By Sinclair Adams
CW: cannibalism, sexual assault
When you’re miserable, sometimes you find comfort in unexpected places. That’s the feeling I got when reading What Hunger by Catherine Dang. At first, all I knew was that this was a story about revenge and (I could hardly believe it) teenage cannibalism.
Strangely, teenage cannibalism has been appearing a lot in our cultural dialect, ranging from dark humor punchlines to conspiracy theories. This is not even the first book I’ve read about teenage cannibals, having read This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham in 2023. My expectations for What Hunger were largely informed by cannibalism treated as absurdist and post-humanist humor, so I expected What Hunger to be a story in the same vein.
What Hunger shocked me with its honest ability to speak to global issues, sexual violence, and generational trauma. It feels justified when you realize that the story came from an organic and authentic place, as the story itself was inspired by a story that Dang’s mother told her during the pandemic about shipwrecked Vietnamese refugees. While the promise of female cannibals hooked me initially, the story about healing with your family is really the main course.
The story centers Veronica (aka Ronny), a Vietnamese girl living in the American Midwest. The summer before her first year of high school, her beloved older brother Tommy dies in a sudden accident. The tragic loss spins Veronica and her family into a downward spiral. Just when Veronica finds some solace as she gets attention from a pretty boy at her first real party, he sexually assaults her instead.
Veronica simmers in her anguish towards the boy who hurt her and how her family is falling apart. A shocking comfort surfaces in her life: raw meat. Especially raw human meat. I don’t want to give away how Veronica developed a taste for flesh, as the scene in the book is worth reading without any spoilers. Veronica falls down a path in which she begins sneaking snacks of dripping red flesh. The supposedly perfect solution to all her problems comes to mind as she plots to consume the boy who assaulted her.
The cannibalism serves a core purpose in the story: it encapsulates unspeakable rage and how it is sometimes dealt with in unhealthy and impulsive ways.
Despite having a protagonist that’s a freshman in high school, What Hunger is not labeled as Young Adult fiction. Veronica experiences adult horrors, both witnessing and receiving abuse. These dark topics are treated with delicacy and respect. Dang perfectly captures the spirit and voice of a young high schooler, while writing in elevated and insightful prose. I can imagine adults of all ages finding something to appreciate in this story, whether it be the themes of revenge or the healing through familial bonding. I also believe that this book is suitable for a teenage audience since Veronica reflects on stereotypical high school rites of passage with cynicism and scrutiny, which I am sure many angsty teenagers can relate to. When I was in middle school and high school, I read my own share of dark stories and books that were above my age; I would have loved What Hunger, too.
In some ways, the book does not need cannibalism as a thematic element. Veronica finds conflict and comfort from multiple sources. The cannibalism is an exaggeration of what she is feeling. However, that does not mean that the scenes of our protagonist swallowing raw flesh are not worthwhile—in fact, they are beautifully written. Dang’s vivid descriptions of crimson blood and savory chunks of muscle are simultaneously astounding and horrifying. Reading this story, I felt discomfort while also still reveling with the protagonist and her journey, which I believe is the mark of great writing.
The most delectable element in this story is Veronica’s journey in peeling back the layers of her own family history. Veronica and her brother Tommy are the first generation of their family born in the United States, and they grew up knowing almost nothing about their bloodlines. Their parents had no interest in bringing their past into their children’s lives. Veronica and Tommy are isolated from their own family history, and from their neighborhood, being some of the only Asian kids in their Midwest town, mimicking Dang’s own experience growing up in Minnesota. In the first few chapters of the book, Tommy is vocal in his opinions about the geopolitical and social implications of the war in Vietnam, at least from his own limited perspective of it. But once Tommy is gone, Veronica is left to discover what happened to their parents during the war, the journeys each of them went through, and how that shapes who they are as adults– and in turn, their family.
What Hunger is an exceptionally well-crafted book that I consumed greedily. Each chapter is succinct yet leaves a deep impression. Not a single detail is spared, and every bit of foreshadowing returns full circle. There are more than enough shocking turns to keep you guessing what could possibly happen next, including a finale that legitimately had me at an astonished loss for words. The one thing that I would say left me hungry for more was the fact that the climax of the story did not relieve all of the tension in the story. But, in a way, this reflects how life is really like. Not everything gets resolved, and there are often leftovers yet to be eaten.
With its sharp fangs and surprisingly tender heart, What Hunger is a wonderfully dark exploration of a young woman’s rage and how she finds support where she least expects it. The small-town spooky vibes will make this a great read in the late summer or early autumn. At a bit under 300 pages, What Hunger is also the perfect book to squeeze in to some reading challenges. The relatively short length does not at all mean that it does not pack a punch. All of that being said, I would not recommend it for anyone with a weak stomach.
Join Soapberry Review Saturday, February 21 at 10:00 a.m. PST for a book club discussing What Hunger. RSVP here.
Sinclair Adams (she/they) is a writer interested in speculative and science fiction narratives. She earned a B.A. in English from the University of Las Vegas and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Chapman University. She was an editor for Ouroboros Magazine, Chapman’s journal of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other speculative fiction. Follow her on Instagram @sinclairwrites.