What do you think?
Rate this book
An Endless Hunger
New York City’s oldest resident hasn't aged a day. Beneath his youthful facade lurks an ancient menace. Experience the nightmare of eternal damnation through the depraved psyche of a nameless villain. Lose yourself in this antihero's shattered mind as he drifts between past and present, dreams and reality.
In the tradition of Gothic vampire horror, An Endless Hunger is a poetic and harrowing journey told in a daringly provocative voice—that of the monster.
In the tradition of Gothic vampire horror, An Endless Hunger is a poetic and harrowing journey told in a daringly provocative voice—that of the monster.
- GenresHorror
65 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 13, 2012
1 person is currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Narcisse Navarre
8 books44 followersGreetings! I'm a Cuban-born artist and writer who believes in magic and impossible things. I love all things literary and I moonlight as an antiquarian book dealer. My inspiration comes from travel and nature. I garden when I can. I live in the woods with my husband and my cat, Sugarloaf.
I write from the heart.
My latest novel, The Unseen Hand has just been published. Give a read :D
I write from the heart.
My latest novel, The Unseen Hand has just been published. Give a read :D
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 23, 2012
I first read Narcisse Navarre’s An Endless Hunger in May when I was caught underneath a threshold of depression. Reading my bewilderment of reality into his searing hunger for living, Navarre’s vampire spoke back into me. And, deeply.
I could say that I did not expect that to happen, but I would be doing a disservice to my awareness of the quality of Navarre’s writing. We had shared many a poetic exchange through Twitter, always after I had been exalted by her way with words. Erotic and visually drawing, Navarre left linguistic imprints upon me on nights where I was up late working on academic scholarship. All too often, there we both were: writing ourselves into the night.
It made sense to me that An Endless Hunger would leave a similar indelibility. My surprise was only in how strong this textual memory ended up becoming.
Months passed by since my reading in May. Work and personal circumstances took me far astray from exaltation. Nonetheless, I kept realizing that the only vampire I had cared to read was, none-too-frequently, with me—in the faces I saw in social media, yearning for another voice and another void. Some nights, on my long drive home from school, he would speak directly to me though he was nowhere near my sight.
Or was he?
Navarre’s cold-blooded killer is as human as any of us. He salivates for warmth. The significant pull of An Endless Hunger is in association. Navarre doesn’t just get inside the mind of a man driven to consumption, she grips her readers in their insatiable greed for human contact.
This is why I could not process my reaction to this text at first. This is also why it wouldn’t shake me. We, An Endless Hunger and I, were inseparable because of my hunger was very alive inside me. The narrator says, “I passionately envied those who blinded me and made my eyes bleed like fountains. In those rare moments I recoiled back into my grotto sick with envy, yet burning inside, as if stung by a million morning suns.” I, too, have recoiled. Many times over.
Navarre’s writing finds in me my own absence—she writes the way my pain sees the world. On winter hiatus from work, I was ready to look into An Endless Hunger again, needing the validation that reliving that exaltation of desire and madness, ache and a quenching could only give.
For me, this story is about man at his basest. Base in the sense of our most terrific need to consume. Where we are so ready to accumulate possessions and people, we fall victim to the part of ourselves we cannot acquire. Whatever this may be may very well be unique to every individual; reading this text promises that we alone can name our need. Navarre’s vampire lives himself through his drive to self-satisfy. He is frightening, yes. Yet he is also devastatingly relatable.
Navarre once told me that it takes a lot for her to write this character into being. She said, “He is so hungry.” I didn’t ask then, but want to now: aren’t we all?
But asking this is actually quite unnecessary. To take one read-through of An Endless Hunger is to know immediately that Navarre’s talent as a writer comes down to a naming. Navarre sees; stigma, flaw, and selfishness are not hidden underneath her prose, but made as much a part of the story as they are ourselves. Navarre knows that it is our fear of seeing that we need unveiled. She recognizes these indiscretions are the fashions we wear when we try so hard not to be what we are undressed and vulnerable.
Why a vampire buries himself in the earth at day to sleep; why he encases women in porcelain just to eternally objectify the loss of beauty in his glance; and why consummation will always confuse itself with consumption, the heart of An Endless Hunger is not a draining. The death of our sins, we learn, is an admission of their capacity for revival. In Navarre’s words, “Gazing into those mirrors reflected a perfect lie.” Every time I read this, I will ask of myself whether it is sin we should shun, or society’s refusal to let us have our need.
I could say that I did not expect that to happen, but I would be doing a disservice to my awareness of the quality of Navarre’s writing. We had shared many a poetic exchange through Twitter, always after I had been exalted by her way with words. Erotic and visually drawing, Navarre left linguistic imprints upon me on nights where I was up late working on academic scholarship. All too often, there we both were: writing ourselves into the night.
It made sense to me that An Endless Hunger would leave a similar indelibility. My surprise was only in how strong this textual memory ended up becoming.
