This was wild, in the best possible way.

Our unnamed narrator consumes her twin in the womb, and is born 22 pounds and unable to stop feeding. Her mother, abandons her, overwhelmed, whereas her father is delighted by her size and looks on her as his twin girls.

As she gets older her father cooks delicious food and she continues to eat and grow until she is, as a teenager, mostly bed-bound.

The story took some unexpected turns, and the ending was a what-am-I-reading kind of moment. I liked the twisted revenge narrative, and the commentary on societal beauty standards. The prose was interestingly poetic, and I loved the way it flowed.

This book is one that I'll probably be thinking about for a while.

What an absolutely wild read.

Although it was a weird read (which I’m not complaining about I absolutely love that) it was also heartbreaking in a way. Told from the perspective of a young girl who cannot stop eating and who deems that morbidly obese can no longer describe her. She is unable to move around and is confined to her bedroom. Her Dad believes her body has absorbed her twin in the womb and with this believes she eats for two and encourages her consumption. And although this is the only source of “comfort” and “love” in her life, it’s clear to see the pain and isolation this causes also. As I mentioned, its very WTF vibes but there’s a more complex tone of not being “perfect” and fitting into societies ideas of what’s “normal” when it comes to consumption and beauty.

There were many points in All Flesh that made me gasp, especially when a new character is introduced, the social media elements and THAT ENDING!!!! I don’t want to say too much, it’s one of those you go into and come out the other side wondering what the hell has gone on.

Dark literary fiction asking what happens when a girl grows up in a world that treats her body less like a person and more like a public problem everyone feels entitled to comment on. This is a novel about hunger — literal, emotional, social. The full buffet of human deprivation. Literary fiction that strips humanity down to the bone and then keeps digging. Tonally it reads like a fairy tale left outside too long to rot: brutal, poetic, slightly grotesque. There’s a hint of Peach by Emma Glass in the atmosphere.

Ananda Devi takes a very sharp knife to beauty standards, misogyny, and the charming cultural habit of devouring anyone who doesn’t fit the aesthetic brief. A breath-stealing read. Six stars. No notes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for allowing me the opportunity to read an advance copy of All Flesh. I CANNOT stop thinking about it.

I went in expecting a strange story with a poignant message and dark humour. It was certainly strange, but in the end I found it more sad than anything else.

I enjoyed the unhinged, delusional vibes, which intensified as the main character grew up, building towards an ending I never could have predicted. Something about this reminded me of Zola by D.E. McCluskey. That book has haunted me for a long time, and I imagine this one will too.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is very unique, hilarious and heartbreaking. It has no plot, just vibes. The MC is not your usual girly protagonist. She is fascinating, right from the beginning - being born as a huge baby; her entire personality is being sarcastic and delusional. The narrative is very unhinged throughout and the ending will make you squirm, it builds and builds and it pays off at the end. If you’re looking for a weird translated fiction, this is the perfect story; it’s very short and you can read it in a breath. There are weird elements and some triggers, mainly around obesity and fatphobia. Overall, this is a satire that made me cry and laugh hysterically. I loved the door scene – it was hilarious and tragic at the same time. I hope this reaches a big audience, because it deserves it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for providing me with the ARC.

I’ll be honest: I’m not entirely sure where to begin with this book. I finished it a couple of days ago and it’s been rattling around in my head ever since—so much so that I haven’t really been able to pick up anything else.

All Flesh by Ananda Devi is a downright horrifying, coal-black examination of beauty and culture. The humour is obsidian: sharp, mirthless, and cruel to a disquieting degree. Despite Devi’s breathtaking way with words, this is a deeply uncomfortable read, one that offers little relief to the reader.

And yet, All Flesh is also an extraordinarily well-crafted novel. It moves slowly and relentlessly towards its final page, branding itself onto the reader’s mind and refusing to let go for days afterwards.

For that alone, I can’t give it anything less than four stars.

Did I actually enjoy it, though? I’m still not sure. When I finished, part of me wanted to throw my Kindle across the room in revulsion; the other part wanted to stand and applaud.

It’s been a good long while since a novel has thrown me like this.

With thanks to Pushkin Press for the ARC and for completely scrambling my brain.