Lydia is a 23 year old with a passion for art, a complex relationship with her mother, and money worries. She is pretty average, except for the fact that she's a vampire, surviving exclusively on pig's blood. Kohda's charming, quirky novel places Lydia front and centre of the narrative; this is a character-propelled novel, as we follow Lydia through her days in London we learn less about vampires and more about her. I love this kind of writing - internal, witty and meditative - and I loved this book!
Lydia consumes only pigs blood, as a "punishment" of sorts that her God-fearing mother dreamed up. Lydia's mother is so complex - half English, half Malay, full vampire - that she haunts every second of Lydia's thoughts, and thus the narrative. I loved her - so strange, so different to anything I've read before! I won't spoil the novel by venturing further but the relationship between the two was deeply arresting.
Lydia's heritage also is a weight upon this short novel - she's a half-vampire, raised by a half-English and half-Malay mother and missing her deceased Japanese father. This multicultural heritage is somewhat subsumed by what she terms "the demon in her" - and Lydia is very much a vampire that's more hardcore than the Twilight variety! - but her desire to connect with her heritage isn't ignored, either. Nor is Lydia's hunger - Lydia spends a good chunk of this book hungry for blood, but that complicated desire isn't stressed over too much, thankfully. I've had enough of emo vampires. Kohda writes hunger so well, as well as food - if you liked Lara Williams Supper Club, you'll love this for its dazzling food related imagery.

A strange, melancholic but fascinating little book. I can't wait to read more of Kohda's work in future!

"'Food and sex mean the same thing to the demon my mum told me after Ye-Ye left. 'If you ever get too close to a human, you’ll lose control, and your human side will lose its soul, just like in that TV program.’

'What about you and Dad though? How was I made if that’s true?’

'No questions,’ she said.' ‘Inside your body is death.’"

******************************************************************************************************

Thank you, NetGalley for the chance to read and review ‘Woman, Eating’ by Claire Korda.

While the premise of the book is fascinating, large chunks of it come off as boring.

We have a vampire who was turned at birth and who wishes she was human and could try different food. Her mother has raised her on a steady diet of pigs' blood, so that the demon is never fully given in to, and she's finding it hard to source that after a move to London.

Lydia deals with the fear of time moving on, her mother's failing health, and her own inability to create art now that she's graduated. She's also isolated, her mother taught her to never have any friends and struggling with loneliness.

So in some ways, this book is fantastic. It's a coming-of-age story that gets vampires very right, in a way that makes you really think you might have one as the next-door neighbor.

But Lydia was boring. This might have been the author's intention; after all, most people are boring. But that didn't work as well for this book as I think they imagined.

I thought I would love this one as it has all the traits I love but it just felt a little slow for me.

I really liked the way the author wrote the internal battle with her human self and her vampire self over everyday life.

This didn't do it for me.


This novel takes the traditional vampire trope, adapts it, and mixes it with the 20-something-year-old-struggling character that we see in a lot of contemporary novels. While the premise was interesting (a young vampire, Lydia, moves to London on her own to pursue her art and she finds herself struggling with her internship, finding food, etc), I do feel that there are a lot of bits that could have been developed way more and food is one of them.

Before hitting 85% of the novel, there is not THAT much about the "human" food that our MC is craving. There are references to it, sure, but from a book that made food seem to be at the center, that's not much. Lydia watches "what I eat in a day" videos every day but the bits dedicated to this activity are very superficial. It's only towards the end of the book that we see a bit more "food writing" in a sense, and when it comes it's actually very good but it's a bit late for that, isn't it?

Another topic that I definitely needed more of was the relationship between her parents and her mother's turning. While we do get to connect the dots on what happened to her dad, did Lydia get that closure? Why does she not find out more about it and/or learn more about it somehow?

The pace for me was quite slow-burning. I devoured (excuse the pun) the last 15-20%, but I was about to give up so many times during the book because I just didn't find it engaging enough for me to keep going. There's a lot of potential here and Kodha sure knows how to write, but this needs refinement.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing a copy in exchange for a review.

There was some truly beautiful prose in this, loved the writing about identity and there are sections that while not explicitly stated to be about depression felt completely spot on and were very real. But sometimes it felt like the narrative wasn’t really committed to anything. I don’t mind a meandering plotline, but this is a short book and truly ended on a whimper.

If you’re looking for a vampire story steeped in lore, then this isn’t the book I’d recommend. But if you’re up for a story about a young person as they struggle to separate from a co-dependent relationship with a parent with only a dash of vampirism then Woman, Eating might be for you.

3.75/5

Many many thanks to NetGalley, Claire Kohda, and the folks at Virago Press for the complimentary e-ARC.

I can confidently say this is the only other vampire story I've read next to the Twilight saga. And I read that — what — almost 15 years ago? No guesses which one wins.

Claire Kohda's novel centres around a mix-raced vampire, Lyd, who is making her way in the contemporary art scene in London. She's squatting in her London studio space with other young artists around her, men are following her in the night, the owner of the gallery she's interning at is creepy AF, and she's also pretty hungry.

Woman, Eating is a highly creative piece of work. A vampire *and* all that intersectionality? If you'd ask me a few days ago I would've found it hard to believe these two things could ever go together. Yet, Kohda makes it work. Lyd's existence as a vampire causes her to live on the margins in a world that she so desperately wants to inhabit. She has to learn to cut ties with people, how to get blood on her own now that her mum is ill, and deal with all the struggles that comes with wanting to get in on the arts scene. Being female doesn't make any of these easier. There are a few men around her who may be prime candidates for a meal, especially those creeps, but it's not like she can just off them any time she likes.

I liked reading about her struggle with her past and her conflicted feelings towards her ageing mum. I feel like that's something we can all relate to as we grow older and learn that our lives and the people we love aren't perfect.

I do wish the author would've closed some of the gaps with Lyd's mum and Ye-Ye. It would've made the narrative a bit more cohesive. Otherwise, a promising debut from Claire Kohda.

Who knew a book about a vampire can make feel so seen?

NOT ME. but that's exactly how i felt reading this book. i'm a big sucker for books where we follow the stream of consciousness and train of thoughts of the main character, but i wasn't expecting it when i requested this book, so image my surprise when i realized it is.

woman, eating is a book about our main character, lydia, who is a "vampire" and has just started living alone without her mother and is trying to navigate her life through her vampire/human side that she has. we basically follow lydia's train of thoughts as she tries to survive with her vampire side that she has gotten from her mom, but also wanting to be more in touch with her human side as well, and wanting to be "normal" and be able to enjoy her life as a human, yet these two sides don't really interact well with each other. honestly the best i could say about this book is that it's about your typical relatable directionless protagonist trying to find her identity but she's a vampire.

i really enjoyed reading this book! i feel like this book would be polarizing and that it's definitely not for everyone, but for readers who love character studies in their books more, and love when they follow the mc's stream of consciousness in books then they'll probably like this one too. i enjoyed it for several reasons other than too, mainly because i love the topics that was discussed in this about race and identity, but also about food and the messiness of life in general. all these are wrapped in the fact that she's a vampire so it was definitely a very unique take on such widely known topics in book. i also resonate with lydia's issue with her mom and think it was a great exploration. i love love love the way the author writes lydia's thoughts so it was never a boring time everytime i open up this book.

As soon as I read the description of this book, I was instantly hooked and desperate to find out what happens.

I found Kohda's debut interesting and easy to read. It explores Lydia as half vampire half human, and I was intrigued by Lydia's back story with a vampire mum and a human dad. We follow the teachings from Lydia's mum ingrained into her as a child, mainly that she has a human side and a 'demon' side. Lydia, however, starts to question herself, what is true and what isn't, and this becomes more prevalent throughout. Lydia is quietly desperate to tap into the human side of herself, watching YouTube and Instagram videos about food and craving some normality. She tries to engage in mundane social situations that she would usually avoid but she can never seem to fit in or sustain relationships.

Overall, I liked Lydia. Her self awareness to what and who she is, I felt sorry for her and her inability to choose. I liked her self reflection and getting an insight into her thoughts and feelings.

I found the puppet in this novel really interesting, almost symbolising the human interaction she wants but in reality, can't grasp.

