Woman, Eating | 
Finished this the other day on audio. Really liked the ideas of whether or not vampires are “worthy”. Are they inherently evil because they need to kill? How different is that from people who also kill to eat? What if you‘re a vampire just trying to get through her internship at an art gallery? What if you struggle with your identity? Who owns art? Who gets to love? Also, puppets …
pickI loved every second of this one. It‘s Lydia‘s first person account of her struggle as half-vampire/half-human. More than anything, she wants to experience eating human food, but her vampire body will not allow her this. The whole book is comprised of her thoughts and then her actions in response to her thoughts. A very quiet, very introspective, strange little story. So good! I chose it because I love books about vampires and books about food.
pickThis book is all vibes and no plot. I loved every second of it. Lydia is half human and half vampire. She is also biracial. This story explores humanity, morality, ethics, sin, and eating…well, lack thereof. Basically nothing at all happens in this book but Lyd‘s character is so compelling that I couldn‘t stop listening. 4.5/5! Check triggers!
#12Booksof2023 Month: October @Andrew65
I read 15 books that month but mostly they were okay. But tagged book was different a peculiar writing style to explain social topics.
But I need to mention Empire of the Vampire-great story!!!! Yes!!! I couldn‘t decide which one was my favorite-different but equally good
I enjoyed too:
Below by Darcy Coates-claustrophobic reading😳Blood Countess-gory🩸Dowry of Blood and Twelve Nights At Rotter House
pickRead in my birthday day, October 9th. A different vampire story. I really liked how author explained Lydia experiences, sensations as a vampire. A character driven novel where several topics are discussed like: belonging, becoming adulthood, race, mother-daughter relationship, affective relationships, sexual harassment, assault, relation with food-hunger (in many ways). There are so many references about art/literature. Beautiful! ⬇️
pickThere‘s a lot going on in this sparsely written, vibes-over-plot modern vampire story. Kohda is using the vampire trope in a very modern way to explore big ideas like the desire to feel like we are really living, isolation and belonging, the threat and challenges of young womanhood, imposter syndrome, race, and the complexities of our modern relationship with food and hunger. A very interesting and clever novel.
pickI enjoyed this slow burn of a short novel. Lydia, a half vampire, half human, is obsessed with the human world, especially Buffy and Instagram about food. The novel also touches on mother/daughter relationships and the effects of sexual assault.
pickInteresting work- you can read it as a statement on women and hunger, food, control of a mother, the effects of non-consentual invasions into a body or just a surface new take on the vampire story. Whatever it was engaging but, for me, like a debut work.
pickThanks to the awesome @Centique for putting this book on my #ReadersRadar 🤓I will admit a “literary vampire novel” caught my attention and the slim page count heightened my curiosity 🧛♀️ It‘s an engaging audio, which worked really well until the final few pages where I felt the author lost inspiration. Plenty of food for thought 😉Lydia is a modern day vampire with a craving for “normality” - as she finally has her first taste of freedom.
pickI really enjoyed this. It‘s definitely a slow character study of a book and if you get queasy about blood etc this is not for you. I‘m going to take a leap of imagination (probably unwarranted) and say this is a bit like Moshfegh‘s Year of R&R meets SKJ‘s Mongrels. An isolated young female artist is trying to get along in a world where she doesn‘t seem to fit. Mostly because she‘s a vampire.
I think @batsy would enjoy this and @Reggie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
pickI really enjoyed this, but I can see why others might not, a slow meditative character study set in the London art world Lydia is a vampire and just trying to get through this life.
I loved the smaller details like her obsession with Buffy, her complex relationship with her mother, and her terrible internship. All of these could have been combined for a light hearted romp, but instead this book is a contemplative story with a dreamlike quality.
pick“People, aging and mortal, are like flowers, seasonal, wilting and finite; while I'm like a tree.”
Quiet and melancholy, a vampire story planted firmly in the ‘sad girl‘ genre, and I loved it. All vibe, little plot (i.e. totally my jam!), Lydia is a lonely young artist, trying to find a place in the world, without her mother for the 1st time, struggling with her ‘food‘ issues, and her immortality. Gorgeous writing, a really great debut. #netgalley
September wrap-up! I finished 11 books in September.
🥇Woman, Eating
🥈L'Esprit de L'Escalier
🥉The Hollow Places
bailedI started this over a week ago, and am only on page 50- I can‘t get into at all. It‘s a bit mundane for me, but I kept trying to pick it back up. The story seemed interesting (a vampire that wishes she could eat food and does not prey on humans. Lydia and her mother have ever only feasted on pig‘s blood to stay functioning). I may try to read it again in the future, but I‘m bailing for now!
pickLydia is a 23-year-old aspiring artist starting an internship at a gallery after taking a year off to care for her mother. She is also a vampire, raised to survive on pig's blood & consider herself a monster. Faced with unexpected challenges, Lyd struggles to feed herself & ultimately, to understand her place in the world. A strangely realistic vampire novel, rooted in the realities of being young, uncertain and different from everyone around you.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed this strange and somewhat gory book about a mixed race female vampire. It dragged for me just a little near the middle but it‘s well written and the rest was intriguing. It‘s definitely a slower read, and is almost a character study - just with a hungry vampire trying to reconcile her human side with her vampiric tendencies.
This was a #gettbr recommendation.
pickI really really loved this book! 🖤
It's so beautifully written and I just loved the characters, I'm going to be always thinking about Lydia.
It's a different view on vampirism, which I can appreciate. I like different.
It's hard to put down once you start.
What a stunning debut.
Literary vampire novel? Great for fans of Otessa Moshfegh or Sin Eater by Megan Campisi (if you have any concerns about becoming obsessive with food I would sit this one out). https://youtu.be/vns6Vz_hZUQ
so-soA weird and eerie little book! Basically no plot at all, it‘s all character based - we are in the mind of a sad and hungry female vampire and the book is basically just a continual stream of consciousness.
Fascinating and odd. The last chapter is particularly good but I can‘t say I LOVED it.
So this looks interesting. Not in my wheelhouse so I‘m keeping my fingers crossed. 🤞🤞
pickI think maybe it's about not denying who you are and
embracing your true nature. Definitely about how you will never belong and are nothing if you don't partake in all of our many food rituals. But most importantly, what it's like being a vampire among delicious humans. I was reminded of how lions and other carnivores eat the stomach of their herbivore prey first, to get veggies into their diet.
pickLoved this modern vampire novel of a mixed race young woman finding her power. 4 🌟
pan#WomanEating turned out to be a big disappointment. I always thought it would go SOMEWHERE, but it never actually did.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️/5
#ClaireKohda #fiction
Oh dear! What happens when I go to pick up one book at the library!
