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Small Bites
Hammie is a mother who has lost her hunger, and her belief that she is, in fact, totally fine. Until the day she locks herself in the storeroom with a large spider and learns to recapture what she lost; beginning by breaking down everything that now occupies her space, and feeling her appetite return.
Hardcover
Published November 11, 2026
About the author
Eliane Boey
10 books33 followersEliane Boey (she/her) is the author of "Club Contango", a speculative mystery novel, and stories in Clarkesworld, the Penn Review, Galaxy, Weird Horror, and others. She is based in Singapore, and has an MLitt in Philosophy from the University of St Andrews. Find her on Instagram @author.eliane, Bluesky @elianeboey.bsky.social, or via her newsletter https://thoughthing.beehiiv.com/
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
Review originally on JamReads
Small Bites is a really brilliant novella, but I'm not sure I will be able to do it justice with just words; a domestic horror without villains, that slowly dissects the causes behind the situation in parallel with its main character, paired with an amazing prose that elevates the reading experience.
At its core, what we have it's a novella built around Hammie, a mother that has lost the appetite and herself, rediscovering them through the company of a spider in her cupboard; a slow dissection of the causes, those moments where she slowly abandons herself in order to give to the others, dismissing herself. A marvelously complex character who has lost her identity, in parallel with the increased pressure coming from other sources as motherhood, career, or marriage; we see how she loses that appetite in parallel to how she stops being Hammie to become the mother, the wife. Boey manages to pack much commentary on all of those topics through incisive and even darkly humorous prose.
Another aspect to highlight is the role that food plays in this novella, and how Boey's prose creates vivid descriptions of it, almost too vivid at moments, playing into the horror elements of the novella. That, paired with how visceral and raw much of the novella feels, makes an excellent combination, creating a memorable piece.
Small Bites is a novella you need to experience by yourself because I can assure you it won't leave you indifferent; if you are looking for an impactful piece that you can devour in one sit, I strongly recommend picking Small Bites.
Small Bites is a really brilliant novella, but I'm not sure I will be able to do it justice with just words; a domestic horror without villains, that slowly dissects the causes behind the situation in parallel with its main character, paired with an amazing prose that elevates the reading experience.
At its core, what we have it's a novella built around Hammie, a mother that has lost the appetite and herself, rediscovering them through the company of a spider in her cupboard; a slow dissection of the causes, those moments where she slowly abandons herself in order to give to the others, dismissing herself. A marvelously complex character who has lost her identity, in parallel with the increased pressure coming from other sources as motherhood, career, or marriage; we see how she loses that appetite in parallel to how she stops being Hammie to become the mother, the wife. Boey manages to pack much commentary on all of those topics through incisive and even darkly humorous prose.
Another aspect to highlight is the role that food plays in this novella, and how Boey's prose creates vivid descriptions of it, almost too vivid at moments, playing into the horror elements of the novella. That, paired with how visceral and raw much of the novella feels, makes an excellent combination, creating a memorable piece.
Small Bites is a novella you need to experience by yourself because I can assure you it won't leave you indifferent; if you are looking for an impactful piece that you can devour in one sit, I strongly recommend picking Small Bites.
August 5, 2026
This is deliciously weird! I couldn't stop reading it. Eliane's prose (which I knew from other works) always attracted me, but she managed to do something else here that completely mesmerized me. I kept feeling Hammie's agony. There's so many layers in Hammie, her traits, her relationships with the people around her, and how she goes through life. And the subtle/not-subtle transformations happening at every page. Really, this novella is SOMETHING. I'm very happy that I got to read it and will remember it for a long while.
Disclaimer: I received an eARC copy of the ebook.
Disclaimer: I received an eARC copy of the ebook.
Review of advance copy received from Author
“I can tell by her return to short, barely formed sentences that she’s lost interest in me again. Of course, I wouldn’t be able to arrest the interest of even a spider for long.”
Absolutely loved this weird horror novella about Hammie, a mother who has lost herself and her appetite rediscovering both with the assistance of the spider who lives in her cupboard. Complex, grounded horror, with incisive, sometimes darkly humorous or quietly devastating observations about motherhood, relationships, career, compromise, identity and self-erasure (“I was determined to… perform enjoyment for the minimum amount of time before leaving”). Glorious descriptions of food that are by turns viscerally real, transcendent and horrifying (and sometimes all three). I was cheering for Hammie all the way, regardless of what her true appetites may consist of.
*I received a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review
Absolutely loved this weird horror novella about Hammie, a mother who has lost herself and her appetite rediscovering both with the assistance of the spider who lives in her cupboard. Complex, grounded horror, with incisive, sometimes darkly humorous or quietly devastating observations about motherhood, relationships, career, compromise, identity and self-erasure (“I was determined to… perform enjoyment for the minimum amount of time before leaving”). Glorious descriptions of food that are by turns viscerally real, transcendent and horrifying (and sometimes all three). I was cheering for Hammie all the way, regardless of what her true appetites may consist of.
*I received a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review
Review of advance copy received from Author
I devoured this book (ha! you see what I did there?) in one sitting. I spent half the time screaming internally while witnessing Hammie's life and begging my girl to just grab her kids and *leave*, and the other chuckling to myself at the razor-sharp prose. This book is relatable, infuriating, and funny, and satisfied my craving for weird fiction (so many eating puns). I might even go and call it weird, feminist fiction (because it *is* weird and it *is* feminist in its messaging.)
I'm going to be shoving this book into everyone's hands come November... maybe as an engagement or baby shower present. ;)
I'm going to be shoving this book into everyone's hands come November... maybe as an engagement or baby shower present. ;)
Review of advance copy received from Author
Small Bites is an incredible ride, sarcastic and wistful and gross and engrossing. Lots of Weird body horror, too! A woman tries to find her hunger again while grappling with her roles as wife, mother, writer, and everything else as she searches for a room of her own. The only place she finds her needed solitude is the storage room, which happens to be occupied by a very instructive spider.
November 2, 2026
The prose is haunting and disturbing in a way I couldn’t quite put my finger on. This book feels like an existential crisis about motherhood and being a wife when both of those things make you smaller and smaller until you don’t know anything about yourself anymore. It was creepy and weird and sad and beautiful and my only frustration was that Kang didn’t in fact die. He deserved to be eaten.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 24, 2026
Small Bites packs layers of observation, reflection and perspective into a perfect novella, with each chapter given a title reflective of what Hammie, the female main character is going through.
Hammie is a mother, a wife, a daughter, a friend and somewhere in all that she has lost herself. One day in search of some solitude she locks herself in the family kitchen storeroom/larder and meets a large spider, who in essence helps her understand herself again.
WHAT A NOVELLA!
For me, as a (new-ish) parent, as a newly married woman I resonated with this novella WAY more than I thought I would (and I am petrified of spiders). We meet Hammie, a woman devoted to her family who has lost her appetite, not just for food but seemingly for anything that fills her life with nourishment. Over the course of the story we learn about her complicated feelings about her relationships with her boys (mum's everything soup) and her role in the home and her sense of loss over who she used to be before.
This is a story worth discovering for yourself, as to say much more would be to say too much. This story is filled with snapshot observations about roles in society and in the home, how the demands and attention for our time and space fight with our desires. I went in expecting a horror story, I came out with a renewed sense of validation, appreciation and perspective - loved it!
Hammie is a mother, a wife, a daughter, a friend and somewhere in all that she has lost herself. One day in search of some solitude she locks herself in the family kitchen storeroom/larder and meets a large spider, who in essence helps her understand herself again.
WHAT A NOVELLA!
For me, as a (new-ish) parent, as a newly married woman I resonated with this novella WAY more than I thought I would (and I am petrified of spiders). We meet Hammie, a woman devoted to her family who has lost her appetite, not just for food but seemingly for anything that fills her life with nourishment. Over the course of the story we learn about her complicated feelings about her relationships with her boys (mum's everything soup) and her role in the home and her sense of loss over who she used to be before.
This is a story worth discovering for yourself, as to say much more would be to say too much. This story is filled with snapshot observations about roles in society and in the home, how the demands and attention for our time and space fight with our desires. I went in expecting a horror story, I came out with a renewed sense of validation, appreciation and perspective - loved it!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews