When Margot isn’t at school, Mama and Margot spend quiet days together in their cottage, waiting for strangers to knock on their door. Strays, Mama calls them. She feeds them wine, keeps them warm. Then she satisfies her burning appetite by picking apart their bodies.
But Mama’s want is stronger than her hunger sometimes, and when a white-toothed stray named Eden turns up in the heart of a snowstorm, little Margot must confront the shifting dynamics of her family, untangle her own desires and make a bid for freedom.
by Bruna
This is a horrible story… but in the best way possible!
It is dark and heavy, and at the same time poetic, dreamy, sexy, and innocent. The use of fairy tale was perfect to me, it truly felt like one of the Grimm’s tales (the dark versions from the first editions).
Cannibalism is the focus of this book, as it is in many folktales, so you will encounter disturbing descriptions, but I really liked that at the end this wasn’t only for the shock effect, the whole thing is a metaphor for the search of love and belonging.
PS: This book really reminded me of a fairy tale called “The Juniper Tree“, so I highly recommend to read that as well if you liked the idea behind Rose’s novel.
