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The Starving Bride
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Expected 30 Mar 27Win a free print copy of this book!
19 days and 20:51:41
10 copies available
U.S. only
A provocative novel about female bodies, friendships, and self-sacrifice, by the internationally acclaimed author of
The Book of Guilt
Look at her. How serene she is in her long white dress, eyes closed like a stone copy of herself. Perhaps she lives on air…
Dumped by her boyfriend, fired from her job, estranged from her parents, Hazel Whitlock signs up for a sideshow act at the Blackpool seaside she’ll play the Starving Bride.
On display in the iconic Blackpool Tower, with a ravenous lion prowling the enclosure, Hazel must lie in silence while spectators pass judgement on her body. Time compresses and warps in this strange space, and the past returns to Hazel with full and shocking force, making her relive the defining, shameful incident of her youth.
As the days tick down and Hazel’s shrinking frame draws ever larger crowds, her old friend Gilda becomes increasingly worried for her welfare, while local councilman Frank Marsh warns that the tower could collapse at any minute. No one will listen―not even his daughter, obsessed with the bride inside.
One of New Zealand’s most celebrated novelists returns with this unsettling dissection of the appetites we hide, the ones we perform, and the price we pay to pretend.
Look at her. How serene she is in her long white dress, eyes closed like a stone copy of herself. Perhaps she lives on air…
Dumped by her boyfriend, fired from her job, estranged from her parents, Hazel Whitlock signs up for a sideshow act at the Blackpool seaside she’ll play the Starving Bride.
On display in the iconic Blackpool Tower, with a ravenous lion prowling the enclosure, Hazel must lie in silence while spectators pass judgement on her body. Time compresses and warps in this strange space, and the past returns to Hazel with full and shocking force, making her relive the defining, shameful incident of her youth.
As the days tick down and Hazel’s shrinking frame draws ever larger crowds, her old friend Gilda becomes increasingly worried for her welfare, while local councilman Frank Marsh warns that the tower could collapse at any minute. No one will listen―not even his daughter, obsessed with the bride inside.
One of New Zealand’s most celebrated novelists returns with this unsettling dissection of the appetites we hide, the ones we perform, and the price we pay to pretend.
256 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication January 14, 2027
About the author
Catherine Chidgey
21 books810 followersCatherine Chidgey is a novelist and short story writer whose work has been published to international acclaim. In a Fishbone Church won Best First Book at the New Zealand Book Awards and at the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in her region. In the UK it won the Betty Trask Award and was longlisted for the Orange Prize. Golden Deeds was Time Out’s book of the year, a Notable Book of the Year in The New York Times and a Best Book in the LA Times. She has won the Prize in Modern Letters, the Katherine Mansfield Award, the Katherine Mansfield Fellowship, the Janet Frame Fiction Prize, and the Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize for The Wish Child. Remote Sympathy was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award and the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, and was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. The Axeman's Carnival won the Acorn at the New Zealand Book Awards - the country's biggest literary prize.
Raised in Wellington, New Zealand, Chidgey was educated at Victoria University and in Berlin, where she held a DAAD scholarship for post-graduate study in German literature. She lives in Cambridge and is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Waikato.
Raised in Wellington, New Zealand, Chidgey was educated at Victoria University and in Berlin, where she held a DAAD scholarship for post-graduate study in German literature. She lives in Cambridge and is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Waikato.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
October 27, 2026
What would you do for the promise of a better life? Hazel is struggling financially when she agrees to become the Starving Bride, an attraction at Blackpool Tower where visitors pay to watch her lie in a glass casket, supposedly starving for forty days. The reward is a big payout and the chance of a happy future, but what starts as a staged spectacle soon takes a much darker turn. I found myself becoming increasingly concerned for Hazel as the story unfolded, and I really wanted things to work out for her.
Blending dystopian fiction, psychological horror and dark social satire, this was certainly a different read for me. Catherine Chidgey tackles some sensitive subjects, including eating disorders, public humiliation and the exploitation of vulnerable people. The idea of people paying to watch Hazel suffer for their entertainment was disturbing enough, but the live streaming of her ordeal made it even more uncomfortable. It really makes you think about how far people will go for money and how easily someone’s suffering can become entertainment.
The Blackpool setting was another thing I enjoyed. Behind the old-fashioned attractions and the promise of simpler times lies a much darker world. The ageing Tower is becoming unsafe, yet warnings are ignored, adding another layer to the story. There is plenty here about greed, poverty and people turning a blind eye when facing uncomfortable truths would be far easier to avoid.
I really enjoyed Catherine Chidgey’s writing. I could picture everything as I read, and the story was easy to follow. She takes an unusual idea and turns it into something that makes you think, while Hazel’s vulnerability kept me invested in what was happening to her. I found the whole situation increasingly unsettling, particularly when you consider how little control Hazel really had over what was happening to her.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It was unusual, dark and thought-provoking, with a sensitive subject at its heart. I liked that there was more to the story than first meets the eye, and I was left thinking about how easily vulnerable people can be exploited when others stand to profit from them. A different kind of read that certainly gave me plenty to think about.
Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Publishers and the author Catherine Chidgey for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Publishing date: 14th January 2027
Blending dystopian fiction, psychological horror and dark social satire, this was certainly a different read for me. Catherine Chidgey tackles some sensitive subjects, including eating disorders, public humiliation and the exploitation of vulnerable people. The idea of people paying to watch Hazel suffer for their entertainment was disturbing enough, but the live streaming of her ordeal made it even more uncomfortable. It really makes you think about how far people will go for money and how easily someone’s suffering can become entertainment.
