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We Come Here to Starve
In the Midnight Café, everyone is starving for something.
The animals who find this place have nowhere else to go. They cannot find their place in society, in their relationships, or even before God. This decrepit café has become a refuge. A place to hide from a world that has no place for them.
The Fly, the café’s quiet owner, serves every animal that wanders into his café. He listens as they each search for belonging, only to arrive at the same painful survival and true belonging cannot coexist.
Come, sit. The Fly has been waiting for you.
We Come Here to Starve is a hand-illustrated philosophical graphic novel about the tension between survival and belonging. A beautiful yet haunting allegory about the collapse of sanctuary, the moral compromises survival demands, and the dangerous hunger to be loved without having to change.
PLEASE
This book explores themes of self-destruction, trauma, and faith. It includes discussions of suicide, abuse, and strong language. If those subjects may be triggering or upsetting for you, please reconsider whether this book is the right fit.
If you’d like to read Paige Parker’s work but prefer gentler themes, consider her hand-illustrated book Observations on the Human Condition. A poetic, thought-provoking read that many find beautiful without being intense.
The animals who find this place have nowhere else to go. They cannot find their place in society, in their relationships, or even before God. This decrepit café has become a refuge. A place to hide from a world that has no place for them.
The Fly, the café’s quiet owner, serves every animal that wanders into his café. He listens as they each search for belonging, only to arrive at the same painful survival and true belonging cannot coexist.
Come, sit. The Fly has been waiting for you.
We Come Here to Starve is a hand-illustrated philosophical graphic novel about the tension between survival and belonging. A beautiful yet haunting allegory about the collapse of sanctuary, the moral compromises survival demands, and the dangerous hunger to be loved without having to change.
PLEASE
This book explores themes of self-destruction, trauma, and faith. It includes discussions of suicide, abuse, and strong language. If those subjects may be triggering or upsetting for you, please reconsider whether this book is the right fit.
If you’d like to read Paige Parker’s work but prefer gentler themes, consider her hand-illustrated book Observations on the Human Condition. A poetic, thought-provoking read that many find beautiful without being intense.
270 pages, Paperback
Published October 22, 2025
10 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 28, 2025
i'll have to reread this again to let it truly sink in. from the characters, to the dialogue and writing over to the art. insaneeeeely good, huge huge recommendation <3 also the note from the author just proving what a kind soul they are makes everything ten times better.
November 28, 2025
Read this in one sitting, and will likely read it again & again & again & again & again. The art style, the philosophy, the characters… absolute perfection.
December 26, 2025
We came here to starve because we can not survive while hunting something that does not exist
December 13, 2025
Deeply moving
This book is one of the most deep thinking, dark, profound, and beautiful windows onto human struggle, suffering, and commonality that I have had the gift of reading. I read it in one sitting because every page had something raw and hypnotising to offer. The artwork is beautiful in its deliberate simplicity, which illustrates and holds up the profundity of what is being said without needlessly detracting any focus. This book is something truly special, and I would encourage anyone who has an interest in human nature, psychology, or philosophy to discover it's worth for themselves. This book is an easy read that is by no means easy 'to' read, and nor should it ever be or humanity will have lost something vital and irreplaceable.
This book is one of the most deep thinking, dark, profound, and beautiful windows onto human struggle, suffering, and commonality that I have had the gift of reading. I read it in one sitting because every page had something raw and hypnotising to offer. The artwork is beautiful in its deliberate simplicity, which illustrates and holds up the profundity of what is being said without needlessly detracting any focus. This book is something truly special, and I would encourage anyone who has an interest in human nature, psychology, or philosophy to discover it's worth for themselves. This book is an easy read that is by no means easy 'to' read, and nor should it ever be or humanity will have lost something vital and irreplaceable.
December 14, 2025
Each character brings a different moral paradox that makes you want to reach it again and again, just to catch every single shade and hidden meaning. It's a beautiful book, comforting in a way
December 11, 2025
This book is philosophical art and nothing less. Every page held a feeling and a moral paradox that leaves your heart in your throat. In this book you find what it means to be understood, and that there is no true understanding. Would definitely recommend it’s a very easy read, but very emotionally deep.
December 31, 2025
“the pain is not proof you are broken, it is proof you are human”
my god did i love this book.
∞/5
everyone should read this at least once.
my god did i love this book.
∞/5
everyone should read this at least once.
January 13, 2026
I felt an overwhelming kinship with the Fox.
January 14, 2026
Read this in one sitting and will definitely will be reading again.
January 16, 2026
A short read with beautiful hand-drawn illustrations and characters that I found small bits of comforting familiarity in. The authors note at the end was a nice wrap-up to the story.
January 2, 2026
Dark and beautiful, a quick read that pulls at the threads of belonging and purpose.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews