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.
“I took his hands, and his body slumped into mine, and he whispered a few times, I’m so hungry, I’m so hungry, I’m so hungry. And then, I ate him.”
Vampire books are definitely my thing. Okay, vampires, in general, are my thing. It’s really no secret. They are broody, have strong jawlines, and are just about the only thing that looks delectable in velvet. Plus they bite. What more could I ask for?
I’m always on the hunt for a vampire novel that is way outside of the norm. I want something different, something I haven’t read before. This is where Woman, Eating steps in and what a masterpiece!
This is not your typical vampire novel and just the right thing that I have been craving. It’s nothing like these current lame-ass books where vampires are glittery and are afraid of just about everything. This was epic asf. It was one of those books that took you on a journey and you never knew where it was going to lead. And it had the most perfect ending. Not the ending I thought it was going to have but I loved it anyway.
Lydia was just your “typical” woman who just wanted to see what it was like to be normal. Normal in a way where she could go to the beach with friends, eat real food, find true love, and have a family. But deep down there was a hunger growing inside of her and she needed to quench that thirst before dire things happen. Her character was so well thought-out and planned. She wasn’t all over the place like other vampires, she was one that knew what she wanted and didn’t let anyone or anything stop her. Lydia definitely gave off some Jennifer’s Body vibes!!
Woman, Eating was such a fantastic novel. It was so very different than what we are used to with vampire novels and I think that’s why I enjoyed it as much as I did. I also loved the fact that this wasn’t all about ripping throats out of unsuspecting people (Even though I would have loved that too). There was a lot more to the story than that. It was great and I really hope you give this one a try.
“Inside your body is death.”
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