We love books about books and stories about stories, but here is a gothic fantasy about a family that literally eats books to consume knowledge. This extraordinary debut is a story of sacrifice and betrayal, queer identity and acceptance, and what makes a monster.
"I devoured this."—V. E. Schwab, New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue
An International Bestseller An NPR Best Sci Fi, Fantasy, & Speculative Fiction Book of 2022 A Book Riot Best Book of 2022 A Vulture Best Fantasy Novel of 2022 A Goodreads Best Fantasy Choice Award Nominee A Library Journal Best Book of 2022
Out on the Yorkshire Moors lives a secret line of people for whom books are food, and who retain all of a book's content after eating it. To them, spy novels are a peppery snack; romance novels are sweet and delicious. Eating a map can help them remember destinations, and children, when they misbehave, are forced to eat dry, musty pages from dictionaries.
Devon is part of The Family, an old and reclusive clan of book eaters. Her brothers grow up feasting on stories of valor and adventure, and Devon—like all other book eater women—is raised on a carefully curated diet of fairy tales and cautionary stories.
But real life doesn't always come with happy endings, as Devon learns when her son is born with a rare and darker kind of hunger—not for books, but for human minds.
Sunyi Dean, author of The Book Eaters, is an autistic author of fantasy fiction. Originally born in the States and raised in Hong Kong, she now lives in Yorkshire with her children. When not reading, running, falling over in yoga, or rolling d20s, she sometimes escapes the city to wildswim in lonely dales.
If you’re anything like us, it’s time for the summer essentials — sunscreen, tote bags and BOOKS. We have the perfect reads to accompany you wherever you might be spending your days — at the beach, on planes, waiting in the camp carpool line or relaxing in your favorite spot at home. Our Monthly Picks […]
A gothic fantasy that flips fairy tales on their heads, The Book Eaters is a story you’ll want to both savor and devour. When Devon’s son is born with a rare kind of hunger for human minds, she discovers the careful diet of fairy tales and cautionary stories she’s been fed to satisfy her own hunger — one for books and stories — is misleading. A deliciously witty tale of motherly love and trauma, The Book Eaters is a must-read for fans of T. L. Huchu’s The Library of the Dead. Keep reading for a post from Sunyi Dean about the books she’d like to be able to commit to permanent memory like the characters of The Book Eaters can.
There’s nothing more whimsical than a brilliant wordsmith sweeping us up in their lush prose, but when they apply that to stunning stories full of books and lavish libraries, it’s something extra special. In these stories of enchanted libraries and magical books, the atmospheric adventures will delight the hearts of all bibliophiles.
