Hunger & Thirst - Claire Fuller

HUNGER & THIRST

CLAIRE FULLER

****

1987: After a childhood trauma and years in and out of the care system, sixteen-year-old Ursula finds herself with a new job in the postroom of a local art school, a bed in a halfway house, and—delightfully— some new friends, including wild-child, Sue. When Ursula is invited to join a squat at The Underwood, a mysterious house whose owners met a terrible end, she can’t resist the promise of a readymade, hodgepodge family.

But as Sue’s behaviour and demands become more extreme, Ursula who has always been hungry—for food—and more importantly for love, acceptance and belonging, carries out her friend’s terrible dare. It's a decision that will haunt her for decades.

Thirty-six years later, Ursula is a renowned, reclusive sculptor living under a pseudonym in London when her identity is exposed by true-crime documentary-maker who is digging into an unsolved disappearance. But it is not only the filmmaker who has discovered Ursula’s whereabouts, and as her past catches up with her present, Ursula must work out whether the monsters are within her or without.

From critically acclaimed and award-winning author, Claire Fuller, Hunger and Thirst is a compelling and chilling tale of loneliness and female friendship, of the dangerous line between wanting and needing, and of how far a person will go to truly belong.

MY REVIEW

****

I saw the blurb for Hunger and Thirst and couldn’t resist requesting it to read – a crime from the past coming back to haunt those involved, and a documentary intent on digging up secrets? Count me in!

Ursula is a famous recluse sculptor - when a filmmaker comes to her door wanting her to take part in an unsolved crime that happened in her youth, she is worried what they may uncover. Can the past stay buried?

Hunger and Thirst is very much a slow-burn horror, as well as a character study on Ursula. The novel switches perspectives between Ursula in the present and her the past – focusing on her childhood, her job at the post room of an art studio, her stay in the spooky squat of Underwood and her relationship with Vince and Sue. The main event (and subject of the documentary) happens quite far into the book, but when it did arrive my interest was piqued. No spoilers, but I hadn’t seen it coming and it was a nice twist which took the story in a different direction from where I was expecting it to go.

The horror elements really come into play after this event happens – before this they are quite tame – just uneasy feelings and a few odd occurrences and I was left hoping for more. I really enjoyed where the book eventually goes, and I think the ending was fun as well – it’s just a shame that it seemed to take so long to get there!

Overall Hunger and Thirst was a little too slow-burn of a horror story for me, but I did really enjoy the direction the story finally got to in its conclusion. Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin General UK – Viking, Hamish Hamilton and Fig Tree for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

LINKS TO BUY

Amazon UK

Waterstones