The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
Out on the Yorkshire Moors lives a secret line of people for whom books are food, and who retain all of a book’s content after eating it. To them, spy novels are a peppery snack; romance novels are sweet and delicious. Eating a map can help them remember destinations, and children, when they misbehave, are forced to eat dry, musty pages from dictionaries.
Devon is part of The Family, an old and reclusive clan of book eaters. Her brothers grow up feasting on stories of valor and adventure, and Devon―like all other book eater women―is raised on a carefully curated diet of fairy tales and cautionary stories.
But real life doesn’t always come with happy endings, as Devon learns when her son is born with a rare and darker kind of hunger―not for books, but for human minds.
This book WAS SO FLIPPIN’ UNIQUE and SO DAMN GOOD.
I have to share two quotes from other reviews because their words sum up my thoughts PERFECTLY.
(There are times when other peeps verbalize the things popping around in my brain WAAAY better than I can 🤣)
“Raw and imaginative, this gritty, gothic anti-fairy tale knows the truth: love will make a villian out of anyone.” -Olivie Blake
“A delightfully weird exploration of motherhood, queerness, and escaping patriarchal norms.” -BuzzFeed
The whole idea of eating books as sustenance and absorbing all the information within–kind of a culinary osmosis per se–is such a FANTASTIC premise for a story.
As a devoted book nerd, at first I got super excited imagining the possibilities if this was a reality and I myself was a book eater.
Think of all the amazingness you could consume and then just KNOW!!!!
GAHHHH the POSSIBILITIES!
I mean, my TBR pile would just be considered a hearty lunch.
But then….
I thought to myself that ACTUALLY the whole process would be kind of sad… the whole EXPERIENCE of reading would be something COMPLETELY different.
Books would not be the same to me…stories would not feel the same…and THAT would truly suck.
So my excited imaginings just turned into being more grateful for my literary reality LOL
This story though most definitely did NOT suck.
Such an engrossing book just FILLED with metaphors on patriarchy, gender roles, unrealistic societal standards, and even ableism.
Yall KNOW how I feel about fiction books that have deep lessons about society entwined with the plotlines….SO DAMN POWERFUL.
In these pages, an entire community–species in fact–of book eaters depends on the women and the offspring they produce. They are revered and valued for the birthing abilities…but the MEN still make ALL the rules and call all the shots. Over their bodies, their marriages, their lives, their children’s lives.
Sound familiar? 😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑
Book eaters survive off of eating books…they absorb whatever is in the pages. So there are even limits and restrictions on what books can be consumed.
Children are only feed certain books, especially girls.
They are fed mostly fairy tales and stories that focus on marriage as the happy endings…nothing to challenge any of the patriarch’s standards of functioning society. No book can be consumed that has the “wrong” type of knowledge or information deemed “useless” or “harmful” to their way of life.
Does this ALSO sound familiar? 😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑
This is challenged by our main character, Devon in a multitude of ways…and causes all kinds of struggle and upheaval for her and her family. (I love this character….she is one of my most favorite female protagonists I have read as of late!)
Ableism and disability prejudice is also an underlying presence when it comes to the other type of being book eaters can produce….mind eaters. (you can probably guess what THEY need to ingest for food)
When they are born they are either ostracized to become “Dragons” who are used exclusively as military defense and treated like beasts or they can be given a drug called “Redemption” which can mask their cravings.
It is interesting to see how Devon tries to aide her son, a mind eater, throughout the book. She wants to help him remain who he is while at the same time find a way for him to function in the world and not cause harm.
The concept of a mother/child bond is continually addressed in this book…how strong it can be–and not be— and what sacrifices one may be willing–or not willing– to make to protect the other.
The ending of this story was written extremely well in my opinion….it leaves the door open for a possible sequel BUT doesn’t feel like it just ends abruptly either.
That can be VERY hard to do—I have seen similar endings go amuck and leave me as a reader unsatisfied MANY times–but this author did it FANTASTICALLY.
The audiobook narration is awesome AF too, with perfect accents and character voicing. Plus there is a 25 minute interview at the end between the author and the narrator which gives super insight into each of their personal lives, creative visions and artistic interpretations.
Loved this read.