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Summary and Reviews of The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

The Book Eaters by  Sunyi Dean

The Book Eaters

by Sunyi Dean
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (6):
  • First Published:
  • Aug 2, 2022, 304 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jun 2023, 320 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

Sunyi Dean's The Book Eaters is "a darkly sweet pastry of a book about family, betrayal, and the lengths we go to for the ones we love. A delicious modern fairy tale." - Christopher Buehlman, Shirley Jackson Award-winning author.

Truth is found between the stories we're fed and the stories we hunger for.

Out on the Yorkshire Moors lives a secret line of people for whom books are food, and who retain all of a book's content after eating it. To them, spy novels are a peppery snack; romance novels are sweet and delicious. Eating a map can help them remember destinations, and children, when they misbehave, are forced to eat dry, musty pages from dictionaries.

Devon is part of The Family, an old and reclusive clan of book eaters. Her brothers grow up feasting on stories of valor and adventure, and Devon―like all other book eater women―is raised on a carefully curated diet of fairy tales and cautionary stories.

But real life doesn't always come with happy endings, as Devon learns when her son is born with a rare and darker kind of hunger―not for books, but for human minds.

1

DEVON BY DAY

PRESENT DAY

We have just begun to navigate a strange region; we must expect to encounter strange adventures, strange perils.
—Arthur Machen, The Terror

These days, Devon only bought three things from the shops: books, booze, and Sensitive Care skin cream. The books she ate, the booze kept her sane, and the lotion was for Cai, her son. He suffered occasionally from eczema, especially in winter.

There were no books in this convenience store, only rows of garish magazines. Not to her taste, and anyway she had enough books to eat at home. Her gaze skipped across the soft porn, power tools, and home living publications down to the lowest strata, where children's magazines glowed pink and yellow.

Devon ran short, ragged nails across the covers. She thought about buying one for Cai, because he seemed to like reading that kind of thing at the moment, and decided against it. After tonight, his preferences might change.

She walked to the end of ...

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Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

The story is told in a non-linear fashion. This allows Dean to gradually flesh out the complexity of Devon's character and moral standing as she wrestles with the guilt of finding humans for her son to feed upon. As we gain greater insight into her past, her actions and her motives, one of the book's central concerns comes into play: Is it okay for a parent to do bad things if it's for the good of their child? From certain perspectives, it would be easy to view Devon as a monster, but the more we see of the corrupt, sexist regime she has been living under, the easier it becomes to consider the system itself the real monster, and to root for Devon to escape it, no matter the cost...continued

Full Review Members Only (590 words)

(Reviewed by Callum McLaughlin).

Media Reviews

Buzzfeed
A delightfully weird exploration of motherhood, queerness, and escaping patriarchal norms

The Daily Mail (UK)
A gripping and beautifully plotted story told with verve and deliciously dark wit.

Booklist (starred review)
A powerful story of overwhelming mother love, as something both powerful and potentially horrific. It's a book that delves into the need to survive even when a system is built to break you or determined to crush you; a powerful queer story about difference that refuses to flinch away from difficult choices or the impact of trauma, both generational and inflicted. Readers will devour this compelling, rich fantasy.

Library Journal (starred review)
A fascinating debut with shades of gothic fantasy and contemporary thriller, wrapped in a narrative full of vivid and detailed characters and worldbuilding, and an unusual premise.

Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Dean's unputdownable debut gives the phrase 'voracious reader' a new, very literal meaning...The fascinating magic system, impeccable and unusual worldbuilding, and well-shaded characters will keep readers riveted through every twist of this wild ride.

Author Blurb James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestseller of The Starless Crown
Innovative, unique, poignant, and told with a voice as original as the story itself. I finished this novel in that one sitting, yet I'll be pondering it for a long time to come. This is the debut of a new master of the modern fantasy. Don't miss it.

Author Blurb Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six
Raw and imaginative, this gritty, gothic anti-fairytale knows the truth: love will make a villain out of anyone.

Author Blurb V. E. Schwab, New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue
I devoured this.

Reader Reviews

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Beyond the Book



Novels Exploring the Moral Dilemmas of Parenthood

The protagonist in Sunyi Dean's novel The Book Eaters repeatedly finds herself compelled to carry out cruel acts against others in order to protect her young son. This moral dilemma is central to the character's development and forces readers to consider a difficult question: If a parent does bad things for the good of their child, can the ends ever justify the means? This is a fascinating topic sure to inspire debate, which is why authors have often been drawn to tackle it. Here are some other examples of books that explore moral dilemmas related to parenthood.

Covers of books exploring the moral dilemmas of parenthood

In My Name Is Monster by Katie Hale, our main character has survived alone for years in a world decimated by disease. Her existence is turned upside down when she finds ...

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Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

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