Woman, Eating

WOMAN, EATING
Claire Kohda
Hachette

By FEBY IDRUS

Claire Kohda’s debut novel Woman, Eating combines the ennui of the average 20-something millennial with the tropes of the vampire novel, as Lydia, a young Londoner and arts graduate, learns to navigate young adulthood while juggling the irrepressible urge to drink the blood of the nice boy upstairs.

The premise is a cracker, but do not go into this novel expecting a plot.  Kohda leans heavily into Lydia’s artful listlessness (there are multiple scenes of a famished Lydia lying on the floor, just thinking).

Vampiric themes intertwine with questions of both art or representation and racial politics, as Lydia is not only half vampire but also half Korean.

But these themes are not deeply explored, giving this novel a lightweight, mostly ephemeral feel.

A love-it-or-hate-it novel, and definitely an acquired taste for some.