Hunger and Thirst
As seen:
By Claire Fuller
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1 review
FROM THE COSTA AWARD-WINNING, WOMEN’S PRIZE-SHORTLISTED AUTHOR OF UNSETTLED GROUND
‘An absolute masterpiece. Utterly absorbing, genuinely unsettling’ JENNIE GODFREY, author of The List of Suspicious Things
‘Atmospheric, psychologically vivid, and unputdownable’ ALICE WINN, author of In Memoriam
1987: After a childhood trauma and years in and out of the care system, sixteen-year-old Ursula finds herself with a new job in the postroom of a local art school, a bed in a halfway house, and—delightfully— some new friends, including wild-child, Sue. When Ursula is invited to join a squat at The Underwood, a mysterious house whose owners met a terrible end, she can’t resist the promise of a readymade, hodgepodge family.
But as Sue’s behaviour and demands become more extreme, Ursula who has always been hungry—for food—and more importantly for love, acceptance and belonging, carries out her friend’s terrible dare. It’s a decision that will haunt her for decades.
Thirty-six years later, Ursula is a renowned, reclusive sculptor living under a pseudonym in London when her identity is exposed by true-crime documentary-maker who is digging into an unsolved disappearance. But it is not only the filmmaker who has discovered Ursula’s whereabouts, and as her past catches up with her present, Ursula must work out whether the monsters are within her or without.
From critically acclaimed and award-winning author, Claire Fuller, Hunger and Thirst is a compelling and chilling tale of loneliness and female friendship, of the dangerous line between wanting and needing, and of how far a person will go to truly belong.
‘Unremittingly unsettling, propulsive and tense. Fuller excels at depicting outsiders, and writes with such precision and economy. Truly terrifying’ Sarah Vaughan
‘Addictive, disturbing and suspenseful. It reminded me of Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine at her most vivid. Ursula is a rare creation’ Amanda Craig
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Provided as an advance reading copy by NetGalley UK in Kindle format.
What a remarkable and imaginative book! Who would have thought the medium of sculpture could be adapted in such a unique way as to complement elements of the grotesque in this energetic, page turning must read.
Protagonist, Ursula Major, is so well formed that she captured my interest from the outset and didn’t fail to maintain it. A teenager, who questionably blames herself for her own mother’s death, ends up in a series of children’s homes, having been turned aside inexplicably from an ostensible sensible fostering arrangement. Unloved and unwanted, Ursula is given a work placement ferrying the post in an art school. It is here that she encounters Sue from the office and maintenance man Vince, two individuals that will radically impact on the course of her life.
Ursula has an artistic flair herself, doodling and sketching on a regular basis. She fixates at times on the same creative image. Stealing a mallet and chisel from her employer, Ursula then tries her hand at sculpting too to shocking effect. When unwisely squatting with Vince at a worryingly fly infested property, visiting Sue proposes a seance to liaise with the spirits of the previous inhabitants who met an unseemly end. Fancying herself as a film director, Sue also decides to stage a reenactment of their gruesome demise.
It is unclear from what follows whether Ursula really begins having involuntary episodes or whether the spooky happenings are an actuality. It is a deliberate and fascinating denouement. I genuinely cared for Ursula. Was she a victim of circumstance or was there something innately disturbing about her? The characterisation of Vince, Sue and her family are superbly rendered, and the usage of the motifs of hunger and thirst interwoven dexterously and appropriately. I loved this book. Simply top notch! Edge of your seat, creepy, weird and wonderful.
