Grief Eater by Emma Osborne
Grief Eater book cover
Author Emma Osborne
Many thanks to Interstellar Flight Press and NetGalley for
sharing an advanced copy of Emma Osborne’s harrowing and yet sympathetic
novella Grief Eater. I was attracted to this book from the description, dark
title, and incredible cover artwork from Dante Luiz. Although this book is
brief and moves rather quickly through narrator Kristina’s quest to return to
the origins of some of her earliest and most enduring trauma’s, I wasn’t
prepared for how moving and emotionally wrought this book was. Osborne has
accomplished the unique task of creating a bleak and dark apocalyptic survival
story that also elicited sympathy and concern for all the violence, hate, and
rejection that the main character, Kristina, experienced in her brief life.
Told from Kristina’s point of view after she has been infected by a global
event that turns the recently dead into red-everywhere- rage-filled undead fiending
for a flesh feast. Although we get glimpses of Kristina’s life throughout the
chapters, her quest to return home is told in brief simple sentences that
contain graphic and gore-filled moments when she either stops for a snack or
notes that human decay and detritus that has been strewn throughout her hometown.
The interesting twist in Kristina’s perspective is that she not only devours flesh
but also gains access to the memories of those she ingests. Although Kristina
is undead or at least not alive, these experiences of seeing and feeling the
memories of those she eats also causes her to reflect on her own experiences
and establishes a strong determination to seek out her own family, not for a
reunion, but for revenge. As we learn, Kristina’s life has been filled with
hate and rejection, especially from her family. Kristina’s father is always
drunk and ready to meet out punishment with his belt, her mother showed mixed feelings
of compassion and resentment, and her older brother lived up to the stereotypes
of the mean and sadistic elder sibling. Kristina’s homelife is filled with
pain, uncertainty, violence, and rejection, which is only intensified when she comes
out as queer. Her parents basically kick her out, and she leaves to move in
with a trans friend. Although Kristina’s family is hostile and violent to her,
she attempts to create a found family and new community on her own. Although
she finds some love and connection with friends, she’s continually haunted by
feelings of rejection and abandonment, often becoming hypervigilant in her own relationships.
Paradoxically, it’s when Kristina becomes infected and undead that she develops
a new sense of confidence and purpose, determined to travel across Australia to
find and feast on her family. Along the way, we learn more about her
experiences, her family’s rejections and her connection with her trans friend
Josh, who was always there for her. Throughout her harsh journey across
Australia, Kristina encounters many obstacles and soldiers who try to capture
and kill the undead, and readers learn more about the past violence that is
driving her to meet out her own punishments and justice.
Although she is undead, Kristina has a wealth of memories,
and I found it interesting to learn more about her experiences through her
undead consciousness rather than through her life. I was also surprised that
despite being gory and rather bleak, Osborne also elicited a deep sense of sympathy
for Kristina. I’m not sure if all readers will feel the same way, but I was
moved by the horror and violence that was inflicted on Kristina, and it made me
think about other queer, trans, gay, and nonbinary kids who experience similar
rejection, bullying, and hostility from their parents, peers, and communities. Although
Osborne has created a kind of apocalyptic event that creates these undead
bodies who see red everywhere, most kids in the LQBTQ community just want to be
themselves or are looking for support and understanding as they grapple with
their sexuality, and many turn their complicated feelings elsewhere, possibly
even on themselves. Osborne’s book is a reminder that no matter what, we are
all people and we share a sense of humanity, especially at the family level,
where kids often look to parents and siblings for support and understanding. Grief Eater is a dark, gory book that is, at times, bleak, but also sympathetic
and moving. Recommended!
Many thanks to Interstellar Flight Press and NetGalley for
sharing an advanced copy of Emma Osborne’s harrowing and yet sympathetic
novella Grief Eater. I was attracted to this book from the description, dark
title, and incredible cover artwork from Dante Luiz. Although this book is
brief and moves rather quickly through narrator Kristina’s quest to return to
the origins of some of her earliest and most enduring trauma’s, I wasn’t
prepared for how moving and emotionally wrought this book was. Osborne has
accomplished the unique task of creating a bleak and dark apocalyptic survival
story that also elicited sympathy and concern for all the violence, hate, and
rejection that the main character, Kristina, experienced in her brief life.
Told from Kristina’s point of view after she has been infected by a global
event that turns the recently dead into red-everywhere- rage-filled undead fiending
for a flesh feast. Although we get glimpses of Kristina’s life throughout the
chapters, her quest to return home is told in brief simple sentences that
contain graphic and gore-filled moments when she either stops for a snack or
notes that human decay and detritus that has been strewn throughout her hometown.
The interesting twist in Kristina’s perspective is that she not only devours flesh
but also gains access to the memories of those she ingests. Although Kristina
is undead or at least not alive, these experiences of seeing and feeling the
memories of those she eats also causes her to reflect on her own experiences
and establishes a strong determination to seek out her own family, not for a
reunion, but for revenge. As we learn, Kristina’s life has been filled with
hate and rejection, especially from her family. Kristina’s father is always
drunk and ready to meet out punishment with his belt, her mother showed mixed feelings
of compassion and resentment, and her older brother lived up to the stereotypes
of the mean and sadistic elder sibling. Kristina’s homelife is filled with
pain, uncertainty, violence, and rejection, which is only intensified when she comes
out as queer. Her parents basically kick her out, and she leaves to move in
with a trans friend. Although Kristina’s family is hostile and violent to her,
she attempts to create a found family and new community on her own. Although
she finds some love and connection with friends, she’s continually haunted by
feelings of rejection and abandonment, often becoming hypervigilant in her own relationships.
Paradoxically, it’s when Kristina becomes infected and undead that she develops
a new sense of confidence and purpose, determined to travel across Australia to
find and feast on her family. Along the way, we learn more about her
experiences, her family’s rejections and her connection with her trans friend
Josh, who was always there for her. Throughout her harsh journey across
Australia, Kristina encounters many obstacles and soldiers who try to capture
and kill the undead, and readers learn more about the past violence that is
driving her to meet out her own punishments and justice.
Although she is undead, Kristina has a wealth of memories,
and I found it interesting to learn more about her experiences through her
undead consciousness rather than through her life. I was also surprised that
despite being gory and rather bleak, Osborne also elicited a deep sense of sympathy
for Kristina. I’m not sure if all readers will feel the same way, but I was
moved by the horror and violence that was inflicted on Kristina, and it made me
think about other queer, trans, gay, and nonbinary kids who experience similar
rejection, bullying, and hostility from their parents, peers, and communities. Although
Osborne has created a kind of apocalyptic event that creates these undead
bodies who see red everywhere, most kids in the LQBTQ community just want to be
themselves or are looking for support and understanding as they grapple with
their sexuality, and many turn their complicated feelings elsewhere, possibly
even on themselves. Osborne’s book is a reminder that no matter what, we are
all people and we share a sense of humanity, especially at the family level,
where kids often look to parents and siblings for support and understanding. Grief Eater is a dark, gory book that is, at times, bleak, but also sympathetic
and moving. Recommended!
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