

"a fresh and inventive gem."- Publishers Weekly "Gorgeously written and mind-bending, How To Be Eaten is fiction as a magic trick: by redrawing these archetypal characters with modern, vivid, and gothic specificity, Adelmann reminds us that, be it enchanting or devastating, our myths remain." Steve Almond, author of Bad Stories and All the Secrets of the World If you've ever hate-watched a reality TV show, or struggled with the blithe misogyny of a fairytale, this is the book for you." Her wit is an exquisite instrument, one she uses to shred the myths by which capitalism and patriarchy exploit and commodify the female quest for love and selfhood. "Maria Adelmann's debut novel is jagged and daring and darkly funny. Funny, violent, cutting, and insightful, How to Be Eaten made me want to join this unlikely group of confidants and start confessing my own secrets, just to keep the conversation going."- Gwen E. From Bluebeard to The Bachelor, Adelmann spins 'familiar' tales together into gold. "Maria Adelman does more than reinvent the fairytale, she brings it into the twenty-first century, frankenbites and all. A deft exploration of trauma, authorship, the power of storytelling, and the healing potential of connection, How To Be Eaten will stun readers page after page, offering an unforgettable, empowering, and above all entertaining tale of reclamation and transformation."- Christie Tate, New York Times bestselling author of Group "In this wildly imaginative and trenchant novel, female characters from mythic fairytales emerge as modern-day heroes capable of reclaiming their lives from the trauma of their past. What really brought them here? What secrets will they reveal? And is it too late for them to rescue each other?ĭark, edgy, and wickedly funny, this debut for readers of Carmen Maria Machado, Kristen Arnett, and Kelly Link takes our coziest, most beloved childhood stories, exposes them as anti-feminist nightmares, and transforms them into a new kind of myth for grown-up women. Though the women start out wary of one another, judging each other's stories, gradually they begin to realize that they may have more in common than they supposed. And Raina's love story will shock them all. Ashlee, the winner of a Bachelor-esque dating show, wonders if she really got her promised fairy tale ending. Gretel questions her memory of being held captive in a house made of candy.

Ruby, once devoured by a wolf, now wears him as a coat.


Bernice grapples with the fallout of dating a psychopathic, blue-bearded billionaire. In present-day New York City, five women meet in a basement support group to process their traumas. This darkly funny and provocative novel reimagines classic fairy tale characters as modern women in a support group for trauma. Named a Best Book of May by TIME Magazine & Glamour