I debated giving this 3 or 4 stars but ultimately went with 4 because I enjoyed it and read it in a day. However, I didn't give this a 5* for a few reasons:
- I feel like not much happened in this book. While I did enjoy it, I felt like I was waiting for something shocking that didn't seem to happen.
- I wanted more back story of Lydia's mum and dad.
- I would have liked to see Lydia's relationships evolve more.

Altogether, I found this an enjoyable and interesting read. I am also SO glad this book showed a more modern take on vampires.

I devoured this book. (Ha!) A classic vampire novel and a coming-of-age story clash and meet somewhere in the middle in the form of this almost absurd tale of a millennial vampire trying to find herself. It was a quick read that was somehow both slow-paced and gripping, right to the end.

Woman, Eating focuses on Lyd, a young vampire who’s left her mother and her childhood home to fulfil her dreams of becoming an artist living in London, trying to uncover who she is (and who she isn’t) in the process.

The plot meanders slowly, with almost all the action taking place in Lyd’s thoughts as she battles her internal struggles; her vampiric nature, her racial identity, her anxiety about leaving home, all while trying to heal the mental scars her troubled mother left on her growing up.

It’s hard for me to explain what the story is about without spoiling anything, so I’ll give you a few vague sentences. It’s about how food is tied to community and connection. It’s about the damage to your psyche that comes from being starved of what you need (whether that’s love, art, or, y’know… human blood). It’s about how we’re all a product of all our lived experiences, and of the lives of our parents and of the ancestors that came before them. But ultimately, it’s about accepting yourself entirely, and the power that comes with that.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book. Unusual, introspective and sharp — catch me heading out on publication day to buy a physical copy so that it can live on my bookshelf permanently.

Released on 24th March 2022.

Thanks for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

It’s hard to explain why this book is SOOO GOOD! Be warned its definitely more literary fiction rather than your standard vampire romance, but I loved how it used the vampire trope to explore what it means to be hungry, and the role that hunger plays in the lives of women and art. I will definitely be thinking about this book for a long time to come. The ending was particularly beautiful and left me feeling fully sated!

ps. This is perfect for a book club or further reading/discussion. Very much looking forward to the book tour, to hear more from Kohda about all of her themes and influences

*** I received an early complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

Copy received from netgalley for an honest review.
Lydia is a vampire and has finally left her mum to live alone as an artist in London.
This book was so miserable. She spent the book starving, lonely and sad. She's trying to find food for herself for the first time and failing miserably. She is trying to make friendships her mother didn't let her have and is failing at that. She has an internship at an art gallery which is not what was promised.
I could not enjoy this book at all unfortunately.

Whilst I did enjoy this different take on the depressed woman in her twenty's trope with the addition of the vampire element, I'm not sure the novel really did what was promised, the plot felt a little all over the place. I enjoyed the reflections on alienation and hunger but just wished Claire Kodha had done something more.

Overall, it an enjoyable novel but I feel it could have been so much more.

I first came across Claire Kohda just a few weeks ago. My school were fortunate enough to have a visit from writer Helena Lee, who was promoting her new (and excellent) book East Side Voices, a collection of essays from some of Britain’s most accomplished ESEA figures. Kohda’s essay, about her grandmother’s painting of her, for which she had erased all of Kohda’s Asian features, stood out as one of the strongest in the collection. I was delighted, therefore, when Helena Lee mentioned that she had a debut novel on its way so soon. I put my NetGalley request in and hoped.

If it could be said that such a place existed prior to this novel, Woman, Eating exists at the point where literary fiction and vampire fiction meet. Following 23-year-old Lydia as she attempts to navigate life as a gallery intern post-graduation, Woman, Eating is just as much about the difficulties of unpaid internships and predatory employers as it is about trying to conceal the fact that she vants to dreenk your bluuuhd. Though this is not, by any stretch, anything like Twilight, its release is alarmingly well aligned with the contemporaneous life experiences of those of us who were old enough to benefit from the peak of the vampire craze. Over and over, I found myself connected to Lydia’s feelings of detachment from meaningful human connections, standing on the periphery of a life that others seem to be living in a way that seems so inaccessible to you. In this way, Kohda’s vampire is only a notch or two removed from your regular twenty-something. A large part of Lydia’s tragedy, I think, is that she doesn’t realise how close to the regular human experience she is.

This book is, understandably, preoccupied with food and its consumption. For anyone who has ever had a difficult or disordered relationship with food, some of Lydia’s behaviours will ring true; she spends hours on social media scrolling through #whatieatinaday vlogs, yearning and pining after the ability to eat – the fundamental thing that separates Lydia from her human peers, and links her to her dead father. In this way, her inability to eat human food keeps her from connecting to that human part of herself – the part that is her father. It is this denial that feeds her obsession with eating, with being human, with being good.

Parenting, nurture, origins- they are all key to Lydia’s search for self-identity in a world where so many facets of expression seem denied to her; the ability to engage with cultural eating practices, the inability to create and maintain meaningful relationships, nor any real sense of age and experience. Lydia’s race, then, becomes one of the few things that ground her to the human experience, but not in a way that is simplistic or lacking nuance. Kohda deftly entwines Lydia’s mixed racial background with her and her mother’s vampiric state – her mother’s ‘turning’ at the hands of a white British man becomes an act of colonisation, Lydia becoming the recipient of intergenerational trauma. There is certainly plenty to be said about this significant aspect of this novel, but I’m not the person to do it – as and when I find a review from a more qualified source, I’ll pop a link to it here.

It makes sense, therefore, that Women, Eating is a book that spends a lot of time inside Lydia’s head. I would often get through about a dozen pages before realising that nothing had happened for quite some time. I suppose that is an indicator that this interiority is extremely readable, but I couldn’t help but find myself wondering what we were doing inside Lydia’s head when Kohda had introduced all of these other really compelling characters, none of which, without spoiling anything, feel like they get a particularly satisfying resolution.

Despite the fact that the latter part of the novel left me wanting more if not from it’s protagonist, then from its world, this was a solid debut with a really interesting premise. The creeping dread you feel for Lydia is as much for the emotional humanity of her decisions as it is for the Chekov’s Gun of her vampirism. That this much is conveyed through simple, accessible language throughout is an admirable feat, but I found myself wanting just a little more depth and richness just to get it over that line that distinguishes good from great. However, with such an inspired concept and nimble handling of complex and heavy themes, I have no doubt that we will see more of Claire Kohda’s talents.

I didnt know what to expect from this book, and after reading I still dont really know what I read but I know I liked it. A vampire story with a twist that was funny and partly a coming of age story for an adult trying to come to terms with where she fits in in the human world and the vampire world. It was well written with an interesting and unconventional storyline and well developed characters and a protagonist that is full of perturbation. An enjoyable if somewhat perplexing read.

This book is a very fun modern take on the vampire story.

I loved how fresh and original this is. Lydia is a vampire, living in modern London, where she has recently moved for an internship, trying to figure out how to survive without her vampire mother. She’s also trying to figure out how to be in her early 20s in London as an artist, cope with her mother living in a home and also deal with her attraction to her neighbour. And figure out how to source fresh pig’s blood.

I admit this book lost me a bit in the last 1/4 but overall I found it very fun and original.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC. This review might contain light spoilers.

I was very excited to read Woman, Eating since it had SO MUCH potential, but unfortunately, it didn't quite meet my expectations. The whole premise is really interesting, as it gives the whole Vampire thing a new twist and it could've been great. The way Lydia is not the traditional charismatic-sparkle-in-the-sun (Edward Cullen who?) type of vampire is refreshing. I liked how the main character felt so human, with all her flaws and anxieties, even though she thinks of herself as an unworthy creature the whole time, desperately trying to find her human side. There's an almost empathetic feeling in the way she re-lives the animal life, when feeding from it, and I think this should've been focused on a lot more, rather than just fleetingly in the last chapter of the book. It's very introspective to a point it is repetitive - Lydia is very depressed, and she won't let you forget that, trust me!

Overall, it's not a bad book, even though the execution is far from perfect. It touches heavy topics like sexism, racism, grief, torn relationships with your family, in an interesting way. I would recommend this book to people who like Vampires since it has a great approach to the theme and they're characterised in a very original way.

A modern vampire story where the vampire is a young female artist trying to make her way in the world and start a new life in London? A story where the vampire isn't happy about being a vampire and wants to rid herself of her urges? Yes please!

