There is at once a whimsical but almost horror-like vibe to The Book Eaters, a novel that flits constantly between darkness and wondrous beauty. As the narrative alternates between the present and flashbacks to Devon’s past, more about the society of book eaters becomes known to us, revealing as well why Devon had to take such drastic measures to keep herself and her son hidden. When the book opens, Cai is a five-year-old with a voracious appetite, and Devon can only do what any loving mother would for her child-protect and provide him with what he needs to survive. Unfortunately for the two of them, mind eaters are also considered a threat to their society, forcing Devon go on the run. Her son Cai was born a mind eater, and instead of books he must consume human minds. To preserve their line, they have developed a system of arranged marriages where new children can be born, and female book eaters are seen as nothing more than brood mares for this to happen.īut for Devon, things had taken an even darker turn.

Devon is our protagonist, a member of one of the oldest clans of book eaters who are also slowly dying out because women of their kind are rare. In essence, the story revolves around a secret group of people who consume books for food, gaining all kinds of knowledge or experiences depending on the kind of literature they eat.

Have I mentioned how much I love books about books? And in my reading travels I thought I had seen a lot of strange and interesting ideas, but The Book Eaters really took me by surprise. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

I received a review copy from the publisher. Book Review: The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean