Eliza Clark’s short-story collection roams across genre boundaries, ruthlessly mining aspects of popular culture from Alien to Charles Manson, Shirley Jackson, and H. P. Lovecraft. Clark’s pieces are laced with the kind of “femgore” scenes she’s known for. But these aren’t solely intended to provoke a visceral response but to raise deeper concerns. Clark’s heavily invested in interrogating perspectives on gender, the body and the embodied as in “Shake Well” an inventive, gloriously-oozy take on the popularity of extreme skincare regimes promoting impossible beauty standards – inspired by Clark’s experience of living with acne. Stand-out sf narrative “Extinction Event” is a harrowing, carefully-crafted exploration of climate change, speciesism and exploitation, its themes overlapping and interacting with the unsettling “Hollow Bones.” “The King” narrated by a lonely, kink-obsessed cannibal goddess is a fascinating variation on classic horror which pairs well with twisted, feminist folk horror/fairy tale “She’s Always Hungry.”

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. Clark’s brand of transgressive fiction can be deliberately confrontational and macabre but it can also be incredibly funny, tender and insightful – “The Problem Solver” forms a searing critique of the appropriation of female trauma depicted through a man’s attempts to dictate how his woman friend should feel about having been raped. Like most collections this isn’t without flaws but, even when she doesn’t quite pull things off, it’s impossible not to admire Clark’s daring, her willingness to experiment. Clark’s inserted an annotated list of trigger warnings at the end of this but, I imagine, readers who need them aren’t that likely to be drawn to her work in the first place.

Having read Penance last year I was keen to read Eliza Clark's new collection of short stories. I wasn't disappointed: the short stories were enjoyable, weird, funny, creepy and sometimes scary.

I particularly enjoyed The Shadow Over Little Chitaly. The format of the story was unusual, being told entirely through the medium of food delivery app reviews, but a strange and amusing picture gradually emerged.

A recommended read.

Super cool concepts for these stories across a lot of genres. Some of them are knockouts but sci fi other planet type stories are just not for me although all of them were well written. Really intriguing stuff.

Thank you to the publishers and to NetGalley for my ARC!

If Eliza Clark writes it, you bet I will read it. This short story collection is banger after banger after banger. There is something for everyone, with a wide range of genres explored, and showcases Eliza’s incredible and creative storytelling. I absolutely devoured this book, exactly as it was meant to be, and loved every last word. Eliza Clark is one of the best and most exciting writers out there.

WOW. this selection of short stories by Eliza Clark was incredible. i completely devoured the collection and found it difficult to put down!

the stories span across genres, and some have you questioning what you just read…these stories aren’t for the feint of heart, and some are disturbing and deeply unnerving but Clark’s writing has a way to keep you coming back and wanting more, even when you want to look away.

Clark’s signature dark humour shines through, and is definitely a must read for lovers of penance and boy parts. however, in this collection more genres are explored and although im not usually a sci-fi or horror fan i found myself absorbed in every single story.

i would definitely check content warnings before digging in - but there’s a very helpful and detailed content warning list included! will definitely be recommending (and picking myself up the gorgeous hardback edition!)

I will start this off by saying I normally avoid short stories as I typically prefer novels instead. However, Eliza Clark has made me change my mind as I absolutely loved ‘she’s always hungry’ and I am definitely hungry for another short story collection from her!

Expect messy female characters intertwined with some heavy material (there is a page with warnings of potential triggers). Clark manages to perfectly mix horror with reality in a believable manner, I found myself laughing at one page and then completely disgusted at the next (in a good way, don’t worry!).

One story was a bit confusing, I struggled to understand what was going on (I think that was the point but it took me a while to get used to the writing style for that particular story). Nevertheless, I fought through that confusion and found that the writing style for that story is what made it even better (you’ll know when you read it, there will be no spoilers here!)

She’s always hungry will be released on 7th November, Faber have a gorgeous special edition available on their website and independent bookstores which I am planning on buying!

Thanks to NetGalley, Faber and Faber, Eliza Clark for the opportunity to read this book early. It’s well and truly worth it so if you loved Boy Parts and Penance then you should definitely pick it up!

