Hungerstone The compulsive, fierce and powerful reimagining of sapphic vampire novel CARMILLA

This dark, feminist and sapphic retelling of the gothic classic "Carmilla" explores what hunger means metaphorically as well as literally. It´s about a woman in the eighteen hundreds trapped in a house, trapped in a marriage, trapped in a life she doesn´t want to live. The setting and the atmosphere absolutely captivated me from the beginning and the imagery in the language is stunning! Carmilla may be a vampire corrupting the mind of this young woman suddenly longing for freedom. She may also be a metaphor for the hunger that has lingered in the woman´s mind forever. This story unfolds however you – as the reader – want it to and that is the beauty of it...

Delightfully reminiscent of Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1872 novella "Carmilla", Katt Dunn‘s "Hungerstone" follows Lenore, wife to steel magnate Henry Crowther, who is slowly but surely suffocating within the constraints her loveless marriage and Victorian societal norms pose on her. Fortunately for Lenore, eerily haunting and mysterious Carmilla Karstein is about to turn her whole life upside down. Female desire, repression, and autonomy are the primary themes that bleed through every page of "Hungerstone“. Atmospheric prose, complex characters, and a compelling narrative elevate this bold reimagining of the classic gothic tale and shape it into something truly unique, making it one of my most enjoyable reads this year.