HUNGERSTONE
KAT DUNN
*****
FOR WHAT DO YOU HUNGER . . . ?
Lenore is the wife of steel magnate Henry, but ten years into their marriage the relationship has soured, and no child has arrived to fill the distance growing between them. Henry's ambitions take them from London to the Peak District, to the remote, imposing Nethershaw estate, where he plans to host a hunting party. Lenore must work to restore the crumbling house and ready it for Henry's guests - their future depends on it.
But as the couple travel through the bleak countryside, a shocking carriage accident brings the mysterious Carmilla into Lenore's life. Carmilla, who is weak and pale during the day but vibrant at night, Carmilla who stirs up something deep within Lenore. And before long, girls from the local villages fall sick, consumed by a terrible hunger... As the day of the hunt draws closer, Lenore begins to unravel, questioning the role she has been playing all these years. Torn between regaining her husband's affection and the cravings Carmilla has awakened, soon Lenore will uncover a darkness in her household that will place her at terrible risk...
MY REVIEW
*****
I haven’t read Carmilla, the book that inspired Dracula which was published 25 years before Bram Stoker’s novel. Hungerstone promises the compulsive, feminist retelling and from looking at the blurb of Carmilla, it does look to be quite faithful in some areas.
Lenore has moved to a crumbling new estate in the moorlands of Sheffield with her husband, charged with restoring it to its former glory and hosting a shooting party. However, when their carriage finds a young woman in a bad way in the remote moors, the mysterious Carmilla comes to live with them. What hunger does she awake in the demure and peace keeping Lenore?
The novel is written in a faithful way for the time that it is set in and it has obviously been well-researched. However, the themes and plotlines take a delightful modern spin on the story which felt fully at ease within the world that Kat Dunn has created. Although I haven’t read Carmilla, the fact it was written by a man in 1872 leads me to believe that this is a nice diversion from the original source material.
Kat Dunn isn’t afraid to get graphic in places as well, which sets the tone nicely in her first chapter. The characters within the book, from Lenore and naïve best friend Cora to the aloof husband Henry and mysterious Carmilla are all portrayed with depth, hiding their own secrets and motivations which are drip fed to the reader. Lenore has quite a character progression in this novel which is great to read, from house-wife fainting at the sight of a carriage accident, to a woman grappling with wanting revenge.
For those going in wanting more of a sapphic romance, I will admit that this isn’t what this novel is about. There are some scenes to satisfy these readers, but Carmilla is used more as a motivator to spur Lenore on from her traps in a patriarchal society and even to use this to her advantage. As a result, her character does take the backburner for a lot of the latter part of the book.
Overall Hungerstone is a delightful modern take on Carmilla, full of feminine rage, desire and hunger. Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Books – Manilla Press for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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