Girls will be girls… Let’s review.
A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G.
- Category – Horror Fiction
- Length – 250 Pages
- Read Time – 8 Days
- GR Rating – 3 Stars
I wanted to love this book more than I did, although the story itself was entertaining enough the writing didn’t pull me in. Several times throughout this book I found myself thinking ‘well that was unnecessary’ in regard to the writers choice of words. This book felt written with a thesaurus open one tab over, & rather than reading descriptive & precise, it read pretentious to me. That said, in my rating this only cost the book 1/2 a star because I do think it’s a part of the story, I do think there is reason for the pretentiousness.
Dorothy Daniels is a writer & food critic, a career she basically just stumbled into. I should say was, because when the book begins mid-50’s Dorothy Daniels is actually an inmate of the New York State Penitentiary system. She is speaking directly to us, we are her captive audience as she recounts her story. Traveling between New York & Italy on this journey reminiscing her adult life & how she ended up in prison. A food writer to inmate pipeline of her own making.
“If you followed the trial, and I assume if you’re reading this that you paid attention to my trial, then you already know how and where I killed Casimir–or you think you know.” – A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers
Dorothy believes in indulging in life, in satisfying ones desires lavishly & she doesn’t shy away from sharing the details of her exploits with us. Even in telling us her story it feels like she’s finding enjoyment in the walk down memory lane. Although the book begins at the end of her story, Dorothy narrates us back around from the beginning. Telling us about herself, when & how she got started in her career, her travels, desires & psychopathy. She is self-aware & intelligent enough to know her mental isn’t exactly in tip-top shape. While she had relations with men, she didn’t get into very serious relationships with these men. She was more of a smash & dash kind of girl, & power to her, nothing wrong with consenting adults having a wonderful time together & going on about their days, doesn’t always have to turn into shared space & combined lives. However, our girl Dorothy took her post smashing dashes a little too far, thus prison.
Unlike the other men she sex’d, killed & ate a part of, Dorothy expresses remorse for killing Casimir but not entirely because she regrets his death. What she regrets is being sloppy & impulsive in her actions. Casimir became her last victim because she didn’t properly plan, she got a little too comfortable with getting away with her crimes unscathed & dropped the ball, leaving a trail of suspicious breadcrumbs leading straight to her stomach. (Breadcrumbs to her stomach… hahahaha; get it… because she’s a cannibal gourmand… hahahaha; I crack myself up!)
This is a horror book for sure, cannibalism is no laughing matter but while the topic of the story is serious & somber it’s told in an almost satirical way. This story is an exploration of feminism, sprinkled with digs at toxic masculinity & it’s pervasiveness within modern society, with Dorothy herself exemplifying toxic masculinity traits. I mean, in the end she was basically tripped up by her own ego. How very toxically masculine of her.
This book was part of my spooky season tbr & while spooky season’s come & gone before this review is up, it’s still a great fall/winter read. It isn’t the overt, gore filled, supernatural monsters type of horror more heavily associated with spooky season. I enjoyed this book, didn’t love but also far from hated, definitely recommend giving it a read if you enjoy this genre.
As always, happy reading & thank you for joining me for another review. Time & energy are so so valuable & I truly appreciate you reader, for using some of your time & energy to read what little nobody me has to say.
Hasta la próxima – V
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