an incredibly messed up book, yet was one of my favorite reads of the year so far.

Being inside of the head of a serial killer is never a good thing and this book really drove it home. The descriptions of the main characters murders were so graphic is made my stomach turn, but the vivid descriptions of food would make me hungry a page or two later. It was such a strange juxtaposition. The main character's complete lack of empathy and emotion was stunning.

I recommend this one, but know what you're getting into.

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_p0ssum_'s review against another edition

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Cannibalism books aren't entertainin to read

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danpolta's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Girlboss American Psycho describes our narrator, Dorothy Daniels. A professed psychopath, the character takes us through the men she murdered, what she wanted from them, and what made her do it.

I really enjoyed the parts where the author uses the character to describe depraved thoughts and feelings through an unreliable narrator who insists that we all feel the same hungers. At her best, you can feel sympathetic toward the drive to cannibalism. At her worst, it feels like gore porn for misandrists.

The build up to the narrator ending up in jail (revealed at the start of the book) feels well-earned, and there are a few Chekhov guns for the mystery-loving attentive reader.

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