She’s Always Hungry, Eliza Clark
She's Always Hungry is Eliza Clark's latest offering, a collection of creepy little, short stories, and – spoiler alert – they’re absolutely fantastic.
This is a collection I was so excited to read and, as a result, I had high expectations. I liked Boy Parts, loved Penance, but She’s Always Hungry might just be Clark’s best yet. I'm a fiend for a short story collection, and there are a lot more of them around at the moment, but I won’t complain if the collections are quite this good.
Tales of desire, these stories are laced with sex and rage. A teenager will go to any lengths to get perfect skin; a woman welcomes a parasite into her body and encourages others to do the same; an Apex Predator awaits the end of the world and her time to rule the human race. These stories are weird, sinister and, above all, gloriously fun. Horror-esque stories are all the rage at the moment, but this is one of the collections I've read recently with the best comedic timing – exactly what I look for in my books, creepy or not.
Exploring both male and female desires, there are so many standout stories in She's Always Hungry. My personal favourites were ‘The King’ and ‘Shake Well’, as well as the outstanding ‘The Shadow of Little Chitaly’, which is made up of online reviews for a deeply mysterious takeaway. ‘The Problem Solver’ imagines the aftermath of a sexual assault, as a victim confides in a friend who does have her interests at heart, but his own sense of saviourhood even more so. This was so cleverly done, and although only seven pages, it packed a real punch.
With stories that ranges between the absurd and the threatening, She’s Always Hungry is a collection that showcases the talent of a rising star who has written a collection that is menacing, comical, and thought-provoking at the same time.
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