Scan barcode
hbic's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Blood
Moderate: Eating disorder, Death of parent, Dementia, and Terminal illness
porshainielsen's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5. Homegirl did in fact not eat very many men!! I was I was expecting more of a revenge plot and got more of a lost girl in her twenties (samesies) I wanted to know more about Lydia’s vampirism; the getting drunk off cows milk was confusing to me and fever dream esc. Also, the dog does NOT die; I was very concerned when the cutest pug entered the plot line but we chillin.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism
Moderate: Death of parent and Eating disorder
jacss's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
3.5
3.5 stars for the audiobook of "Woman, Eating".
What an interesting take on the modern vampire meets coming-of-age story. At times almost religious in the narrative of having a soul. At times, riddled with young adult angst.
I enjoyed reading it, but I think the vampire mechanica don't make sense to me, which made it feel inconsistent.
What an interesting take on the modern vampire meets coming-of-age story. At times almost religious in the narrative of having a soul. At times, riddled with young adult angst.
I enjoyed reading it, but I think the vampire mechanica don't make sense to me, which made it feel inconsistent.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder
gvstyris's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
There always seems to be something that suffers or dies as a result of any form of food consumption.
Man, I'm really bummed. There are so many reasons I wanted to love this book. On a superficial level, the title and original cover design are epic, and subtly characterise our protagonist as empowered and mildly menacing. I also absolutely lived for the audiobook narration (full credit to Katie Leung, who voices Caitlyn in Arcane <3) and the premise itself. As well as juxtaposing vampirism with Lydia's mixed-Anglo-Japanese-Malaysian identity, Kohda uses Lydia's vampirical inability to eat as an analogy for an eating disorder. A really cool idea, and I'm so so sad that it didn't work for me.
For one thing, the characters were relatively flat...which, given that this novel is lacking in plot/world-building, was a fatal flaw. Lydia herself gave me unbearable second-hand embarrassment at times, particularly because of her poor social skills and uncomfortable interactions with Ben. I understand this was a deliberate choice to demonstrate Lydia's forced social isolation, but I ultimately struggled to root for her in a way that hindered my enjoyment of the novel. I feel similarly, if not worse, about Ben, who lacks development and consequentially comes across as a white man with a fetish for East Asian women...
I would've loved to see many parts of this novel explored in more depth, especially the relationship between Lydia's parents. I also made the critical mistake of reading this alongside The Bell Jar -- the two novels have similar atmospheres, and it was impossible to not compare them.
Ultimately, Kohda's visceral food imagery was the highlight for me. As someone who's very much not a foodie, I related to aspects of Lydia's relationship with food and loved seeing how her mother's beliefs and self-hatred influenced her own. It's clear that Kohda has a lot of care for her subject matter, which will definitely stick with me, so I'm glad I gave it a read regardless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Blood
Moderate: Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
lin3han's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Eating disorder
Minor: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault
karenschlesser's review
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Self harm, Infidelity, and Blood
Minor: Child death
sofi_thebookishflor's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
I this book we follow Lydia a vampire who is desperate to live her life amongst humans and be an artist, but she's also so hungry.
Trigger warnings ⚠️ E.D. abusive parent
After her vampire mother seems to develop what humans would call alzhimers, Lydia lives her in a home for the elderly and she rents a loft in an artist building and will soon start an internship at a gallery following in the footsteps of her artist father, but after having her mother taken care of everything her whole life, she now has to get her own food, pigs blood, but where? How? And how hungry can she go on for before feeding on someone?
This is a horror, thriller fiction book but everything can be related to real life and the complexities of self hatred, E.D. emotional abuse from a parent and unexpected curveball that life just throws your way.
It's definitely more vibes then plot. The plot is there but it's simple and well, it's more about introspection than what it's going on with the characters.
Definitely a great read, but not for everyone, please check all the trigger warnings!
Trigger warnings ⚠️ E.D. abusive parent
After her vampire mother seems to develop what humans would call alzhimers, Lydia lives her in a home for the elderly and she rents a loft in an artist building and will soon start an internship at a gallery following in the footsteps of her artist father, but after having her mother taken care of everything her whole life, she now has to get her own food, pigs blood, but where? How? And how hungry can she go on for before feeding on someone?
This is a horror, thriller fiction book but everything can be related to real life and the complexities of self hatred, E.D. emotional abuse from a parent and unexpected curveball that life just throws your way.
It's definitely more vibes then plot. The plot is there but it's simple and well, it's more about introspection than what it's going on with the characters.
Definitely a great read, but not for everyone, please check all the trigger warnings!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder
ahrya's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Eating disorder
Minor: Sexual assault
vee_the_tree's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, Body shaming, and Death
Minor: Terminal illness, Dementia, Eating disorder, Animal death, Grief, Cancer, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts
fallingintofiction's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this book. It’s a dark, introspective novel about a young woman finding her identity and place in the world, disguised as a vampire novel.
The themes explored in here covered complex family dynamics, gender, race, and the multifaceted relationship between humans and food.
The themes explored in here covered complex family dynamics, gender, race, and the multifaceted relationship between humans and food.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Blood, and Animal death
Moderate: Eating disorder