The Book Eaters is the first novel by Sunyi Dean.
Finished on: 31.12.2023

Content Note: domestic violence, child abuse

Plot:
Devon comes from a family of book eaters. Book eaters, who literally eat books and then retain the contents of what they have eaten, have become a rare breed and Devon is one of the rarer girls, carefully raised on a steady diet of fairy tales. By the time of her own marriage, Devon knows that life is not like the fairy tales she has eaten. But it is the birth of her son, who hungers not for books but for minds, that spurs her into action to break out of the strict structures her life has consisted of so far.

The Book Eaters is basically what I hoped Bones & All would be, though they are not actually all that similar in tone or setting. In any case, it is creative, well-written, feminist and queer and definitely had me paying close attention.

The Book Eaters is not a long book, but it is a big one, taking on grand themes that it explores with a surprising amount of complexity given that it is not 500 pages long. It talks about how the media we consume shape our world view, how difficult motherhood can be to navigate and how to break free from patriarchal structures. That part of Devon’s journey is also figuring out her own queerness and falling in love only makes things sweeter.

Devon is an abrasive character but one that I really adored. She is a fighter, and in her fight she also crosses lines and doesn’t always do the right thing. But then again, it is not always so easy to even know what the right thing is, let alone be able to do it. And Devon really tries her best.

Dean writes well, handling two timelines while exploring her world in a lot of detail. The resulting novel is perfectly paced and quickly read. Almost too quickly – I wouldn’t have minded to spend more time with Devon (this is not a call for a sequel, I actually really liked that this is a complete story that we’re getting here). I’m definitely excited about reading whatever Dean writes next.

Summarizing: fantastic.