I loved this author’s last book but I don’t think short stories work for me in general. Some of these were a little out there and I couldn’t finish them and the ones I did finish didn’t wow me as much as I would have liked. I struggle with rating short story collections because of this. I look forward to this author’s next novel.

I loved Eliza Clark's last book, Penance, and was very excited to receive an early copy of this collection of short stories. I was impressed how different these stories are than Penance, and what a wild ride they were. All the stories are some level of unsettling and creepy. The range within this collection is quite wide -- multiple genres and a variety of tones. Several stories are speculative fiction/sci-fi and I was not expecting that but enjoyed what Eliza Clark created in a short amount of time.

In "Build a Body Like Mine" the main character encounters one if my worst nightmares, having a parasite. It was incredibly unsetting and a good commentary on diet culture.

Many of the stories contain very disturbing imagery — especially in "She’s Always Hungry." It made me very glad I don’t eat fish!

My favorite story was probably "The Shadow Over Little Chitaly" it was hilarious and creative. I got totally invested and would read a full novel of that! 

The story that was the creepiest for me was "The King" - very unsettling and some very intense imagery.

Many of these stories are pretty dark, and not for the faint of heart -- read content warnings if there are specific subjects you want to avoid.

I cannot wait to read more by Eliza Clark!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

While unique, this short story collection was a miss for me. Granted this was my first dive into Eliza Clark’s work, I just did not connect with any of the stories like I had hoped.

So often with short fiction collections, there is at least one story that doesn't land. Not so with this one. Every story in this collection was unusual, nuanced, and horrifically, wonderfully dark in its own way. These stories, individually and as a whole, are particularly invested in untangling the relationship between the self and the body - when do we have control over our own bodies, and how much control do we have, and what happens when that control is taken away - and this collection is entirely unafraid of playing with genre and form. Within the eleven stories in this collection, we have: science fiction set in a version of the future where humans have begun to explore space and have made first contact with non-human species (Hollow Bones); science fiction dealing with the climate crisis (Extinction Event); science fiction dealing with violence, gender, and the apocalypse (The King); a story told entirely through online reviews of a restaurant (The Shadow Over Little Chitaly); a story told in the style of a folktale (She's Always Hungry); speculative fiction about societal expectations of female beauty and female bodies (Build a Body Like Mine, Shake Well); pseudo-historical fiction about loss, identity, and lies (Company Man); and realism that explores sexuality, masculinity, and violence against women's bodies (Goth GF, The Problem Solver, Nightstalkers). These stories are varied, frequently bizarre, frequently funny, and immensely compelling.

Probably my favorite of the collection is its closer, Company Man - I haven't been able to get it out of my head, and it exemplifies a lot of what I think is so strong about this collection as a whole. This story, about an office worker with a dark secret and horrifying dreams who begins to fall for a man working at a neighboring building in their Soviet-style city - is taught, tense, and thematically strong, blending a propulsive plot with a satisfying twist, a deftly rendered sense of atmosphere, and a genuine exploration of how much it is possible for people to change and how responsible an individual is for violence. Unfortunately, I thought the title story (She's Always Hungry) was the most perplexing in the collection - it tells the story of a small fishing village where men are subjugated by women and begin to hear the call of a voice in the ocean. While the writing was beautiful and the atmosphere was strong, I struggled the most with this story to understand exactly what question was being asked by the text, and I wasn't ultimately sure what it had been trying to do. This stood out, as with every other story in the collection, I felt I had a good understanding of its intentions and was satisfied that it succeeded in its purpose.

Fans of Eliza Clark's novels, Boy Parts and Penance, will absolutely find something to love in this vicious little collection, as will other readers looking for speculative work that engages with identity, gender, and the thousand horrors inherent in existing in a body. The dissection of violence and the place of gendered violence in society that characterize Clark's other work is very much present here as well. The trigger warnings for this collection are extensive in the text itself, but particular heads-up for body horror, sexual assault, and depictions of eating disorders.

I am not usually a fan of short stories but I am a fan of Eliza Clark and literary horror, and am so glad I picked this up. Rating collections can be difficult, and there were a couple of stories in here that didn't resonate as much with me, but I LOVED "The King" and highlighted more hilarious lines in it than I do in some full-length books. I also really enjoyed "Extinction Event", and have been thinking about it a little sadly since finishing it--unfortunately realistic for a post-apocalyptic tale. Even in the stories I didn't love as much, though, I always appreciate Eliza Clark's voice and style. There's more sci-fi stories in this than I expected, which I was not at all mad about, but if that's not your jam you may not be as big of a fan. Overall, though, I definitely recommend if you're looking for something to break up longer books without sacrificing quality or depth.

Hunger is the driving force behind Eliza Clark’s bold and unsettling short story collection, which explores the many ways it manifests in our lives—craving beauty, power, love, salvation, and survival. With her signature blend of visceral imagery and psychological depth, Clark crafts stories that evoke both discomfort and introspection, often lingering on the grotesque and the painful. While the collection is ambitious and thematically cohesive, its execution can feel uneven, with some stories striking a deep emotional chord while others fade more quickly from memory. Nonetheless, this is a compelling meditation on the human condition, showcasing Clark’s fearless exploration of our most primal desires.

<i>Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this e-arc!!</i>

I gave this a 3.5 star rating. It’s multiple short stories so there were some I loved that I wanted to read more of and some that I struggled to get through. My favorites were Nightstalkers, The Shadow Over Little Chitaly, and The Company Man. Now looking back I enjoyed the ones rooted more in reality than the sci-fi ones. I’m not opposed to sci-fi stories by any means but I think it’s harder to flesh out a full world in a short medium. I think it also packs a bigger punch into the overall theme of the book when it’s more realistic.

3/5

She’s Always Hungry is a short story collection featuring a common theme throughout: hunger. Even though her collection ranges from a wide selection of genres - we get speculative fiction, literary horror, and a hint of sci-fi, Eliza Clark has such a grasp on tone. With a dark, atmospheric, and unsettling vibe, the author delves into the darker themes of human desire and the complexities of the human experience.

I’ve read both of her full-length novels this year, so I was probably a bit biased when reading this, but this collection was just ok for me. Certain stories weren’t for me, like: ‘The Problem Solver,’ ‘Nightstalkers,’ ‘The Shadow Over Little Chitaly,’ ‘Shake Well,’ ‘The King,’ ‘She’s Always Hunger,’ and ‘Build a Body Like Mine.’ There were a few in this collection that I did really like, stories like ‘Company Man,’ ‘Goth GF,’ ‘Hollow Bones,’ ‘Extinction Event,’ ‘Shake Well,’ and ‘Build a Body Like Mine.’ However, considering that half was just ok for me - this was a very mid-reading experience. I wish certain stories were expanded more as a lot of them felt cut off and not built upon, which is one of the reasons short story collections are so hard to read and like. I will continue to read Eliza Clark’s novels, but this was a disappointment.

Short story collections and I don’t always get along, but I LOVED She’s Always Hungry. The stories found here were a great blend of genre, ranging in apocalyptic (my favorite) to body horror to even a little bit of sci-fi, and she did it all so well. While the stories varied, the common theme of hunger/desire ran throughout and I love how that tied back to the collection name. There are a few instances where that could be triggering for some (Build a Body Like Mine and The Shadow Over Little Chitaly focus A LOT on food and consumption), but the author does include content warnings at the end if you need them.

