Woman, Eating (2022) by Clair Kohda

British author Claire Kohda

Woman, Eating 

A Literary Vampire Novel (2022) 

by Claire Kohda

   I've been involved in publishing- via my record label, for over a decade, and the hostility displayed towards artists- musicians, writers, actors, every artist at the relationship between commerce and art has always struck me as comical.  Or at the very best, an anachronistic attitude directly related to 18th century romanticism and its ideas about the genius apart as creator.  The vibe for Woman, Eating: A Literary Vampire Novel, was very Ottessa Moshfegh writes a vampire novel.   I would argue that Moshfegh has the heart of a decadent in the sense that she descends in a direct line from the prose of Joris-Karl Huysmans and his book Against the Grain.

    It goes without saying that a vampire novel that carries the subtitle of "A Literary Vampire Novel" does not take its premise of vampires particularly seriously, rather the vampire is a motif for an exploration of what it means to be mixed-race in contemporary British society, about the role food plays in the integration of immigrants.   Anyway, I loved every second- loved, loved, loved the Audiobook and the narrator of the Audiobook.  One of my favorites of the year thus far.  Certainly a top five title for me heading into the midyear.