Catherine Chidgey does it again with another incredible novel that will have people talking for a long time. Book Heroes Shirl and Lizzy are sharing their reviews below!
Shirl's Review:
So first of all, how good is the cover of The Starving Bride?! The stunning artwork is by Max Thompson and the cover design by Todd Atticus who also did The Book of Guilt and recent re-jackets which look amazing. I've been a fan of Catherine's writing so I was so keen to get stuck into this one! The book centers around the main character, Hazel Whitlock, where after being dumped by her boyfriend and fired from her job she signs up to join a sideshow act as the Starving Bride.
The book is set in the near future in the seaside town of Blackpool. However, the town’s revival of old-school sideshow acts made it feel like stepping back into the past. If you've watched the show Widow's Bay, that’s the sort of atmosphere I was picturing! Throughout the book you get glimpses of Hazel's past of her youth and her struggles with her body have never really left her resurface throughout her performances as the bride. The book also highlights the harsh nature of social media and how cruel it can be as well as how much influence someone can have on others through it.
This is another incredible book from Catherine Chidgey. I'm always amazed at how Catherine comes up with such fresh, different novels every time and this one didn't disappoint!
Lizzy's Review:
This book is exactly what I expected in that it was a wildly original new novel that had me completely entranced until the absolutely wild finale. Catherine Chidgey is a national treasure who must be protected at all costs. Her storytelling is unique and I never quite know what she is about to hit me with, but I’m all in regardless. The Starving Bride is another incredible novel that I will not be forgetting (and I have the memory of a goldfish when it comes to retaining about 85% of what I read).
The Starving Bride is set in near-future England, at the crumbling Blackpool tower at the seaside. Hazel is adrift after the ending of a relationship and a job (where she was busy carving tiny skulls out of almonds). She’s lonely, estranged from family, and runs into an old friend who offers her a chance to earn money as a sideshow act, The Starving Bride. You really need to go in knowing no more than that, however I will warn anyone sensitive to eating disorders to take care if you choose to read. The book delves into challenging themes of social media, and what it means to be seen by strangers as well as by the ones we love. The story is a riotous display of Chidgey’s prowess, creating a dream-like spectacle of a story in a dream-like location that all feels like it is dangerously balanced on a precipice, about to all fall down.
I loved it in all it's uncomfortableness, and in the wild ending that left me reeling. What a novel.
"Someone was leaving handprints on the glass, wanting out. Someone was changing shape in the mirror. She was light and lightness, empty and emptiness." - The Starving Bride
A Warning:
Importantly, for anyone thinking of picking this one up - please do check content warnings around disordered eating and take care if reading. Catherine Chidgey has shared in an interview with Noelle McCarthy on the Spinoff that this book was inspired by an encounter with her daughter that broke her heart. This inspired Chidgey to examine this historic sideshow act of a 'Starving Bride' alongside things like America's Next Top Model, social media, and our Ozempic craze of today through her new novel.
"So I was aware of the pro-ana movement, pro anorexia groups that proliferate online, and and it's basically the way that I presented in the book, which is groups of young women who club together online to encourage one another to lose weight, to compete with one another to lose weight to an extreme level, and it's not too hard to find that kind of dialogue online. You don't have to look very hard to find it. You don't have to look very hard on Instagram to find influencers who are severely malnourished, dangerously anorexic, who have hundreds of thousands of followers. That's terrifying. " - Catherine Chidgey in Conversation with Noelle McCarthy
