She’s Always Hungry was such a twisted treat. Clark wields her pen with lethal precision, mastering horror’s ability to get under your skin and interrogate social topics in an entirely different light.
Eliza Clark has just a captivating way of writing, it is all at once gross, humourous and deeply enticing. This short story collection explores that tantalising pull of desire in a range of forms of hunger, the type that leaves a gnaw inside you, consuming you. There are some difficult topics explored here, so you may wish to check content warnings, but Clark handles them with nuance and sensitivity. It is the type of horror that is designed to provoke and question, leaving you pondering its central themes. Clark’s writing is acerbic and addictive, delving into these topics with laser-like precision. These stories often take fairly common ideas or forms of hunger and twist them into warped, odd and unsettling stories. Clark packs in some fantastic twists throughout the collection. Every page feels impactful and carefully considered, with words deliberately chosen to provoke the reader. I always admire a writer that can pull off that potential lurking in a short story – how much it can deliver in such a short space. I would read the full-length versions of pretty much all these stories based on Clark’s slant on the brilliant ideas at their centre. Many are jarring and move into surreal territory but this just enticed me further.
I really appreciated how experimental in terms of form and narrative stylings this collection was. Clark takes risks and they pay off tenfold. I mean where else would you find a short body horror tale within the online reviews of a restaurant? There is quite a bit of Internet culture woven into this connection and is often quite evident in the writing, particularly that wry sense of humour. I loved how grounded the horror often was and how Clark found new insights into the everyday. You can recognise a lot of these characters in people you may know, while some are these hugely exaggerated forces. I have previously loved her characterisation and sense of voice, which is strengthened by this collection. In particular, there is a sense of dark humour that runs throughout the book. It is smart and striking, allowing for a moment of levity in these often intense situations. Humour is a weapon wielded by the wise and Clark utilises it perfectly. The collection bounces around different genres, usually spiralling out from a central idea around a form of hunger. It is just incredibly enticing and skin crawling in equal measure. We often encounter horrific scenarios, both frighteningly real and stepping into the realm of the other.
There is not a weak story amongst the bunch. Even those that may not hit as much for me still had fascinating components and that same strength of writing running throughout. They tie together thematically so well despite the vastly differing stylings. It feels like a cohesive if chaotic collection that I would highly recommend. If you want that slight sense of unease and distrust while reading, this is definitely a book for you. Clark’s writing is challenging and thought-provoking, offering no easy answers. Instead it is the type that thrives on ambiguity and the shadows of morality, leading to plenty of discussions after reading. For me, there were some absolute standouts in this collection, namely Build a Body Like Mine, The Problem Solver, Shake Well and The King. They just had slightly more impact on me, maybe because of themes discussed or that characteristic nuance Clark delivers.
She’s Always Hungry was absolutely sublime and you will be left ravenous for more.
She’s Always Hungry is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other good book retailers, like your local booktsore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
One of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists 2023 and the author of Penance delivers a staggering short story collection filled with unforgettable tales of insatiable desires and her sublimely dark humour.
A teenager longs for perfect skin. A scientist tends to fragile alien flora. A young man takes the night into his own hands. Each of these characters has a desperate desire. Can any of them be sated?
Unsettling, revelatory, and laced with her signature dark humour, Eliza Clark’s debut short story collection plumbs the depths of that most basic human feeling: hunger.