Life is tough enough without having to hide the fact you're a vampire. Lydia desperately wants to try food but as her body can't digest it, she instead needs to try and source pig blood to satisfy her needs. She also can't hold down relationships or friendships since she doesn't age - she can't let people become suspicious. Also the fact that she's always freezing to touch makes things confusing when she does make physical contact with anyone.

Throw in a prestigious art internship with a creepy owner; a complicated relationship with fellow artist Ben (who is definitely not single); and having to hide her family's big secret from her mum's care home, and you have a really original, fun and absorbing novel that I'm so happy I had the chance to read. Highly recommend!

I can already tell that Woman Eating by Claire Kohda is going to be one of my top books of the year and it’s only March. I’m very picky with vampire books, but Kohda’s mythos and worldbuilding is so delicious that it draws you in, and doesn’t let go. I also love love love the focus on art throughout this book – as an ‘artist’ myself, the studio spaces sounded gorgeous, and the descriptions of everyone’s work really drew me in. I wish I could have actually seen the art pieces on show, especially A’s.

There were also lots of little things I loved about this book; Lydia’s mother biting the nurse, the way that consuming blood gave you feelings and memories of the animal, the cleverness of Lydia constantly watching food bloggers. It made the book feel very fresh and new, and the references to technology didn’t date the text at all. I also loved the exploration of Lydia’s heritage, and how her race was somehow more alienating to her than vampireism.

My only complaint with the book is that I wish it was longer! I checked how far along I was at one point and found I was 80% through, and got upset because I was enjoying the book so much. I know there couldn’t be a sequel, but I would adore to read more of Lydia’s thoughts and feelings, I really connected to her as a character. Kohda’s work is definitely an autobuy from now on.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC.

Claire Kohda’s take on vampires is fresh and interesting. The main character Lydia’s desire for belonging as well as her complicated relationship with her mother is humanising and devastating.

I really enjoyed this book. It was strangely compelling and I had to hold myself back from gorging on it, draining it dry too quickly. It took a few pages to get into the style, which is quite descriptive of mundane things but once I was in, I was really in.
Lyd is a vampire, who needs blood to survive and is immortal. But Kohda cleverly turns vampirism into a symbol for larger, more interesting ideas: being mixed race, colonialisation, intergenerational trauma, self-hatred and gender-based self-hatred, sexual assault. The symbolism of vampirism is never done with a heavy hand - as you read, you catch snatches of these bigger ideas and meanings and then if you want to, you can carry on following the character and plot or you can sit and really ponder what's being said. It's a clever book that never forces you to recognise that intelligence and never makes you feel like you're not clever enough. It's a very contemporary mix of high and low culture - references to modern art and the Tate mingling with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and What I Eat In A Day Youtube videos. It doesn't differentiate between different types of culture, creating something that is erudite without being inaccessible.
Lyd is an interesting character to follow but you don't feel much for her, which I didn't find a problem. Her thinking and ideas, how she interacts with our world, what she does is the most interesting thing and that's what we follow and are compelled by, not her personality. When I was about 10% in, fascinated by the book, I looked up what other readers were saying on GoodReads. I was surprised to see that the reviews weren't that positive because I was really enjoying it. I think it's not a book with mass, popular appeal because it's focused and specific in style, concept and writing - if you relate, you really relate, and the book isn't interested in connecting to every single person. I do think this book is going to be one that if you get, you really love, but if you don't get it, it just really feels like it's not for you. Luckily, I loved the book and urge everyone to give it a try at least.
I wasn't too sure about the ending - maybe because I wanted more, I wanted to really know what was going to happen to her in the future. Maybe I didn't like the ending because it meant I couldn't follow Lyd around anymore. Or maybe it was because I felt she was in some way ending how she was starting, practically at least, without getting what she wanted. But maybe she could never get that thing. I still haven't figured out what I feel about the ending which I think is a good sign about the book, showing that is sticks around even after the last page is read. It's definitely a book I want to talk to people about, or even write an essay on.
If you like books about ideas, about relationships especially between mother and daughters, about what it means to be human or exist or inhabit the body you're in, definitely pick up this book.