Months passed by since my reading in May. Work and personal circumstances took me far astray from exaltation. Nonetheless, I kept realizing that the only vampire I had cared to read was, none-too-frequently, with me—in the faces I saw in social media, yearning for another voice and another void. Some nights, on my long drive home from school, he would speak directly to me though he was nowhere near my sight.
Or was he?
Navarre’s cold-blooded killer is as human as any of us. He salivates for warmth. The significant pull of An Endless Hunger is in association. Navarre doesn’t just get inside the mind of a man driven to consumption, she grips her readers in their insatiable greed for human contact.
This is why I could not process my reaction to this text at first. This is also why it wouldn’t shake me. We, An Endless Hunger and I, were inseparable because of my hunger was very alive inside me. The narrator says, “I passionately envied those who blinded me and made my eyes bleed like fountains. In those rare moments I recoiled back into my grotto sick with envy, yet burning inside, as if stung by a million morning suns.” I, too, have recoiled. Many times over.
Navarre’s writing finds in me my own absence—she writes the way my pain sees the world. On winter hiatus from work, I was ready to look into An Endless Hunger again, needing the validation that reliving that exaltation of desire and madness, ache and a quenching could only give.
For me, this story is about man at his basest. Base in the sense of our most terrific need to consume. Where we are so ready to accumulate possessions and people, we fall victim to the part of ourselves we cannot acquire. Whatever this may be may very well be unique to every individual; reading this text promises that we alone can name our need. Navarre’s vampire lives himself through his drive to self-satisfy. He is frightening, yes. Yet he is also devastatingly relatable.
Navarre once told me that it takes a lot for her to write this character into being. She said, “He is so hungry.” I didn’t ask then, but want to now: aren’t we all?
But asking this is actually quite unnecessary. To take one read-through of An Endless Hunger is to know immediately that Navarre’s talent as a writer comes down to a naming. Navarre sees; stigma, flaw, and selfishness are not hidden underneath her prose, but made as much a part of the story as they are ourselves. Navarre knows that it is our fear of seeing that we need unveiled. She recognizes these indiscretions are the fashions we wear when we try so hard not to be what we are undressed and vulnerable.
Why a vampire buries himself in the earth at day to sleep; why he encases women in porcelain just to eternally objectify the loss of beauty in his glance; and why consummation will always confuse itself with consumption, the heart of An Endless Hunger is not a draining. The death of our sins, we learn, is an admission of their capacity for revival. In Navarre’s words, “Gazing into those mirrors reflected a perfect lie.” Every time I read this, I will ask of myself whether it is sin we should shun, or society’s refusal to let us have our need.
April 25, 2012
If you're a fan of Francis Ford Coppola's movie rendition of Bram Stoker's Dracula then An Endless Hunger will be very appealing to you. Told in first person narrative, this story paints a picture of vivid imagery coupled with heavy metaphor.
The story unfolds quite literally through the eyes, ears, and other senses of the main undead antagonist. While first person POV isn't uncommon, it is rare to find a story that delves so deep into it. Normally one feels like they're sitting right behind the main character's eyes. Here, you are this character. Nestled deep within their cerebral cortex, you are forced to experience every bit of anguish, confusion, and despair that he does. Fans of Anne Rice and other similar brooding vampires will most certainly enjoy the tour de force through the unsettled mind of this undead creature.
I will caution that the wonder of this book might also be its potential downfall for some readers. This is not a typical `beginning - primary conflict - ending' type book. Those seeking such a novel may wish to look elsewhere. Navarre doesn't paint everything with a crystal clear brush, preferring instead (at least in my opinion) to let the reader draw their own conclusions regarding many of the events. In truth, I feel this is one of those stories which you may have to read through more than once to get a sense of things. Having gone through it twice now myself, I also find this is one of those works where you'll find something new in each read through. However, this is all more than doable, because for all of its intensity, An Endless Hunger is a short read, clocking in at less than 50 pages.
The only critiques I would offer are that I would have loved to have seen a longer story here. The few flashbacks that are offered give a glimpse of the protagonist's long life, and I wouldn't have balked at seeing these fleshed out a bit more. Additionally, the action can be confusing at time. Delving into the character's depths of despair via first person entails experiencing it firsthand, which can be off-putting as events and details begin running together in a cacophony of madness.
An Endless Hunter is a fast, intense read, with strong characterizations and an interesting take on a soul that's convinced of its own damnation.
The story unfolds quite literally through the eyes, ears, and other senses of the main undead antagonist. While first person POV isn't uncommon, it is rare to find a story that delves so deep into it. Normally one feels like they're sitting right behind the main character's eyes. Here, you are this character. Nestled deep within their cerebral cortex, you are forced to experience every bit of anguish, confusion, and despair that he does. Fans of Anne Rice and other similar brooding vampires will most certainly enjoy the tour de force through the unsettled mind of this undead creature.
