She’s Always Hungry

Sickos rejoice! This is the first collection of short stories from the cult favourite author of Boy Parts and Penance. Written in the years since 2018, the subjects and styles are varied, but many of the stories share a camp, cartoonish imagery and energy. Themes of disordered eating, sexuality, violence and climate change are painted vividly using body horror and apocalyptic science fiction. Everyday gruesomeness is magnified in the style of Garbage Pail Kids cards. The book makes a dazzling parade of zits, wounds and parasites. An influencer spruiks tapeworms for weight loss. A teen with an abusive and too-old boyfriend sources a scarily intense acne cure on the dark web. A somewhat more realistic story captures the aftermath of a rape revelation among a group of acquaintances.

The stories in this book bring to mind Sayaka Murata, John Waters, and Ren and Stimpy. Imagine Round the Twist written for fans of Kyoko Okazaki. Imagine something by Ottessa Moshfegh, but less mean and a lot goofier. There’s never any doubt that Eliza Clark is punching up. Outrageous and memorable, ‘The King’ sees a cannibal tyrant be hilariously ridiculed when painted as a loser and pathetic edgelord in a post-apocalyptic world. Another standout is ‘The Shadow Over Little Chitaly’, a story made up entirely from the online restaurant reviews of bizarre and erratic deliveries from a mysterious ghost kitchen. Not everyone could pull this off, but Clark is skilled in establishing the tones of online phenomena and niche internet community without coming off as gimmicky. This book certainly won’t be for everyone, but it’s fun to join an excellent writer as she follows some strange and interesting paths. It’s great stuff if you have the stomach for it.