After taking local readers by storm in 2015, Korean bestseller Hunger has finally made it to Australian shores! The novel quickly became a cult-classic, so its English translation is a source of excitment for many Australian translated fiction fans.
However, the story isn't going to be for everyone …
Hunger
Choi Jin-young, translated by Soje
Hunger is a tragic love story that explores the persistence of love after death, through the reflections of Dam, a young woman who discovers her boyfriend's murdered body. In an act of remembrance and reverence, Dam takes the body home and slowly begins to consume it – eating her boyfriend as a way to preserve their love and keep him with her, forever.
Like I said, this premise might have some people firmly convinced not to pick up Hunger (and to those people, let me warn you now – the rest of this blog holds nothing for you. You'll be better off browsing less stomach-turning reads here!); but readers who don't mind the dark and gothic will be rewarded by a unique and moving novel. Our reviewer called it 'the story of a most obsessive, depraved sort of love: one that you can’t help but be both disgusted and softened by.'
And if you're one of the many readers that have already devoured Hunger and been left craving more, here are my recommendations for further reads that bring nuance and meaning to the horror of cannibalism.
The Lamb
Lucy Rose
This is a powerful debut novel, exploring mother-daughter relationships in all their fraught power.
Margot has grown up in a lonely cottage in the woods – just her and her mother, and the lost strays who come to their door looking for help. And while Margot's mother welcomes the strangers in, it's not to help them. She's as dangerous as the witch in Hansel and Gretel and the strangers won't get any help – just hemlock-laced-wine and a quick death, before being steadily consumed by Margot and her mother.
But unlike in a fairytale, there's no perfect hero to save the day – there's just Margot, slowly growing up, starting to question the home she's been raised in, and having to decide how she wants to live. Like Hunger, this is a novel about love and the dark forms it can take; but this is a grizzlier read, that's as visceral as it is tragic.
Carnivore
K. Anis Ahmed
This is an exciting new release which will delight fans of The Menu. In this novel, cannibalism isn't an act of reverence or communion, or even of sating an appetite – it's about status, novelty, and the desperate desire to make an impact.
Kash is a chef who owes a lot of money to unscrupulous people. And while his New York restaurant – specialising in exotic meat and catering to the city's elite – is doing well, it's not enough to get him in the clear. But he has hope – an exclusive dinner club, run by billionaires trying endlessly to outdo each other. To get the gig to cater for them, and be able to pay off all his loans, Kash just needs to find something totally original, that even the world's richest men won't have tasted before.
But what will be left of Kash once the meal is through?
The Eyes Are the Best Part
Monika Kim
You might have already heard of this compelling novel, which became a bestseller when it was released last year. The Eyes Are the Best Part follows Ji‑won's downward spiral in the wake of her father's abandonment, as her patience for the trials and indignities of life as a young Asian woman is at an all time low. She feels stuck, unable to escape the grief of her young sister, the pressures of college, and George, the obnoxious new boyfriend that her mother fawns over.
As Ji-won's frustration grows, and George becomes more and more of a fixture in the family's cramped apartment, she starts to have strange, tantasalising dreams – about walls of bright blue eyes, and the satisfying, visceral feeling of eating them. Is giving into this growing hunger how Ji-won can regain control of her life?
This is a read that will stay with you long after the book itself is finished – just don't plan on eating fish eyes, or even cherry tomatoes, too soon after you're done …
Tender is the Flesh
Agustina Bazterrica, translated by Sarah Moses
This novel is a dystopian look at the meat industry, that will almost certainly have you eating plant-based for a while.
When a deadly virus infects the world's animals, the world finds a new source of protein: humans. The facade of acceptability is maintained by euphemistic language and treating the human 'stock' the same way as cattle – they're bred, farmed and kept in cages, until the time comes for them to be 'processed' at the slaughterhouses and tanneries.
Marcos grew up in the meat industry, working in his father's abattoir, but now it's humans who he slaughters everday. He's haunted by the daily horror of it, but with a sick father to support, he sees no escape from the well-paying work.
But Marcos won't be able to ignore the horror of the system forever – when he's gifted a 'fine specimen', a living woman to take home for himself, he needs to make a choice. Marcos will need to decide between conforming to the expectations of this horrible new world, or listening to his gut.
A Certain Hunger
Chelsea G. Summers
Finally, on a lighter note, I've got a book for you that deals with cannibalism and forbidden appetites, but will also make you giggle.
A Certain Hunger is an all-access pass to the mind of Dorothy Daniels, an esteemed food critic, a convicted murderer and a literal psychopath. Dorothy has always been sure of herself, and unafraid to sate the unusual desires that more conventional people would deny … like sautéing a lover's flesh with mushrooms, or stabbing them with an icepick while in the throes of passion. And unlike some of the other books on this list, this is a thriller that won't have you cringing and afraid to read on – Dorothy's unblushing narration and decadent appreciation for life's pleasures may even have you eagerly turning to the pages for more!
Find more spine-tingling reads here 🥩
