Title: How To Be Eaten
Author: Maria Adelmann
Genre: Fiction, fairy tales (adult)
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: May 2022
Page count: 286

Rating:

How To Be Eaten began showing up in various areas of the top-picks sections at my local bookstore some time in late 2022 and the premise was so unique I was instantly intrigued. It took a few months before I moved it up my list of priority books to purchase, but I’m glad I finally pulled the trigger and bought it because it was a really enjoyable (and quick) read.

The book is an inventive approach to classic fairy-tale heroines that places them in a modern-day New York trauma support group. By modernizing the setting of each character’s tales, Adelmann is able to place today’s context onto their narratives and uses their stories to demonstrate a range of important issues with how women are perceived in media and how men often shape their narratives.

Fair warning: spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn’t read this book.

Book Review: How To Be Eaten by Maria Adelmann

How To Be Eaten begins with the introduction of five female characters, all of whom have responded to an email advertisement seeking to set up a support group for trauma survivors in New York. The group is specifically focused on women whose stories have been sensationalized and that have plagued media cycles.

Each character has her basis in a fairy tale, despite the modern setting. These characters include:

• Bernice, from the Bluebeard stories
• Ruby, from Little Red Riding Hood
• Gretel, from Hansel and Gretel
• Ashlee, a participant from a show that mirrors The Bachelor, who potentially has her roots in something like Cinderella
• And Raina, who seems to come from Rumpelstiltskin

The trauma group facilitator, Will, brings the women together in a community centre basement and tells them that the project is designed to use narrative sharing as a form of therapy. They’re told that in sharing and owning their stories to each other, they empower themselves to take control of their narratives once and for all. Each week, a different character is expected to share her story while the others listen and offer commentary.

As the characters all open up about their unique tragic experiences, it becomes clear that their trauma has shared undercurrents. They’ve all been victims of overbearing and egotistical men, they’ve been villainized by the media and the public in general, and all of them share the experience of not being believed.

As the stories unfold, we come to find that the women are still being watched and that their narratives are, once again, going to be twisted to form a narrative that will exploit them for commercial gain. This is shared through the rotating perspectives, so the characters remain in the dark to this fact.

Despite the fantasy elements of their individual narratives, Adelmann does an exceptional job of making the characters and their experiences feel incredibly real. It was frustrating to see the anti-feminist narratives of these fairy tales result in such disastrous consequences for the characters, and as the more vulnerable characters begin to speak and share their stories, I found myself getting increasingly furious at the exploitation they encounter. The entire story is a frustratingly accurate depiction of how women are discounted, disbelieved, and mistrusted. It demonstrated how easily someone in a vulnerable setting can lose control of their own narrative, and then how hard it is to regain any sense of control after it’s spiraled beyond your reach.

Much of the blame in the story, similar to the real-world, falls on men with disproportionate amounts of power over the female characters. These men in positions of power, or just in positions above that of the female characters, don’t just influence the women’s narratives: they shape them. They take away their experiences and repackage them in ways that they either find more palatable or profitable or both, and it’s a sad reflection of how that type of power dynamic can have devastating consequences on a woman.

The story also places responsibility for the damage at the feet of the media, both traditional and social. Adelmann uses examples like true crime podcasts, social media trolling, and heavily slanted news reporting as the vehicles for which the women are harassed and taunted. The dehumanization of an individual, and the commoditization of their stories for mass consumption, removes their ability to speak their truth and, just as importantly, to be believed. It provides people with the ability to make snap judgements and opinions. It’s disappointingly accurate and evokes your sympathy even for characters that initially feel unsympathetic.

I felt like How To Be Eaten was a refreshingly unique take on some really topical current issues. It was satisfying to see the women find common ground both in their trauma and in their experiences as women. It’s a story that shows the anti-feminist narratives that perpetuate classic fairly tales, and it’s also a relevant depiction of how women can and are exploited in today’s culture. The story weaved together wild stories with gritty modern societal implications and impacts. The writing was concise and poignant, the plot was well-paced, and the characters were a wonderful mix of flaws.

This was a really enjoyable read for me. If you’re looking for something quick and unique that has fairy-tale/fantasy vibes mixed in with a real-world setting, I’d recommend giving it a go.