I don’t often do book reviews on here but this book deserved more than just a YouTube short or snippet review on my StoryGraph. This book was a unique read for me. I’ve come to understand that I like horror novels but not your typical horror (haunted house, slasher, demons) but horror that says something. Stories that use horror to explore and critique real world themes and social issues.
Bat Eater did this perfectly.
Admiring the author
Kylie Lee Baker is an American writer who has declared that “her writing is informed by her heritage (Japanese, Chinese, and Irish)”. What she wrote in the author’s note really gripped and impressed me for it’s honest, daring critique of America.
“Do not let your empathy stop at the borders of your own community”
This was beautiful to read and has stuck with me. She not only wrote about her community (Asian experience) but the experiences of all BIPOC individuals and their systemic struggle in America. I admire any author who tackles real social issues but more so, almost, when it’s done in an unexpected or magical realism/fantasy fashion. The reason for this is because I would like to be an author in this vein, too. To take a topic or theme that is heavy and almost warp it, twist it, change it’s shape. Make it a metaphor or a mythical being or a symbol or, as Baker does, a horror.
I am now very interesting to read her backlog and future works.
Book review of Bat Eater by Kylie Lee Baker
Bat Eater had one of the best first chapters I’ve read in a while (barring Project Hail Mary which was just perfect all the way through). It was gentle, eerie, set you up to feel a heightened awareness of everything and the characters and then something devastating happens which sets off the plot.
Partway through, I think I got intimidated or grossed out or tired in general, but I slowed down. I really don’t think it had anything to do with the book itself, as I’ve struggled to read or do anything lately. I also think it’s the kind of book that shouldn’t be read in bed at night! Not just because it’s unsettling! It’s a narrative that needs your full attention to appreciate.
The powerful nature of the book was in how it balanced its storytelling, characters, themes, horror, and tonal shifts. Firstly, the cast of characters were actually quite funny, wholesome and vulnerable. We see into each of their backstory a little and it’s hinted at a similar trauma shared between the misfit group of crime scene cleaners. Not to mention that they are all Chinese but demonstrate different experiences and beliefs. This is important in itself because a lot of people assume all people of the same culture or ethnic background will have the same lived experience. Not at all! Baker also explores the shame and confusion that can come along with not knowing your own language or culture like others around you.
Secondly, the horror, themes and tone. The horror was never heavy-handed, forced or cliché. It was subtle, linked always to the MC, and meaningful. Everything that happened served a purpose. I adored the cultural education I was receiving (naturally, not preachy) and the way I was made to always feel unsettled. I remember reading it while stretching and my hand went near the underside of the sofa and I immediately gasped and drew it back, afraid of what may be lurking underneath!
God-tier storytelling is about leading the reader along a journey with a character. Cora was actually a very flat character for me, while the sub characters had more personality. I think this was purposeful. Baker wanted us to see Cora as an empty vessel almost. A vehicle. I can see that perhaps she was meant to symbolise how little some people empathise with people like Cora. The narrative showed us how little other Americans cared about Cora and Chinese and other Asian groups in general. Perhaps Baker was making a point with this flat character that we don’t connect with her, we don’t see her as human, just someone to look at and make into whoever we want them to be.
If so, bravo!
MILD SPOILERS AHEAD
What this book explores:
- Death and grief
- Siblings
- Family
- Chinese culture
- Tradition and denying one’s culture, religion, or traditions
- Ghosts
- How we honour the dead
- Racism – especially towards Chinese people during COVID as they were blamed for the virus
- Fetishization of Asian women
- The disregard for the life and deaths of Asian people during this time
- Stereotypes and prejudice
- Mental illness
- Health anxiety
All of this was so expertly handled. It was interwoven in the horror to emotive effect. Nothing happened for shock value or gore for gore’s sake, in my opinion. Instead, it was very purposeful and profound. One scene that will stay with me forever is *warning, this is gross* when a man spits in her face and the warm spit is described in detail.
Of course, trigger warnings for anyone upset or hurt by overt racism, death, gruesome murder, sexual violence and hate crimes.
The story was visceral. Confronting. Accessible. Important. It held on and didn’t let go. Well-paced, humorous, gory, scary, emotional, devastating. If you want to (which we all should) learn more about the Asian-American and Chinese experience amidst the pandemic of 2020 onwards, you need to read this book.
If you consider yourself as someone who doesn’t get along with horror or have never seen yourself enjoying the genre, I do encourage you to have a rethink. I’ve learned that horror is a vast genre with many subgenres and niches. Social issues are often handled very well in this category too, as I said above. For this reason, we all need to try engaging with it.
Highly recommend this book, but be ready for it!
Sincerely,
S. xx
S. R. Crawford 