I really enjoyed all of the stories in this collection, but the standouts for me included:
She’s Always Hungry: matriarchal society, mythological creatures, body horror, the men suffer.
The King: one of the longest stories, post-apocalyptic look at society, monsters, oddly funny
Extinction Event: also somewhat apocalyptic, looks at climate change & how we exploit, sci-fi look at new discoveries
Company Man: I don’t want to spoil anything, but oof

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for a review copy. Maybe I should be giving short stories another chance!

it’s an unsettling if not outright weird collection, but if you’re an eliza clark fan, that’s what you’re here for! Desire, isolation, and perversity, are central preoccupations, as is Clark’s sense of the body as both a cage and a space ripe for invasion, pulsating and horribly vulnerable.

Short stories can be tough to tackle & I don't tend to gravitate a ton towards them. I enjoyed some of them, and others I found myself wanting to speed read to just get through them. Some of the stories were strange, others were more interesting & gripping. Overall, I thought this was okay.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

She's Always Hungry is a compilation of H.P. Lovecraft and Shirley Jackson-esque short horror stories that will leave you thinking and sometimes also leave you grimacing.

I was expecting them to be somewhat darker knowing Eliza Clark's reputation but I wasn't disappointed by the level of darkness I found. However, I was somewhat disappointed (and almost bored) by the content of a couple of the stories and actually skipped the latter half of Extinction Event because I couldn't force myself to read any further.

The combination of body horror, science-fiction, and overall perversity paved the way for an interesting grouping of stories that are not for the faint of heart. But the references to real-life issues within these stories is what I found so gripping and important. She's Always Hungry is not just an addition to the horror genre, it is a commentary on so many social concerns and it found the perfect audience in me.

3.75 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Average story rating: 3.75 ☆

Eliza Clark breaks into the short fiction space in her short story collection She’s Always Hungry. The collection is loosely shaped around the themes of hunger, desire, and consumption, and Clark does an excellent job of exploring how these themes and motifs may manifest across a wide variety of genres. While each story is distinct in its own way, Clark’s prose shines throughout the collection, and her razor-sharp wit and dark humor give the book a cohesive feel. This is a great collection to tear through in just a few sittings, and is perfect for anyone wanting to feel unsettled and a little grossed out.

My favorite stories were those that delved into science fiction and dystopia, genres that I haven’t seen Eliza Clark explore in the past and hope that she incorporates more into her future work. My personal five stars from this collection were “Hollow Bones,” “Extinction Event,” and “Company Man.” An honorable mention goes out to “The King,” which was this extremely fun, campy work of absurdist dystopian fiction that read like the best parts of Fallout and Ali Hazelwood’s Bride wrapped up into one neat little package. Some of the shorter stories feel a bit lackluster in comparison, and the longer stories do a majority of the heavy lifting when it comes to the collection’s nuance and complexity. But I have also seen other reviewers highlight my least favorite stories as their personal standouts of the collection, so it’s all very much about personal taste.

The fun thing about short story collections centered on a theme or motif instead of a specific guiding genre is that there’s probably a little bit of something in here for every kind of reader (as long as you’re down to get a little weird and a little gross). Like all short story collections, there were some stories that played more to my personal tastes than others, but I recommend this one very highly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the e-ARC of this collection in exchange for my honest review.

This short story collection was truly remarkable. As someone who tends to be critical of short story collections, I had reservations about whether I would enjoy this one. However, Clark has proven to be an exceptionally talented contemporary writer. Each story carries a subtle, unsettling horror vibe and delves into contemporary issues such as body dysmorphia, assault, isolation, internet addiction, and more.

A collection of truth and macabre. Eat a big meal while reading this one. ;)

Would love a PB!

She’s Always Hungry was such a twisted treat. Clark wields her pen with lethal precision, mastering horror’s ability to get under your skin and interrogate social topics in an entirely different light.

