Last week I finished The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean as part of a buddy read with Destiny.
This book was visceral! 🔥
Devon is a book eater, an individual with the appearance of a human (for the most part), that absorbs sustenance and knowledge from consuming books/any form of paper with inscriptions. She was raised by one of the six families, to consume nothing but fairy tales so she might learn good manners and presume the role of a perfect princess, to be wed and give birth to two girls. Instead, after a slew of runaway attempts, and the birth of her son (Cai) that has to consume minds instead of paper, she sets forth on a scorched Earth plan to save him.
I loved everything about this book. The chapters alternate between Devon growing up and a few years prior to the current events, and modern day. The pacing is perfect, as it's revealed who true allies are, how her second ex-husband was disposed of, and what her brother Ramsey is willing to do to keep the Knights running. Each chapter starts with a literature reference, always fitting to the theme in some way. One of my favorites was something along the lines of "Maybe some day I can read fairy tales again". The videogame references are relatable and meaningful in providing Devon and Cai some form of escape.
The characters are so compelling, especially Devon's girlfriend Hes, brother-in-law Jarrow, and human journalist Mani. Nearing the final showdown in the book, Cai talks about how despite society seeing him as a monster, Devon would eat the world to protect him and he'd do the same for her. I love this monster family!! Though the most monstrous character is by far Hes' brother with his Catholicism inspired sacrificial cult.
The author has mentioned maybe returning to this world from the perspective of a side character after publishing two very different books, and I hope she does!
Note: This book has fantastic sapphic and asexual rep! With Dean being autistic herself, I think it's fair to say that Devon is as well.
This interview with Sunyi Dean and a representative of the Los Angeles Public Library provided solid insight into Dean's inspiration: https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/interview-author-sunyi-dean
