This review contains very mild spoilers for A Certain Hunger. A list of trigger warnings can be found here.
Welcome to the NBC's Hannibal to girlboss cannibalism pipeline, so glad you could join us for dinner. We are taken into the mind of Dorothy, a woman jailed for her actions as a food critic turned cannibal, through her first-person memoir as she recounts her journey that led her to where she is. Dorothy is quick, frank, and gets straight to the point as she details her killings -- and recipes -- to the greatest extent.
With each chapter focusing on a particular dish, accompanied often by a particular kill or experience, we gain insight on Dorothy's inner workings and her view on life, food, and the complications of feelings. She recounts her initial love for food and the day that she was thrown into a career as a food critic, her college days and friendship with Emma, and the countless entanglements she has with men who become meals.
Dorothy's meticulous planning of both her meals and her killings are done in such a way where both feel as though she is reading through a recipe book and adjusting the measurements to her own preference. She is sharp and calculated with nearly everything she does in her life, even after she is jailed -- we see it in the group therapy sessions, her refusal to allow Emma to visit her, and her acknowledgement of her never-empty commissary account.
She is at times reckless, and some could argue that the feelings she claims she does not experience make an appearance when she is at her most vulnerable. However, her recklessness is still coated in careful planning and has passion behind it, even if it ends in carnage. At times her killings are spontaneous, even taking her by surprise in the moment, and others have been brewing inside her for some time before executing them, much like her take down of a certain food critic magazine founder.
Some of the men that Dorothy killed were actually good people -- and even she admits that, literally during some of her plots she admits that some did not deserve the meal that they became, if only they had been more careful with their actions. Loyal to Dorothy, but not loyal to their wives. Unable to be persuaded to eat anchovies, but able to focus on it until his last breath. The men that Dorothy surrounds herself with all have flaws that may initially turn other people away from them, but draw Dorothy in -- perhaps the intrigue overshadows the indiscretions, perhaps the sex really was that good -- and that leads Dorothy down a road she expected she would eventually go down.
Summers stays true to the satire of early foodieism in the book summary as we see the exaggeration of Dorothy's superiority when it comes to cooking and ingredients, reviewing restaurants, and the transition from glossy printed magazines to the online buzzword food articles. From the preference of white truffle versus black truffle -- personally, I agree with Dorothy on the favoritism of the white truffle -- to the graphic depictions of Dorothy's crimes and acknowledgement of her elitism, Summers is able to create such a complex character that pulls traits from the likes of Amy Dunne of Gone Girl and Patrick Bateman of American Psycho.
The writing is extraordinary and I cannot believe this is the author's first novel -- it truly is one of the most compelling reads that I have come across as a reader. The complexity of Dorothy's character and relationships she forms with her lovers/meals, along with the friendship she has with Emma bring her character such depth that you feel as though you know everything you could about her in under three hundred pages. Dorothy is clearly not the perfect person, and a single slip-up being her downfall shows that even the most strategic killer can be brought down by a simple mistake.
A page-turning read that has you on the edge of your seat as Dorothy recounts every step she took that led her to where she is now, from Corpse Reviver #2 to barely edible prison food and cup noodle, we are taken on her journey fueled by rage, intrigue, and superiority. A must-read for readers looking to expand their literary genres and explore unhinged main characters that lead you to root for their success, even as they commit truly heinous acts.
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