Short story collections are often difficult to rate, and “She’s Always Hungry” by Eliza Clark is no exception.
The 11 stories include stories about relationships, beauty culture, science fiction, environmental devastation, and regret. With so many subjects briefly addressed in barely over 200 pages, “She’s Always Hungry” doesn’t feel like Clark’s previous published works, “Boy Parts” and “Penance.”
Rather, the stories feel intimate but lack cohesion. A three-page Content Guide summarizes some of the author’s goals with each tale. In the first story called “Build a Body Like Mine,” Clark satirizes dangerous ways women are encouraged to lose weight quickly that came from her own struggles with disordered eating.
Other stories feel less personal and more about shock value or offering commentary on social issues. Many contain detailed descriptions of violence.
“She’s Always Hungry” Story Ratings
List of Stories with Rating
“Build a Body Like Mine” 4.50 stars
“The Problem Solver” 3.25 stars
“She’s Always Hungry” 4.25 stars
“The Shadow over Little Chitaly” 2.00 stars
“Hollow Bones” 3.00 stars
“Goth GF” 2.75 stars
“Extinction Event” 3.50 stars
“Nightstalkers” 2.50 stars
“Shake Well” 3.50 stars
“The King” 3.00 stars
“Company Man” 3.00 stars
Three earned a 3-star rating, while only two were above a 4. Clark’s short stories address themes of alienation, destruction, and becoming your own person. Unfortunately, most of them fade out rather than having a strong conclusion. This leads to confusion and general dissatisfaction.
Top-Rated Story: “Build a Body Like Mine”
The story with the strongest appeal for Clark’s fans is “Build a Body Like Mine.” As the collection’s opener, it reflects the witty and women-centered writing of the author’s work. The unnamed character, a recently single lesbian, speaks directly to the reader about her unusual method of losing weight while eating whatever you like.
Clark takes her time in building up to what the miracle solution could be before revealing it to be tapeworms on the penultimate page. Much like women can sell their eggs to infertile couples, the narrator is offering you a chance to purchase tapeworm eggs to grow your own. She wants you to “become the version of yourself.”
Second-Highest Rated Story: “She’s Always Hungry”
The titular story “She’s Always Hungry” revolves around a matriarchal society near the sea. It’s ruled by a small group of post-menopausal women known as the Mothers, whose lineage is apparent in the naming of each boy and man. The men are relegated to physical labor such as sailing and fishing and breeding with women to father the next generation.
One young man preparing for his maiden fishing trip, Kitty’s John, is described as a good, gentle boy who plays the piano at the pub and is considered a peacemaker among his peers. John begins hearing the soft whisper of a woman, who’s in the body of a fish he recently caught and placed in a water basin stored in a shack.
A friend tells John about how something in the sea takes the men before they reach old age. John doesn’t believe the finfolk story and ignores the information. However, the voice continues to come to him and direct him to bring fresh seawater and food for his catch of the day.
While John’s fish evolves into a more human-looking woman, the men in the village come under its spell. The Mothers soon notice and proclaim that the finfolk had returned.
They decide to make an example of John after learning of his catch in the shack. He’s first tied to his bed, then brought down to the beach for the entire village to watch him burn on a pyre.
But, the men and the younger women are called into the sea by John’s catch and her brethren. Her voice in his head tells him that his village will become food to fill the finfolk, then watches as the Mothers move forward with killing him.
Lowest-Rated Story: “The Shadow over Little Chitaly”
Written as a compilation of reviews, “The Shadow over Little Chitaly” proved to be the true dud of the collection. The range of reviews written about mystery Chinese and Italian fusion restaurant with an undefined location and inconsistent menu items.
In an assortment of 15 reviews, a woman named Hannah embarks on an adventure to find the physical location of Little Chitaly. She reports that it’s in a strip mall area outside of London and has the look and feel of “a trendy Australian brunch spot.”
Hannah appraises the restaurant’s interior, then returns to her car to spot a special-order box waiting for her after leaving Little Chitaly. She opens it to discover a cube-shaped pizza with an apple inside. She concludes her post with a request for people to share their experiences so that she can collate them. Little Chitaly responds to this with a smiley face comment.
Most-Surprising Story: “Extinction Event”
In this prescient science-fiction story, Clark demonstrates how we look for quick fixes to environmental issues rather than taking nuanced, scientifically proven approaches.
“Extinction Event” follows a botanist who’s kidnapped and taken to a facility to work with other climate scientists. Dr. Babalola is in charge of learning about five mystery specimens that look like cactus-tree hybrids but behave like starfish.
The doctor and his team soon realize the plants can clean heavily polluted air and could play a pivotal role in saving Earth’s atmosphere, which is so filled with emissions and other poisons that humans cannot breathe it directly.
Under intense pressure to breed the plants and send them to Earth for experimentation, Babalola soon sees firsthand the terrible pain the plants endure as they absorb polluted air and release clean oxygen. They develop sores and their limbs split from their bodies.
Babalola approaches his superior with concerns but is ignored. He sees a plant writhing in pain behind a news anchor covering the story of the Lazarus Tree.
Final Thoughts
“She’s Always Hungry” is a creative departure for the acclaimed Clark. It covers a plethora of subjects with varying degrees of detail that may confuse and frustrate readers expecting her to focus on the lived experiences of young women.
Regardless of some disappointment with her subject matter, Clark remains an engaging writer who’s aware of power imbalances and the anxieties of people living in the 21st century. She’s capable of bringing fiery wit and wry humor to difficult subjects.
Lovers of clever and timely short stories will find much to enjoy, but “She’s Always Hungry” shouldn’t be your introduction to this feisty British author.
Rating
My rating is 3.50/5 stars.
Book Details
Title: “She’s Always Hungry”
Author: Eliza Clark
Year of Publication: 2024
Number of Pages: 223 pages
Read the Heroine Chic Reviews post about “Penance” by Eliza Clark to learn more about the author’s second novel.