I will caution that the wonder of this book might also be its potential downfall for some readers. This is not a typical `beginning - primary conflict - ending' type book. Those seeking such a novel may wish to look elsewhere. Navarre doesn't paint everything with a crystal clear brush, preferring instead (at least in my opinion) to let the reader draw their own conclusions regarding many of the events. In truth, I feel this is one of those stories which you may have to read through more than once to get a sense of things. Having gone through it twice now myself, I also find this is one of those works where you'll find something new in each read through. However, this is all more than doable, because for all of its intensity, An Endless Hunger is a short read, clocking in at less than 50 pages.
The only critiques I would offer are that I would have loved to have seen a longer story here. The few flashbacks that are offered give a glimpse of the protagonist's long life, and I wouldn't have balked at seeing these fleshed out a bit more. Additionally, the action can be confusing at time. Delving into the character's depths of despair via first person entails experiencing it firsthand, which can be off-putting as events and details begin running together in a cacophony of madness.
An Endless Hunter is a fast, intense read, with strong characterizations and an interesting take on a soul that's convinced of its own damnation.
Read
April 22, 2012There is a mystique and attraction about vampires. The seduction, the horror, the "not fitting in," the physical look, the violence, the tenderness, the romance and many more traits well covered in the many books and films on the beings. In "An Endless Hunger," Narcisse Navarre allows us to see the agony and torment that only such an eternal creature can experience. She takes us into the very psyche of the vampire and we understand that even with all of his supernatural power, his very own existence is often out of his control. We feel his hopelessness and despair as he desperately tries to hold on to some sort of humanity.
Not your usual vampire tale but one that will cause you to better understand these creatures of the night. An excellent read for the vampire fan. A must read for the vampire aficionado.
Not your usual vampire tale but one that will cause you to better understand these creatures of the night. An excellent read for the vampire fan. A must read for the vampire aficionado.
August 21, 2016
This was a hard book for me to read, because I dropped my tablet the other day and had to read the majority of the book on my 4 inch phone. Despite the eye strain, though, this book was simply incredible. Author Navarre has a smooth, rich writing style that's infused with poetry and elegance. Imagine, then, to take this kind of rich narrative and allow it to embrace the mind of an immortal killer, one who is, it seems, going insane. Or maybe he's already there; it's hard to tell, as there are a series of flashbacks that add to a very surreal element to this tale.
The story is told from the first person narrative of a vampire in New York City, and his internal thoughts, actions, and past memories are told in a voice both melodic and bloody.
I really, truly enjoyed this story. I wished it were longer.
The story is told from the first person narrative of a vampire in New York City, and his internal thoughts, actions, and past memories are told in a voice both melodic and bloody.
I really, truly enjoyed this story. I wished it were longer.
May 7, 2012
A truly delicious read, a vampire who is in the genre of a real vampyre of legend. The only real complaint was the story didn't go long enough, I could have read ten more just as long in total enjoyment. Narcisse Navarre could so easily turn this into a series, I hope she does.
The greatest element is the combination of the hungry little devil's with his guilt and humanity that still remains under the surface. His 'gold' sanctuary that haunts him with all the suffering of his life in death.
The surprise ending was truly great to see as another twist of the twisted soul that harbored in this being so evil, he had to be human to some extent. Bravo!!!
The greatest element is the combination of the hungry little devil's with his guilt and humanity that still remains under the surface. His 'gold' sanctuary that haunts him with all the suffering of his life in death.
The surprise ending was truly great to see as another twist of the twisted soul that harbored in this being so evil, he had to be human to some extent. Bravo!!!
September 13, 2012
What do I think? I am not a man of words, but this book has an awesome writing. The story is great too. May be it's just me or that I happen to live in NYC I feel like I am in the book, and I am walking in Central Park looking for ... victims. What more can one expect from a book?
Read
February 3, 2022This books is as trashy as the author. Homewrecking slut.
April 23, 2017
Not much happens.
Even though this is priced the same as longer books this is just a short story. At around 53 or so pages its still quite padded. The author uses beautiful dark gothic prose on page after page of endless descriptions. After around 15 or so pages it all just became dreadfully boring.
I would love to read a real book by this author. This short proves that she can write, and write well, but it doesn't show whether or not she can tell actual story.
Even though this is priced the same as longer books this is just a short story. At around 53 or so pages its still quite padded. The author uses beautiful dark gothic prose on page after page of endless descriptions. After around 15 or so pages it all just became dreadfully boring.
I would love to read a real book by this author. This short proves that she can write, and write well, but it doesn't show whether or not she can tell actual story.
October 31, 2016
Well written by a brilliant mind! Sexy, dark and forbidden words await you.
This book is dark and pulls you into an inescapable embrace from which you'll not wish to abandon. Follow in the mind of a blood thirsty beast of a man and learn his twisted, tormented secrets. Blood and tears. Thirst. A hunger that turns man to animal even though his heart yearns for love.
This book is dark and pulls you into an inescapable embrace from which you'll not wish to abandon. Follow in the mind of a blood thirsty beast of a man and learn his twisted, tormented secrets. Blood and tears. Thirst. A hunger that turns man to animal even though his heart yearns for love.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews