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A review by ojtheviking
A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers
dark
funny
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was a quick and fun read once I finally sat down and fully invested some time and focus on it. A light meal of a novel, if you will! Easily devoured.
...okay, I'll stop. But it's still the truth. A Certain Hunger feels like a modern-day, morbidly feminist version of American Psycho, with a dash of Hannibal Lecter's spirit for extra flavor. Satirical, blunt, and quite visceral. It explores the trinity of raw primalness; food, sex, and death, but written in a way that can be read either straightforward and literally, or more of a metaphor of female empowerment eating away at and tearing down the flesh of patriarchy.
Similar to American Psycho, other topics are also touched upon. The societal chase of being the new, hip thing in such terms as fashion magazines and food critique, ultimately exposing how pretentious and self-important these things can become. Dorothy is also obsessed with food culture as Patrick Bateman was with his appearance and proper business cards.
Structurally, we go a little bit back and forth between the present and the past, with Dorothy narrating it all after she is already facing the consequences of the past scenarios that will unfold throughout this story. As such, this book is more of a fictional memoir than ordinary storytelling. I want to say it works for the most part, as it makes sense for a character like Dorothy to make her story into something marketable, but at the same time, this form of narration gives her automatic plot armor that slightly reduces the suspense during a few segments.
Either way, it's a very straightforward story, not too steeped in deep melodrama or anything like that. It's just a fairly short treat with various levels of spice to it, and I enjoyed it! If you ask me if I'd recommended, I would say, "for the most part yes ... it just depends on your taste."
...okay, I'll stop. But it's still the truth. A Certain Hunger feels like a modern-day, morbidly feminist version of American Psycho, with a dash of Hannibal Lecter's spirit for extra flavor. Satirical, blunt, and quite visceral. It explores the trinity of raw primalness; food, sex, and death, but written in a way that can be read either straightforward and literally, or more of a metaphor of female empowerment eating away at and tearing down the flesh of patriarchy.
Similar to American Psycho, other topics are also touched upon. The societal chase of being the new, hip thing in such terms as fashion magazines and food critique, ultimately exposing how pretentious and self-important these things can become. Dorothy is also obsessed with food culture as Patrick Bateman was with his appearance and proper business cards.
Structurally, we go a little bit back and forth between the present and the past, with Dorothy narrating it all after she is already facing the consequences of the past scenarios that will unfold throughout this story. As such, this book is more of a fictional memoir than ordinary storytelling. I want to say it works for the most part, as it makes sense for a character like Dorothy to make her story into something marketable, but at the same time, this form of narration gives her automatic plot armor that slightly reduces the suspense during a few segments.
Either way, it's a very straightforward story, not too steeped in deep melodrama or anything like that. It's just a fairly short treat with various levels of spice to it, and I enjoyed it! If you ask me if I'd recommended, I would say, "for the most part yes ... it just depends on your taste."