Scan barcode
A review by entazis
To Be Devoured by Sara Tantlinger
challenging
dark
tense
fast-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
4.0
I recently traveled to Portugal, and those who watched the reading travel vlog (in Croatian) at the @morinakutija YouTube channel know that I read A House With Good Bones by T Kingfisher on the way there. But on the way back I read the horror novella To Be Devoured by Sara Tantlinger.
What a ride that was. And I don't mean airplane travel, I mean the book. The only thing I knew about it was that it had cannibalistic sapphics so I was naturally up for it, especially because I remembered I haven't still filled out the "food centric" prompt on #bitfchallenge2023. Turns out, this novella is about a woman with unhealthy obsessions toward vultures, to the point she believes she's transforming into one. That negatively influences her relationships, mostly the already shaky one with her girlfriend. What follows is disturbing fixations on meat, hunger and death, resulting in some grossly horrifying scenes, written with beautiful prose. It's very effective, some scenes so visceral that I felt the discomfort under my skin, but I couldn't stop reading, hooked to the story with morbid curiosity. This one is meant to gross you out, so it's not for every reader, and if you have troubles with animal cruelty, maybe not a good fit for you.
This was actually a funny choice after A House with Good Bones that also had plenty of vultures, and especially to read it while flying.
What a ride that was. And I don't mean airplane travel, I mean the book. The only thing I knew about it was that it had cannibalistic sapphics so I was naturally up for it, especially because I remembered I haven't still filled out the "food centric" prompt on #bitfchallenge2023. Turns out, this novella is about a woman with unhealthy obsessions toward vultures, to the point she believes she's transforming into one. That negatively influences her relationships, mostly the already shaky one with her girlfriend. What follows is disturbing fixations on meat, hunger and death, resulting in some grossly horrifying scenes, written with beautiful prose. It's very effective, some scenes so visceral that I felt the discomfort under my skin, but I couldn't stop reading, hooked to the story with morbid curiosity. This one is meant to gross you out, so it's not for every reader, and if you have troubles with animal cruelty, maybe not a good fit for you.
This was actually a funny choice after A House with Good Bones that also had plenty of vultures, and especially to read it while flying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death