Synopsis

Hungerstone is a gothic horror novel inspired by Carmilla that follows Lenore, a woman trapped in a restrictive Victorian marriage whose life changes after she encounters the mysterious Carmilla. As an unsettling hunger spreads through an isolated estate and strange events begin to unfold, Lenore is drawn into a dark world of desire, power, and transformation. Blending gothic atmosphere, psychological horror, and queer romance, the novel explores themes of repression, identity, female autonomy, and the monstrous consequences of denying one's true nature.

Notes

1%

I furl myself in the quilt like an oyster in its shell with no pearl to show for the grit that works through it. Pain and blood, grief and hunger. To be a woman is a horror I can little comprehend.

16%

Death is the end of all things. He lays low young and old.

23%

I can't stand her husband Henry, he is manipulative, and uses Lenore to keep his business and life afloat. Also, I'm pretty sure he is cheating on her with her 'friend' Cora...

Carmilla is... weird? She doesn't feel alluring or romantic like Dracula, she just feels... creepy. Making Lenore's maid eat hair her hair? Then again, Dracula made his Ghouls eat bugs.. so maybe they aren't so different really. Plus Dracula is pretty creepy too in the books. It's the movies that make him feel more 'romantic'.

26%

All I had was myself, and the weight of that burden was almost more than I could bear.

28%

I am fine. I have to be. I have no time for weakness.

• I felt this so hard as a wife and mother. I don't have time for my own emotions, thoughts, or feelings most of the time. Because I'm too busy taking care of other humans that need me.

47%

“Your pain was so loud it was a beacon that called me. I found you so easily.”

"I am a mirror to those who need it. To those who hunger but deny themselves.”

51%

So I had a thought that I didn't really notice when reading Dracula. I suppose it may be obvious to some. But I just had this epiphany moment. The reason why books like Dracula, the story of Carmilla, and just old school vampire folklore is so good. Its not because of the gruesome nature of vampires. Instead its how the sin of the vampire brings out the sin/desires of humanity. It reveals all the darkest aspects of the human mind. The things that we most keep hidden or reserved.

Where as Dracula or vampires only have the dark sides of humanity. Jealousy, murder, rape, hunger, no sympathy, no empathy, just, like the sin of gluttony. They are everything we hide, and everything we strive not to be. But it is almost romanticized. So that we are numb to it. The real villain is not the vampire but the humans. The vampire simply is, where as humanity pushes down deep all the parts that make them both human and inhuman. Idk its just a thought I had while reading.

My original disgust of Carmilla, and the hair scene. Is now an after thought. Now I am disgusted by the lack of humanity in Henry, Cora, and how Lanore pushes down all her flaws, feelings, and even her health to be this perfect wife to someone who clearly is using her, cheating on her, and is a horrible person. She is surrounded by these horrible people, yet she things that she is the one at fault. Its just horrible. Because its so human!

Such a human response. To blame yourself, when you are the one going through trauma from other people. Maybe a bit of personal experience in that regard touched me in a way. But its just.. horrible and beautiful at the same time.

53%

“Stop it. You are feeding the wrong hunger.”

59%

It is terrible to be alive. But it is worse to be dead to ourselves.”

75%

REVENGE. From the old French, revengier, and ultimately the Latin, vindicare. To lay claim to, avenge, punish. Vindicare. To set free, protect, defend. Vindication.

80%

All we can hope for in life is to know one's own desires in order to be able to act on them to want is to surrender to uncertainty. To step into the unknown. To expose ourselves to all possible outcomes and trust we will not be destroyed by disappointment.

Review

This book was way better then I thought it would be. At first I just found it weird and a bit strange, I didn't really like the MFC. However, as I kept reading, and I realized the deeper meaning behind the book, and the message it was trying to portray, I fell more in love. There is also some really beautiful writing, and some really deep truths in this book. However, it has a LOT of trigger warnings, and it can be pretty dark and gory. It is a vampire book after all. So if that isn't your non-sparkly vampires are not your thing, I would put this one back on the shelf. However, if you like diving into the deep theological mind of the human brain, the dark parts, the parts we shove down and hide, or push aside. Then this book is for you! It touches on a lot of aspects of humanity that we tend to no look at, and that make us uncomfortable. Overall, this was a fantastic book!