A Certain Hunger

I review books on Instagram at @britsbookchat “A Certain Hunger is a swaggering, audacious debut, and a celebration of all the wet, hot pleasures of human contact. In a culture that fetishizes male power, the heroine of A Certain Hunger is a rapacious, bloodthirsty monster—a perversion of every male fear ... the book is sometimes overwhelming.” This book had my jaw dropping many times. I did eat this book up quite fast (pun intended 😉) It’s an audacious and bold story that delves into the darker side of human desire. The main character is unapologetically violent and hungry for power in ways that challenge male-dominated narratives. This is psychological and incredibly complex. The language in this book is intricate and sharp, pushing you to engage deeply with the prose. Which I LOVE. While it’s filled with grotesque moments, the book offers more than shock value. There’s real character depth and nuance, which I doubt you’ll ever forget. The deeper you go, the more you get wrapped up in the twisted mind of the protagonist, and it’s a journey I found both incredibly disturbing and fascinating. • • • • • Some of my favorite quotes: “Some men need to witness female anger to believe in that woman’s love. Some women need to get angry to experience that love.” “You who call women the fairer sex, you may repress and deny all you want, but some of us were born with a howling void where our souls should sway.” “Information is like a feral cat: what it wants most is to be free and to bite someone. Who am I to stand in the way of the call of the wild.” “We like to forget that men imprisoned women in the house and expected gratitude in return.” “I learned that being female is as prefab, thoughtless, soulless, and abjectly capitalistic as a Big Mac. It’s not important that it’s real. It’s only important that it’s tasty.”

“All humans are bad. Most of us merely live our lives with our worst, most unethical acts lying like bodies clad in concrete, undiscovered, quiet, and dark.” - A Certain Hunger. Food critic Dorothy Daniels loves what she does. Discerning, meticulous, and very, very smart, Dorothy's clear mastery of the culinary arts make it likely that she could, on any given night, whip up a more inspired dish than any one of the chefs she writes about. Dorothy loves sex as much as she loves food, and while she has struggled to find a long-term partner that can keep up with her, she makes the best of her single life, frequently traveling from Manhattan to Italy for a taste of both. But there is something within Dorothy that's different from everyone else, and having suppressed it long enough, she starts to embrace what makes Dorothy uniquely, terrifyingly herself. Recounting her life from a seemingly idyllic farm-to-table childhood, the heights of her career, to the moment she plunges an ice pick into a man's neck on Fire Island, Dorothy Daniels show us what happens when a woman finally embraces her superiority. What a month to read this book! Buddy reading this book with others made it so fun. As you can tell from the synopsis above, it is not a light read and it is fairly graphic. However, the writing is beautiful and quite poetic for such a read! I think this is an amazing debut with such an interesting, albeit unlikeable, main character. However, I was fascinated by Dorothy’s story and how she arrived at her present state. Needless to say, I’m definitely excited for another book from this author.

I'm only 50 pages in and am loving it. Woman power? yes. Murder? yes. It's great

Couldn't finish this book but maybe ill try again later down the road, the first few chapters were really intriguing but after that I just got bored of the rambling and over explaining of food items I had no idea what they were but the writing was beautiful

I knew early on that this was going to be at least a 4-star read for me, but much depended on the ending. The last chapter was a doozy, and a couple paragraphs in particular left me breathless. The writing throughout is so gorgeous, and the absolute mastery of language makes me feel awkward even trying to write about it, honestly. I'll say this book is an impossible mixture of visceral, bloody shock, poignant insights into human nature, and a surprisingly passionate inducement to visit Italy. One of my least favorite things an author can do is to introduce a significant character near the end of a book. So often it can feel lazy or pat, too tidy and convenient to allow for much investment from the reader. Yet, a Significant Character is brought onstage in one of the last chapters here, and it is to devastating effect. This book is not for everyone, not by any stretch! It is gory, stomach-churning, and almost abusive in its treatment of similes and metaphors. But the people who love it will really, really love it. As I told a friend today, this is the book I've loved the best that I will recommend the least.

I came across this book and it sounded interesting so I had to buy it. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect but I was definitely taken aback with what I read. I knew it was about a female killer and food but it ended up being so much more. Here, we have a woman named Dorothy who loves food. She also loves sex as much as she loves food. The story does not hold back on describing the food in detail. Making your mouth water. It also doesn't hold back on the sex. Telling you things that might make you blush. Then you have Dorothy's first murder, and then the next, and the next. These are quite detailed as well. She is a psychopath and knows it and is also okay with it. Between the hot sex scenes, the gory death scenes, and adding yummy food (for most part) I found myself in a constant uncomfortable state (albeit a good uncomfortable). I kept fidgeting and cringing and sometimes looking away. I really liked that about this book. About the only thing I didn't care for was Dorothy liked to talk, especially about herself. Sometimes this became a bit much and quite expansive. She would start talking about one thing then flip to another then flip to another almost to a point you forgot what she was talking about in the first place. For most part it was a weird and uneasy read that I found quite delicious.

**"A Certain Hunger"** by Chelsea G. Summers is a bold and provocative novel that follows the life of Dorothy Daniels, a sharp-witted food critic with a deep passion for both culinary arts and carnal pleasures. As she navigates the world of fine dining, Dorothy showcases her skills and expertise, often outshining the chefs she critiques. However, beneath her discerning palate lies a darker secret—one that drives her to embrace her unique and terrifying identity as she confronts the suppressed desires within her. As Dorothy recounts her journey from a seemingly idyllic farm-to-table childhood to the heights of her career, the story takes a chilling turn when an act of violence reveals the true depths of her character. The novel presents a satirical look at the food culture, examining gender norms and the complexities of ambition through Dorothy's lens. With a captivating mix of dark humor and incisive commentary, Summers introduces readers to a refreshingly complex anti-heroine who challenges societal expectations. **"A Certain Hunger"** is both a thrilling tale and a keen critique of the foodie phenomenon, solidifying Chelsea G. Summers as an exciting new voice in fiction.

I couldn’t make it past the first chapter of this book. The introduction was…boring. I think the author put too much focus on explaining small details and using sophisticated words. *******EDIT*******: I decided to force myself to read past the first chapter and the remainder of this book is actually very engaging and enticing to read. I misjudged this book.

This novel is bit complicated but worth to read it.

Tranquilos a los que lean esta reseña, la cubierta del libro no es la de la foto, es mas bonita!

Very entertaning, very detailed and quite a fascinating lead, not for the squeamish, but other than some pacing issues, i loved it.

interesting, disturbing, similar to American Psycho.

Book used in a book club. Very good, fascinating read.