A Carnivore's Inquiry (Book Review)

I am a wide reader, but I never had the chance to read any work of Sabina Murray, winner of the 2003 PEN/Faulkner Award before I came across this book. The title was catchy: A Carnivore’s Inquiry. Hmmm, it was very intriguing. Plus critics claiming she created an entirely new genre called ironic gothic made me more curious to what the content of this book was.


As I turned the pages I could now say that the characters were very offbeat, queer, funny and in a class of their own. The twenty-three year old European heroine, Katherine, was very charming, but poignant and disturbing at the same time. As Katherine narrates her life one would think that her being unbelievable was a flaw of Murray, but that was how she wanted Katherine to be...at first. Her 
peculiar appetite for the flesh is quite eerie. 

The book as a whole is quite astonishing, but very entertaining. Some parts were nail-biting experiences, but some were quite unnecessary. I also cannot say that I was given satisfactory answers to all the questions she asked. I was even disappointed that the ending was quite predictable. Still, I would rather you find out for yourselves. It is, after all, an immigrant’s view of attaining her American Dream.

--Lara Mia Veronica