Having read Boy Parts and Penance, I was super excited to read this next book from Eliza Clark. A varied mix of short stories that showcase the style and voice we've come to expect, as well as some welcome narrative surprises. These stories are moving, uncomfortable, grotesque and hilarious, The King in particular was so funny. Enjoyed every single story and am so excited for whatever Clark has planned next!

If someone gave me this with no cover, I'd probably still be able to tell it was Eliza Clark's work. The dark humour shines through in every story, and even the stories that weren't for me were brilliantly written and fit the theme of the book perfectly.

From Eliza Clark, the acclaimed author of Boy Parts and Penance, comes a collection that’s dark, daring, and utterly unforgettable. She’s Always Hungry serves up stories that are equal parts bizarre and thought-provoking: a woman invites a parasite into her body, a teenager craves flawless skin, and a scientist nurtures alien flora. Each story plumbs the depths of that all-too-human feeling of hunger, whether for beauty, control, connection, or something altogether unnameable. This collection is as unsettling, disturbing and definitely not to be missed.

As someone who’s not drawn to short stories, as they’re usually hit or miss, I’ll admit I was semi skeptical but as it was Eliza Clark, I had a good feeling. As expected, She’s Always Hungry changed my perspective for the better. Every story in this collection captured my interest; they’re absurd, grotesque, and occasionally made my skin crawl, yet that’s exactly what made them so compelling and addictive.

The stories each bring something unique while working cohesively as a collection. My favourites were: “Build a Body Like Mine,” “The Problem Solver,” “The Shadow Over Chitaly,” and “Shake Well”.

Eliza Clark has crafted a collection that’s more than just a series of stories; it’s an experience.

Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was beside myself when I got the email to read this! I love Eliza Clark’s writing and was so excited to have a whole bunch of weird little stories to dig into.

I read one of the stories before the full book was available so here’s a review of that:

The Shadow Over Little Chitaly is basically a bunch of reviews of a takeaway place that, beyond being a Chinese and Italian food hybrid, just appears to be unusual. This is truly so funny! It has something very weird lurking under the surface but for the most part I was giggling. Out loud! Eliza Clark is so good at capturing what people are like on the internet. The tone, the typos... it could not be more spot on.

As for the rest of the collection I had a great time. One thing I did not expect was sci-fi?? There were two (I think two) sci-fi stories in here and wow I hope it is a genre that Clark writes a full novel in one day!

My favourite story aside from Little Chitaly was The King, where an Apex Predator disguised as a human woman is just waiting for the world to end so she can rebuild it for herself.

I found this so funny & smart & as always after I finish an Eliza Clark book, I am absolutely gasping for the next one.

I loved the sample story and I was eagerly awaiting the full release to see what else was in this book. What I received was even better than expected! Loved almost every story. Super visceral and gross, which I love, and even the sci fi (which I wouldn't normally gravitate towards at all) worked really well for me.

Thanks to the publisher for the full ARC!

PSA - do not attempt to read when eating

An absolutely scrumptious short story collection from Eliza Clark. Penance and Boy Parts are so different (everyone has a favourite and mine is the second child) and that’s what makes this collection so great - there’s range!

Centred around hunger, if you like dark humour and female rage, there will be something in here for you. Body horror, folklore, satire, speculative fic, romance(?), eco-thriller - is there a genre she cannot write?? It’s great to see Clark trying something new with dystopian/sci-fi stories - these ended up being some of my faves!

Clark writes in such a way that images wiggle into your brain and linger there for days. A couple of these stories were gross (shake well of all the stories made me feel physically sick) but they’re digestible in small chunks (if you’ll pardon the pun).

My favourites were The King and The Shadow Over Little Chitaly.

I didn’t want to rate the stories individually and if you haven’t read them yet it doesn’t mean much - so here are some thoughts in the form of emojis:

build a body like mine - 🪱😊
the problem solver - 😒
she’s always hungry - 👯‍♀️👯‍♀️👯‍♀️🎣
the shadow over little chitaly - 🍕⭐️🥡 (more pls)
hollow bones - 👽🍖🦑
goth gf - 🙇‍♂️🥺👉👈
extinction event -🌵🌍☄️ ???
nightstalker - 🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️ also ???
shake well - 🤮🤢
the king - 👑🧛🎢 this !!!!
company man - 🎪🔒

thank you netgalley / faber & faber for providing me an e-arc

I LOVE Eliza Clark and as much as these stories carried her usual uniqueness mixed with grotesqueness and often times dark humour, I don't think this entirely worked for me.

