The Sin Eater is a bleak and fascinating glimpse into Elizabethan England. May Owens in branded as a Sin Eater after stealing some bread, and is condemned to a life of shame and shadows. The Sin Eater fulfils a similar function to The Pardoner from Chaucer's time. May is a really interesting character to explore this time period with.

Thank you to Netgalley for this advanced reader's copy in return for my honest review. I'm a big fan of historical fiction and this book didn't disappoint. Treacherous and filled with treason. Before reading this book, I knew a little about the practice of sin eating but Megan Campisi really brought this intriguing practice to life.

May Owens steals some bread. Her crime is punished by making her a Sin Eater. Sin Eaters are shunned by society and marked. Their role is to hear the confessions of the dying. They eat ritual food to "consume" those sins to themselves. The person dying is cleansed and can go to heaven. Sin Eaters are only spoken to directly, don't touch others and do not speak other than ritual words. She is effectively apprenticed to an older sin eater. When that sin eater is taken to prison, is tortured and dies May is left in a difficult position.

I found this an interesting story idea. There is a darkness that stays through this book and works well enough. The book follows May's job and dilemma. Her life has a number of "lows" and not an awful lot of "highs". I liked her character quite a lot. Other characters were rather more variable and some were simply bit parts. The atmosphere of a time past when there were servants who were below consideration was well done.

In its way this is a fairly simple story however it does have depths too. May trying to discover who she really is and what she should do I really liked. Whilst mine is a proof copy there is a line I liked and will share. At one point May says
"Because I can't be cursed. I am a curse."
This felt like a turning point to me and changed May's outlook.

The book can be quite colourful at times. An example would be the foods to be eaten for various sins. While I did enjoy reading this I did find it rather slow and almost laboured in the early stages. Around halfway through it really did pick up quite a bit and certainly kept me reading. I think my slight reservation is that the story never quite lived up to my expectations. However that may well be because my expectations were unreasonable. Enjoyable certainly as well as original but...

Unfortunately this digital copy was unreadable. It jumped all over the place, repeated bits (and not as a literary technique!) and had the author’s name at regular intervals. Shame, it looked like it was going to be a good read.

The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi
Publisher: Pan Macmillan, Mantle
Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Historical Fiction
Publish Date: 23 July 2020

Rating: 4/5

To start with I was completely seduced by the book cover. It's so beautiful!!!!! I need a hardback of this book to sit prettily in my bookcase which will also give my father an opportunity to complain that I'm running out of livable space in my house...but books need roofs over their heads too.

This book is a historical fiction that centers around the concept of a sin eater, which were active from the 1600s (arguably earliest recording) until the last known sin eater who died in 1906. A sin-eater would perform a ritual by eating food set near or on the body which would have absorbed the deceased sins. Thus the deceased would be cleansed of sins and the sin eater's soul would be burdened by it through transfer. This is a fascinating part of history and folklore which was why I was excited to read it.

Set in the Elizabethan era and featuring the queen herself and her court (though their names are changed) we find recently orphaned May Owens is arrested for stealing. She and other prisoners are pulled up in front of the recorder (judge) who is determining their fate and May gets a rare punishment. She is to become a sin eater. May is branded and collared so all can know what she is and she makes her way to the only other sin-eater in the vicinity. There May learns the rules of being a sin eater mainly silence and what foods equal what sins. They are called to the palace, one of the queens ladies has passed and a sinful food the lady did not confess lies upon her coffin. The elder sin eater won't eat it and is tortured and killed for not doing her duty. May is now alone and is the only sin eater left. What was the unconfessed sin?

Each chapter in the book is titled by a food ie. A sin which I felt is a clever and juicy way to organize this. Campisi, creates vivid characters that are enjoyable and I really liked the undesirables who find a home with May. Their descriptions are shocking and create a sense of fear then pity which then evolves to loveable. The story of the elder sin-eater is heartbreaking, I won't go into details but I really felt for her. The only problem I had with the book was the author's choice to locate the book at Queen Elizabeth I court and keep every detail about the Queen and courtiers the same but give them different names. I found this irritating and I don't think it was necessary. Especially as the book appears to retell Elizabeth and courtiers' historical stories from the sin eaters' point of view (with creative license).

With in the book, we come face to face with interesting questions. Being a sin eater means you are a social pariah, no one will acknowledge you unless you are needed. This can be a lonely and horrible existence but within this existence, May found freedom and was able to do things she could not have before. But it is a double-edged sword, what is freedom? We also come to discover the meaning of a sin in itself. May only eats the foods of the sins which are confessed but the confessions come from the person itself and how they view their sins are biased. As May herself says:

Don't I know by now that folk see their sins in the way they choose? There's always a reason as to why selfishness is not really selfish and crimes are honest and waiting safely by while somefolk else is killed is really the more courageous choice.

Its interesting food for thought.

Overall, I did love this book and would highly recommend it to all, I'm just slightly annoyed names where changed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I looked forward to reading this but because of the formatting was virtually impossible to make sense of it. Im giving a middle 3 stars in the hope that at some point I can access another copy

I understand that formatting issues with ARC's shouldn't affect reviews, however the formatting issues in this instance render this story completely nonsensical and unreadable!

I'm still interested in the story and will check it out when it's actually released, but unfortunately can't give an accurate review for now. I feel terrible, but it's unreasonable to expect readers to rate something that can barely be read and to make a judgement about an authors writing when it doesn't make any sense.

This doesn't affect my feelings towards the author in anyway.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for an early copy of The Sin Eater.

The Sin Eater had such an interesting premise and I was really looking forward to seeing what Campisi would do with it but unfortunately this book really did not hit the mark for me.

The story is based around our main charater, May, who becomes a Sin Eater after she was caught stealing a loaf of bread. From there we discover what life was like for Sin Eaters (which was an actual punishment / role people had until quite recently) and the court intrigue surrounding the Queen. The story is based in a time very similar to that of Elizabethan England with many characters resembling those that would have been at court (Queen Bethany - Queen Elizabeth, Queen Maris - Queen Mary, etc.).

Sadly the premise is where the joy of this book left for me, it took a lot of effort to get through this and took me far longer than it typically does to read a book of this length. I would be interested to see what Campisi writes in the future but sadly this one wasn't for me.

2.5/5

This book is not one I would normally read but I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I have never heard of Sin Eaters before and had to Google it to see if they ever actually existed - and they did and it was all very interesting. I wasn't really looking forward to reading this book but I found it to be an easy read and very entertaining and I thoroughly enjoyed it - recommended.

Unfortunately I had some issues with the ebook formatting of this book, which made reading it a bit tricky. However, the good news is that the book was captivating enough that I persevered!

The Sin Eater is set in an alternate Elizabethan England, with Queen Bethany on the throne. The main character Meg Owens, is living in relative poverty and is sentenced to live as a Sin Eater after committing a minor crime.

The life of a Sin Eater is hard. They are universally reviled and not permitted to speak unless they are attending the "Recitations" of a dying person, where they are given the sins of the dying person and agree to "eat" their sins for them. Certain foods are allocated for the types of sin. The Sin Eater takes on the sins so that the deceased is guaranteed entry to heaven, which is bad news for the Sin Eater, as they are weighed down both metaphorically and physically by the food they eat and the sins they take on as their own.

Meg has to attend the death beds of 2 ladies at the court of Queen Bethany, and realises that they are being blamed for a murder they did not commit, by someone who also seems to wish her ill. Meg decides to investigate this, despite not being able to speak, and puts herself in danger to find out the truth of the murder, and the identity of the true murderer.

I found Meg to be a fascinating character, she doesn't just accept her fate as a Sin Eater and chooses to take the more difficult path. She clearly has a strong sense of justice and wants to clear the names of those who she believes have been unjustly accused. The writer also conveys the sense of isolation and lonliness that Meg suffers as a Sin Eater, and the ongoing inner monologue that Meg has with herself demonstrates how desperate she is for conversation and company.

I really enjoyed the book, and being slightly obsessed with Tudor history, found this alternate version really interesting.

One thing that some readers may find tricky is that Meg appears traumatised by her spell in prison and her prison experiences are repeated throughout the book in random inserts, in between sentences, which interrupt the flow of the narrative. It was worth getting used to though.

It’s unfair to compare this to The Handmaid’s Tale or similar great works because this is completely its own thing. A dazzling, visionary, dark and twisting novel that rewards patience with addictive and horrifying reveals. It is thematically deep and complex, following a mystery type trajectory but accomplishing so much more. Stunning work. Highly recommend.

I enjoyed this book.

I had never heard of the concept of Sin Eaters before reading the book so there was clearly an educational element to this historical fiction novel set in the time similar to that of Queen Elizabeth I of England. The story is narrated by a young orphan girl, May Owens, who is forced by poverty to steal and is made into a sin eater as punishment.

The novel describes her apprenticeship to an older sin eater who takes her under her wing. Under her tutelage the pair start a series of visits to the royal palace to hear the dyings' sins and eat the foods prescribed. As the tale unfolds it develops more into a whodunnit as May struggles to understand the intrigue going on among the Queen's courtiers.

I enjoyed the intrigue part of the novel and I also enjoyed the arcane words used.

To begin, I’d like to thank Pan Macmillan for sending me an ARC of this book, and to NetGalley for facilitating. And a huge thank you to Megan Campisi for a unique experience!

No spoilers as usual in this review.

Oh wow. What a book this is... I have never read anything quite like it, the history of sin eating is disturbing and the way this was written was absolutely brilliant!

I felt that the Mary/Elizabeth, Catholic/Protestant mirrors within the book really helped with placing where in time we were, and helped make the story feel more familiar even though this was a brand new story.

I had heard of “sin eating” before but never felt the need to explore what that entailed and I have found it fascinating to learn about it alongside being thoroughly entertained by May’s narrative throughout.

There are very few “main characters” within the book but there doesn’t need to be. Everything is told from May’s (unique) perspective and other characters - although pivotal to the storyline - are of little consequence emotionally when compared to the main character.

This was completely up my street and had me hooked from only a couple of pages in. There wasn’t a single part that I found myself losing interest and having to actively persevere in reading.

I would definitely recommend this as One to Read in 2020.

This book has me sitting on the fence. On one hand it's refreshing and unique, quirky and wellcrafted. A story that is fascinating and well, jaw dropping in places. However, the other side of this fence is a deep dark pit of gross death scenes that turned my stomach.

14 year old May becomes a sin eater which is to eat the foods which symbolise sins therefore helping the dead persons soul on its way to heaven. A sin eater can't refuse food (they are killed) and so when May's mentor is killed for refusing to eat a heart, well let's just say it doesn't go well.

The story is fascinating and like a car crash - you have that sense of fear, of foreboding as to what you are seeing and what you are about to see, yet you can't keep your eyes of it. May then goes off in the search of who has killed her mentor and why. I'd hope she's go off and get some decent food. You definately do NOT want to eat anything at all during the reading of this book. This effect is quite likely to last a few days after reading too. IT might even be you lose weight.

This is an alternative Elizabethan England with quirky, atmospheric writing.I just found it too gruesome for my ...erm...tastes.

4.5 stars. I really liked our main character May. In a way, this is an important coming of age novel- May must use her intelligence and guile to survive the intrigues of the palace. This looks very much like it is set in the reign of Elizabeth I , but all the names of the court have been changed out. Despite the author making it clear that this was a work of fiction , I still managed to learn a few historical facts. Highly enjoyable ‘not’ historical fiction!

I liked the premise of this more than the execution. As a historical novel it seemed fascinating, but when I went online to find out more about sin eaters, I discovered they were largely male and not really from this period. That lessened my engagement somewhat. I did enjoy the protagonist's story but felt the larger plot involving Elizabth 1 was a little contrived and unlikely- how often could a social outcast on par with lepers and beggars get into the palace and be constantly among the highest of the Queen's courtiers?

What a fabulous book! At once it turns the Tudor Historical novel on it’s head whilst retaining the spirit of those that came before, it flies free of the confines of Weir and Gregory and becomes a genre of it’s own spanning historical accuracy and pseudo dystopian tales to become a standalone story of great heart and humour.

I loved it!!!

If you love folklore and historical settings, this book is worth reading. I hope to see more of these types of stories come into the market.

Sin Eater has been compared to Alice in Wonderland and The Handmaid’s Tale. I haven’t read The Handmaid’s Tale, so I can’t speak to the likeness, but I saw no similarities to Alice in Wonderland.

​Overall, I liked the book and was glad to have read it. The cover and words within are captivating and original, which I appreciated most.

A quick, compelling read that I thoroughly recommend. Sin-eaters were a new concept to me, and in this ‘alternate historical’ novel their role was elaborated from their true role. Every sin has a food to match and after the dying have confessed to the sin-eater, she lists the necessary foods to ease that person’s passage to paradise. And eats them from the top of the coffin.

May becomes a sin-eater as punishment for stealing bread to survive. From being a social butterfly, this plunges her into being a pariah. People turn from her, won’t look at or touch her, and she may not talk unless carrying out her duty. She is branded on her tongue and has a collar fixed permanently round her neck. Cast out, she eventually finds her way to the town’s only other sin-eater, and becomes her apprentice.

The story takes a darker turn after they attend a recitation at the palace. We follow May as she unravels a mystery that takes us into a world of deceit, witchcraft, torture, murder, and treason. May navigates these pathways by luck, and by some unexpected but fortuitous friendships.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This is an exceptional piece of writing. From the first word to the last, I was riveted to the page. Clearly set in the UK during the reign of the first Queen Elizabeth, names and certain facts have been altered to enable the writer to present a thinly-veiled alternative history.

The concept of a Sin Eater is fascinating - a woman who is banished to the very fringes of society and called upon to hear deathbed recitations before eating the foods associated with the sins of the dying. Thus, she takes their sins upon her own soul, and leaves theirs unblemished for when they meet their maker. This concept, alone, would have made an interesting novel; but Megan Campisi doesn't leave it there. She gives us a treat in the form of an intriguing mystery - skillfully weaving historical fact with historical fiction and characters that are artfully brought to life with the stroke of her pen.

I cannot recommend this book more highly.