Eliza Clark has just a captivating way of writing, it is all at once gross, humourous and deeply enticing. This short story collection explores that tantalising pull of desire in a range of forms of hunger, the type that leaves a gnaw inside you, consuming you. There are some difficult topics explored here, so you may wish to check content warnings, but Clark handles them with nuance and sensitivity. It is the type of horror that is designed to provoke and question, leaving you pondering its central themes. Clark’s writing is acerbic and addictive, delving into these topics with laser-like precision. These stories often take fairly common ideas or forms of hunger and twist them into warped, odd and unsettling stories. Clark packs in some fantastic twists throughout the collection. Every page feels impactful and carefully considered, with words deliberately chosen to provoke the reader. I always admire a writer that can pull off that potential lurking in a short story – how much it can deliver in such a short space. I would read the full-length versions of pretty much all these stories based on Clark’s slant on the brilliant ideas at their centre. Many are jarring and move into surreal territory but this just enticed me further.

I really appreciated how experimental in terms of form and narrative stylings this collection was. Clark takes risks and they pay off tenfold. I mean where else would you find a short body horror tale within the online reviews of a restaurant? There is quite a bit of Internet culture woven into this connection and is often quite evident in the writing, particularly that wry sense of humour. I loved how grounded the horror often was and how Clark found new insights into the everyday. You can recognise a lot of these characters in people you may know, while some are these hugely exaggerated forces. I have previously loved her characterisation and sense of voice, which is strengthened by this collection. In particular, there is a sense of dark humour that runs throughout the book. It is smart and striking, allowing for a moment of levity in these often intense situations. Humour is a weapon wielded by the wise and Clark utilises it perfectly. The collection bounces around different genres, usually spiralling out from a central idea around a form of hunger. It is just incredibly enticing and skin crawling in equal measure. We often encounter horrific scenarios, both frighteningly real and stepping into the realm of the other.

There is not a weak story amongst the bunch. Even those that may not hit as much for me still had fascinating components and that same strength of writing running throughout. They tie together thematically so well despite the vastly differing stylings. It feels like a cohesive if chaotic collection that I would highly recommend. If you want that slight sense of unease and distrust while reading, this is definitely a book for you. Clark’s writing is challenging and thought-provoking, offering no easy answers. Instead it is the type that thrives on ambiguity and the shadows of morality, leading to plenty of discussions after reading. For me, there were some absolute standouts in this collection, namely Build a Body Like Mine, The Problem Solver, Shake Well and The King. They just had slightly more impact on me, maybe because of themes discussed or that characteristic nuance Clark delivers.

She’s Always Hungry was absolutely sublime and you will be left ravenous for more.

A couple stories really shone for me, but overall the collection felt a bit thematically broad. The last couple stories didn’t really work for me, making the collection seem more lackluster than it was after I finished. Pleasantly surprised by the science fiction stories, but maybe they’d have been more at home in a different collection.

Thought I had finally met a short story collection that I would absolutely love, and I was proven wrong once again.

If these stories were a sandwich, I would only have eaten the bread. What I am trying to say is the only two stories I actually quite enjoyed were the first and last ones. There is just something about lesbians and worms. It has strangely become quite a common trope in horror and/or horror adjacent fiction and I honestly dig it. Aside from those, I just don't think I understood the vision. It made total sense why they were all packaged together, I just didn't really get anything out of them.

Eliza Clark is the epitome of weird girl fic and we love to see it. I especially enjoyed this by her because I could really get a grasp at all her repertoire, not just what we saw in Boy Parts or Penance. Now that I've read all three of her books I can actually call myself an Eliza Clark fan. Definitely looking forward to whatever she releases next and also looking forward to the hype this book will get because I can see it being extremely popular on social media.

Honestly, I really didn't love this one. Some of the stories were so weird and interesting, and I loved figuring out what they meant. Some of them were just plain weird.

I can’t believe this was my first Eliza Clark book! I’ve had her other books on my TBR for years (quite literally), so glad I finally finished one, even if it’s unlike her other books (a short story collection vs. a novel).

Short story collections aren’t necessarily my favorite, but they were entertaining via audiobook. Entertaining and a bit confusing, but I digress. I’d recommend it!

(Thank you, Harper Perennial and NetGalley, for the ARC and audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review.)