Hunger as a focus point in any work of fiction or non fiction is one of my favourite things and I adored the way this collection explored and experimented with different scenarios. Unfortunately though, despite its short length I frequently found myself simultaneously wanting more and waiting for the stories to wrap up.

(also ~ don't read this whilst eating...)

Eliza Clark’s writing is phenomenal, and this collection was no different. I love how she writes and how she’s able to spin a story, and I loved how this collection came together, with just the right level of unsettling. I cannot recommend this enough and can’t wait to get a physical copy when it’s out

Review: She’s Always Hungry by Eliza Clark

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book was gruesomely brilliant.

She’s Always Hungry is a horror/dystopian short story collection centered around the theme of violence against the inner body.

I’m new to horror, but the combination of short stories and the genre is perfect for me. If you liked Bunny, Cursed Bunny, Natural Beauty or Your Utopia pick this up!! Note: this book has very heavy trigger warnings, the book does list them inside but please research before reading.

The descriptions of body horror in in this book are hauntingly vivid and will make your skin crawl. Clark has mastered contemporary writing and I will buy anything she writes!

My favourite stories:
🔸 She’s Always Hungry
Takes part in a matriarchal coastal village where men are subject to gendered repression and systemic violence. A call from the sea taunts them - and she is always hungry.
🔸 Extinction Event
A new plantlike species which may help humanity survive a climate apocalypse is discovered. The scientists want to observe and preserve it, but the government want to breed and overconsume it. Strong themes around governance and climate change which i enjoyed.
🔸 Shake Well
A teenager gets her abusive older boyfriend to purchase a mysterious cure for acne on the dark web - lots of facial body horror in this one
🔸The King
A superior species exists in isolation of one another, going through extinction events and helping humanity rebuild with them at the top but when two rivals fight for the same throne, chaos follows

GO READ THIS

Clark’s first short story collection didn’t disappoint; I absolutely devoured this collection (lol) over the course of a weekend – I normally read short stories over a few weeks, one or two stories a day, but I could not put this down. It is a really inventive and genre-bending collection of stories, filled with Clark’s signature black humour and razor-sharp, satirical observations on the world from the get-go. Clark helpfully provides a list of content warnings with this one, which is a great shout – she doesn’t shy away from a lot of tough stuff here.
As I mentioned, She’s Always Hungry doesn’t fit neatly into any genre category: the stories range from 1970s sun-soaked slice-of-life to sci-fi flavoured horror. There’s a lot of absurdism, and a lot of cultural critique, filtered through Clark’s delightfully internet-poisoned lens. So much of what makes this collection work is how singular a writer Clark is; she effortlessly blends hilarity and devastation, terror and joy, so the experience of reading it is as fulfilling as is it disquieting.
Though genre is gleefully thrown off the table here, the stories do have a through-line; they all contend with hunger of some sort; from a hunger for bodily perfection, to a hunger to save the world. The collection isn’t massively about food, funnily enough, with the exception of a couple of stories, but the different facets of hunger that Clark explores are fascinating anyway.
Highlights include The Shadow Over Little Chitaly, written entirely through Google reviews of a very strange takeaway; Hollow Bones, a deeply unsettling sci-fi horror story, and Extinction Event, a speculative fiction story that made me cry about plants. I was always going to love this collection as I think Clark is one of the best writers of our time; however, She’s Always Hungry still managed to surpass my very high expectations for it. Fantastic stuff!

This book was enticing, disturbing and unput-downable.

Perfect for a those looking for a quick read that still delivers on every page.

There were short stories in this that had me wanting more and stories that had me wishing it was over.

This is a must read for those who enjoy anthologies and has actually made me keen to delve into them more.

I think this could be the perfect introduction to those wanting to stark reading horror or more specifically Clark’s books.

I was so excited about a new Eliza Clark release and usually love short story collections but unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me.

I’m unsure if it was just the early access Ebook copy I was kindly sent but the formatting made it very difficult to tell when one story ended and another began so I found myself having to go back and check on a number of occasions which interrupted the flow of my reading.

I found that I really enjoyed some of the stories particularly those that were more realistic and enjoyed the humorous side of Clark’s writing. However I found that the stories were all so different to the point that whilst there were stories I enjoyed, I also really didn’t like some of the others making it harder to get through.

I can see why others will love this and still entirely appreciate Eliza Clark’s writing and still look forward to whatever comes next from this intriguing author.

She's Always Hungry is a collection of eleven dark and disturbing short stories by Eliza Clark, author of Boy Parts and Penance. I have mentioned in a previous review on my blog that short story collections aren't something I usually go for. However, I will read anything by Eliza Clark (even her shopping list). When I found out I was going to have the opportunity to read and review She’s Always Hungry, I was over the moon. Clark is one of my favourite writers and I have already pre-ordered the Faber special edition of this book.

My Rating for Each Story

Build a Body Like Mine - 5
The Problem Solver - 5
She’s Always Hungry - 4
The Shadow of Little Chitaly- 5
Hollow Bones- 2.5
Goth GF - 5
Extinction Event - 2.5
Nightstalkers - 4
Shake Well - 5
The King - 3
Company Man - 3


The collection started off strong with ‘Build a Body Like Mine’. The body horror in this story alone was disturbing and it made me read on enthusiastically. Another one that stuck out to me was Shake Well, a story about a girl who can’t stop popping her pimples. It was so gross and I absolutely loved it. ‘Goth GF’ made me think of Clarks debut novel Boy Parts, it had the same vibe to it which I really appreciated. The writing and imagery within this book was incredible. There was the classic Clark dark humour throughout which is something I love about her writing. The overarching theme to take away from each story is the different types of hunger that people feel. There was a range of genres throughout the book, which shows Clarks ability to try new genres that we wouldn't necessarily expect from her. While there were some genres I wasn't overly keen on (sci-fi), I could appreciate how good the writing was.

Some of the stories focused on some hard topics such as assault, body dysmorphia, grooming, drug use etc. By featuring these topics, it gave the stories such a realistic and unsettling feeling to them. At the end of the book, there is a guide to each short story and it features an in depth list of trigger warnings. This is such a good addition to a book especially when there are difficult topics being covered.

The pacing and length of the stories differed. To go from one pacing to another in a short amount of time is something I struggle with and the reason I don't usually read short story collections. Two stories were very sci-fi based which is not something I’m interested in. It felt as if I was skim reading to get to the next one. A few of the stories just didn't hit the mark for me, this could be down to the pacing or the genre. It was a dark and disturbing read but I did feel like there could have been more to it.
Safe to say, when I receive my physical pre-ordered copy, I will be tabbing the stories that I enjoyed the most so I can easily flip back to them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Faber for this opportunity to read from one of my favourite authors!

My Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

Short story collections are always a bit tough to rate - there’s the ones you love and the ones you don’t and the ones inbetween. In this case, the ones I don't love category is pretty small, which is a big achievement.

She’s always hungry is a collection of dark short stories full of trigger warnings. I wouldn’t identify them as horror but some of the stories feature horrific elements. Despite the dark themes, some of the stories are actually quite funny? The Shadow Over Little Chitaly is particularly funny. The story is a genuinely hilarious collection of reviews of a strange Chinese-Italian fusion restaurant. I was laughing loudly while reading it. Probably my favourite of the collection. Possibly one of the best things about this anthology is the variety of stories. In contrast to Little Chitaly, Shake Well is a slightly horrifying but not unrealistic account of the depths of hell that bad skin drags you to. Extinction Event and Hollow Bones are Sci-Fi and The King is a dystopian apocalyptic canniballistic tale. Most of the stories in here don’t have a definitive ‘A-ha! That’s the point of this!’ moment. They’re clearly just trains of thoughts that were packaged creatively to make the reader think about the same things, but the stories don’t have clearly defined beginnings, endings or morals. I did enjoy that, though I think maybe in one or two stories I wouldn’t have minded a couple more pages.

Overall, I thought this was a highly creative, thoughful and dark collection of stories. It is well written and an engaging, quick read that is definitely worth picking up. If you like Eliza Clark’s previous work or enjoy darker fiction, I would highly recommend this.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an. advanced copy of this book.