Scan barcode
A review by evanaviary
The Hunger by Alma Katsu
3.0
If Oregon Trail played out like an episode of The Young and the Restless and devolved into cannibalism, maybe you'd have The Hunger?
In anticipation of Katsu's upcoming release [b:The Fervor|58652649|The Fervor|Alma Katsu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1627510014l/58652649._SY75_.jpg|92261076], I started with her reimagining of the 1846 Donner Party tragedy -- and it has all the makings of a good horror novel. Stranded wilderness is a horrifying backdrop and Katsu's writing is deftly atmospheric, almost unrelenting. Practically from the jump, we get the sense that something's wrong. And we know how the actual events played out, so it's well in our collective imaginations that the parties aren't met with an easy expedition to California. It would have been nice if they did, though -- this book would've been over much sooner.
To get to any real horror, though, is to first trek through entire stretches of character drama that are archetypal and not effective emulations of horror. Katsu throws heavy subject matter at her readers: infidelity among the Donner and Reed parties; homophobia, murder, assault. It was difficult to connect with any of the characters because there's not even a moral greyness, they're just blatantly unlikeable. I was searching for one character who did right by others, but I couldn't grasp onto anything here. There were few redemptive moments and it's difficult when horror is reduced to horrible things happening to horrible people, because that so easily creates an immediate disconnect with the reader. After a certain point, I finished out of obligation. I was halfway through, I was invested enough -- but I easily could've stopped where I was and gotten the same thing out of this book.
This book throughout feels like lit fiction with a few spooky moments rather than a bonafide horror novel with strong character development, and that's a deeply important distinction. When there are references to the horror that's following them, it's genuinely unsettling. But then the suspense subsides and we're left to the devolvement of relationships between everyone in the traveling parties. On the whole, it felt uneven. Very soap opera-y in places. The frequent time jumps didn't help, though I did like the epistolary nature of some of the chapters. Further structural work on this novel would've helped craft it into a more engaging story. Going in without the expectation of horror might have been different, but since I'm familiar with Katsu's whole vibe, this just felt off; the characters left more nuance to be desired and the supernatural elements were never poignant—close but never exact.
While I did not love this book, I will ABSOLUTELY be snagging her new novel when it releases. I appreciate how she leans into horror through historical fiction and The Fervor is touching on a historical moment I know nothing about, which might be the best way to approach Katsu's work.
In anticipation of Katsu's upcoming release [b:The Fervor|58652649|The Fervor|Alma Katsu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1627510014l/58652649._SY75_.jpg|92261076], I started with her reimagining of the 1846 Donner Party tragedy -- and it has all the makings of a good horror novel. Stranded wilderness is a horrifying backdrop and Katsu's writing is deftly atmospheric, almost unrelenting. Practically from the jump, we get the sense that something's wrong. And we know how the actual events played out, so it's well in our collective imaginations that the parties aren't met with an easy expedition to California. It would have been nice if they did, though -- this book would've been over much sooner.
To get to any real horror, though, is to first trek through entire stretches of character drama that are archetypal and not effective emulations of horror. Katsu throws heavy subject matter at her readers: infidelity among the Donner and Reed parties; homophobia, murder, assault. It was difficult to connect with any of the characters because there's not even a moral greyness, they're just blatantly unlikeable. I was searching for one character who did right by others, but I couldn't grasp onto anything here. There were few redemptive moments and it's difficult when horror is reduced to horrible things happening to horrible people, because that so easily creates an immediate disconnect with the reader. After a certain point, I finished out of obligation. I was halfway through, I was invested enough -- but I easily could've stopped where I was and gotten the same thing out of this book.
This book throughout feels like lit fiction with a few spooky moments rather than a bonafide horror novel with strong character development, and that's a deeply important distinction. When there are references to the horror that's following them, it's genuinely unsettling. But then the suspense subsides and we're left to the devolvement of relationships between everyone in the traveling parties. On the whole, it felt uneven. Very soap opera-y in places. The frequent time jumps didn't help, though I did like the epistolary nature of some of the chapters. Further structural work on this novel would've helped craft it into a more engaging story. Going in without the expectation of horror might have been different, but since I'm familiar with Katsu's whole vibe, this just felt off; the characters left more nuance to be desired and the supernatural elements were never poignant—close but never exact.
While I did not love this book, I will ABSOLUTELY be snagging her new novel when it releases. I appreciate how she leans into horror through historical fiction and The Fervor is touching on a historical moment I know nothing about, which might be the best way to approach Katsu's work.