Claire Kohda

An IndieNext Pick! A Best Book of 2022 in Harper’s Bazaar, Daily Mail, Glamour, and Thrillist! Most Anticipated of 2022 in The Millions, Ms. Magazine, LitHub A young, mixed-race vampire must find a way to balance her deep-seated desire to live amongst humans with her incessant hunger in this stunning debut novel from a writer-to-watch. Lydia is hungry. She's always wanted to try Japanese food. Sashimi, ramen, onigiri with sour plum stuffed inside - the food her Japanese father liked to eat. And then there is bubble tea and iced-coffee, ice cream and cake, and foraged herbs and plants, and the vegetables grown by the other young artists at the London studio space she is secretly squatting in. But, Lydia can't eat any of these things. Her body doesn't work like those of other people. The only thing she can digest is blood, and it turns out that sourcing fresh pigs' blood in London - where she is living away from her vampire mother for the first time - is much more difficult than she'd anticipated. Then there are the humans - the other artists at the studio space, the people at the gallery she interns at, the strange men that follow her after dark, and Ben, a boyish, goofy-grinned artist she is developing feelings for. Lydia knows that they are her natural prey, but she can't bring herself to feed on them. In her windowless studio, where she paints and studies the work of other artists, binge-watches Buffy the Vampire Slayer and videos of people eating food on YouTube and Instagram, Lydia considers her place in the world. She has many of the things humans wish for - perpetual youth, near-invulnerability, immortality – but she is miserable; she is lonely; and she is hungry - always hungry. As Lydia develops as a woman and an artist, she will learn that she must reconcile the conflicts within her - between her demon and human sides, her mixed ethnic heritage, and her relationship with food, and, in turn, humans - if she is to find a way to exist in the world. Before any of this, however, she must eat. “Absolutely brilliant – tragic, funny, eccentric and so perfectly suited to this particularly weird time. Claire Kohda takes the vampire trope and makes it her own in a way that feels fresh and original. Serious issues of race, disability, misogyny, body image, sexual abuse are handled with subtlety, insight, and a lightness of touch. The spell this novel casts is so complete I feel utterly, and happily, bitten.” -- Ruth Ozeki, Booker-shortlisted author of  A Tale for the Time Being

A young, mixed-race vampire must find a way to balance her deep-seated desire to live amongst humans with her incessant hunger in this stunning debut novel from a writer-to-watch. Lydia is hungry. She's always wanted to try Japanese food. Sashimi, ramen, onigiri with sour plum stuffed inside - the food her Japanese father liked to eat. And then there is bubble tea and iced-coffee, ice cream and cake, and foraged herbs and plants, and the vegetables grown by the other young artists at the London studio space she is secretly squatting in. But, Lydia can't eat any of these things. Her body doesn't work like those of other people. The only thing she can digest is blood, and it turns out that sourcing fresh pigs' blood in London--where she is living away from her vampire mother for the first time - is much more difficult than she'd anticipated. Then there are the humans--the other artists at the studio space, the people at the gallery she interns at, the strange men that follow her after dark, and Ben, a boyish, goofy-grinned artist she is developing feelings for. Lydia knows that they are her natural prey, but she can't bring herself to feed on them. In her windowless studio, where she paints and studies the work of other artists, binge-watches Buffy the Vampire Slayer and videos of people eating food on YouTube and Instagram, Lydia considers her place in the world. She has many of the things humans wish for--perpetual youth, near-invulnerability, immortality--but, she is miserable; she is lonely; and she is hungry--always hungry. As Lydia develops as a woman and an artist, she will learn that she must reconcile the conflicts within her--between her demon and human sides, her mixed ethnic heritage, and her relationship with food, and, in turn, humans if she is to find a way to exist in the world. Before any of this, however, she must eat.

« Non sono sicura se quella che sento è più fame o rabbia . » “ Quello che Stoker ha fatto per i vampiri nel XIX secolo, Kohda lo fa nella nostra era. ” – TLS “ Abbiamo visto tanti tipi di vampiri nella letteratura, ma mai nessuno come quella di Claire Kohda .” – New York Times “ Il romanzo di vampiri più insolito, originale e incredibilmente contemporaneo che sia uscito negli ultimi anni. ” – The Guardian “ Assolutamente tragico, divertente, eccentrico e così perfettamente adatto a questi nostri tempi particolarmente strani. Claire Kohda prende la metafora del vampiro e la fa sua in modo fresco e originale. ”– Ruth Ozeki Lydia è affamata. Ha ventitré anni da molto tempo e ha sempre voluto provare sashimi, ramen, onigiri con umeboshi… tutto quello che suo padre amava mangiare. E poi ancora gelati, torte e gli ortaggi che vengono coltivati dagli altri artisti come lei, nel complesso di loft in cui dovrebbe solo lavorare, ma in cui segretamente vive. Eppure, Lydia non può mangiare nessuna di queste cose. Il suo corpo non funziona come quello degli altri. L’unica cosa che riesce a digerire è il sangue... Purtroppo procurarsi sangue fresco di maiale a Londra – dove si è trasferita da quando si è separata dalla madre, vampira anche lei – sembra più difficile di quello che credeva. Adesso ha intorno molti più umani del i colleghi della galleria d’arte dove lavora, lo strano uomo che la segue quando scende la notte, e poi Ben, un ragazzo dall’aspetto fanciullesco e con un sorriso un po’ goffo ma adorabile. Lydia sa che tutte queste persone sono le sue prede naturali, ma non sa convincersi a nutrirsi di loro, e così passa le nottate a fare binge watching di Buffy The Vampire Slayer e video di ragazze che mangiano su YouTube, e a riflettere sul suo vero posto nel mondo. Perché Lydia ha dei doni che tutti gioventù eterna, invulnerabilità, immortalità, e tuttavia si sente infelice, sola e soprattutto ha molta, molta fame. Deve trovare un senso alla sua esistenza. Ma in ogni caso, prima di tutto, deve mangiare… Claire Kohda ha scritto un debutto strabiliante, subito diventato un romanzo di culto per la critica e i librai indipendenti. La storia di una ragazza che è una vampira ma anche una ragazza come tante, un’outsider in lotta per l’affermazione di sé, l’accettazione del suo desiderio, del suo corpo e del suo rapporto conflittuale con il cibo.