The Blackpool setting was another thing I enjoyed. Behind the old-fashioned attractions and the promise of simpler times lies a much darker world. The ageing Tower is becoming unsafe, yet warnings are ignored, adding another layer to the story. There is plenty here about greed, poverty and people turning a blind eye when facing uncomfortable truths would be far easier to avoid.
I really enjoyed Catherine Chidgey’s writing. I could picture everything as I read, and the story was easy to follow. She takes an unusual idea and turns it into something that makes you think, while Hazel’s vulnerability kept me invested in what was happening to her. I found the whole situation increasingly unsettling, particularly when you consider how little control Hazel really had over what was happening to her.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It was unusual, dark and thought-provoking, with a sensitive subject at its heart. I liked that there was more to the story than first meets the eye, and I was left thinking about how easily vulnerable people can be exploited when others stand to profit from them. A different kind of read that certainly gave me plenty to think about.
Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Publishers and the author Catherine Chidgey for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Publishing date: 14th January 2027
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October 8, 2026The new Catherine Chidgey is astonishingly good. It’s a visceral read that my unruly body responded to in interesting and weird ways. Hazel starves herself for public display in the starving bride act. We lie in a glass coffin with her for ten hours each day. Somehow, Chidgey makes this riveting and the narrative pacing is perfection. It’s a deep and close and furious examination of expectations of the female body as it expands and shrinks. I love novels that are born of intense female rage. Chidgey has fast become one of the most interesting writers I read.
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October 9, 2026**Please take care if you are in ED recovery or sensitive to depictions of disordered eating if you are considering reading this book**
Catherine Chidgey writes excellent books, of which I have enjoyed many. This story is similarly captivating, unsettling and unique. I went in knowing the title and the synopsis, so was expecting food and disordered eating to be key themes... but wasn't expecting these to be such extensive, detailed descriptions of disordered eating. These overshadowed this book for me.
I note at the end of the book (my version was Penguin Australia audiobook) there are a number of links to resources for eating disorder organisations. I can't imagine any of the organisations would have endorsed this book. One of these organisations mentioned at the end of the book actually has recommendations for the purpose of safe and responsible media portrayals of disordered eating:
https://insideoutinstitute.org.au/api...
I acknowledge Chidgey's attempts to follow some of these guidelines in The Starving Bride, and that some of the more problematic aspects came from trying to depict the inner world of the people involved, and how consumed they become by their illness. However, I don't think it balanced out the large chunks of the book depicting things that are really harmful: specific and lengthy details about behaviours undertaken as part of an eating disorder; many mentions of changing weight, measurements, caloric intake; the influence of the central character on others and zero professional input for what is a serious, often fatal mental health issue (among other things).
I get that this is dystopian, and a commentary on how we prize thinness in society with hugely damaging consequences. I've also read what Chidgey cites as her inspiration for writing this book. My reader self and my desire to support amazing wahine (women) authors from Aotearoa is conflicting with my conscience as a MH clinician in this instance.
I look forward to what Chidgey writes next, but with this one... take care!
Catherine Chidgey writes excellent books, of which I have enjoyed many. This story is similarly captivating, unsettling and unique. I went in knowing the title and the synopsis, so was expecting food and disordered eating to be key themes... but wasn't expecting these to be such extensive, detailed descriptions of disordered eating. These overshadowed this book for me.
I note at the end of the book (my version was Penguin Australia audiobook) there are a number of links to resources for eating disorder organisations. I can't imagine any of the organisations would have endorsed this book. One of these organisations mentioned at the end of the book actually has recommendations for the purpose of safe and responsible media portrayals of disordered eating:
https://insideoutinstitute.org.au/api...
I acknowledge Chidgey's attempts to follow some of these guidelines in The Starving Bride, and that some of the more problematic aspects came from trying to depict the inner world of the people involved, and how consumed they become by their illness. However, I don't think it balanced out the large chunks of the book depicting things that are really harmful: specific and lengthy details about behaviours undertaken as part of an eating disorder; many mentions of changing weight, measurements, caloric intake; the influence of the central character on others and zero professional input for what is a serious, often fatal mental health issue (among other things).
I get that this is dystopian, and a commentary on how we prize thinness in society with hugely damaging consequences. I've also read what Chidgey cites as her inspiration for writing this book. My reader self and my desire to support amazing wahine (women) authors from Aotearoa is conflicting with my conscience as a MH clinician in this instance.
I look forward to what Chidgey writes next, but with this one... take care!
October 8, 2026
The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey was one of my favourite novels of 2026- gripping, intriguing and exhilarating so the arrival of a new novel was filled of high expectations.
The Starving Bride is certainly a unique tale- set in a non-too-distant future where climate change is reaping havoc and food shortages have resulted in riots. Hazel Whitlock is struggling with life ( an event in her teens left her scarred and rejecting the pathway expected for her) When the opportunity of a new job arises through a reunion with a teenage friend, Hazel finds herself in Blackpool. ( The Book of Guilt featured Margate- English seaside towns are a rich seam for exploration)
To generate income for the community, the council has created a nostalgic approach to tourism called A Simpler Time by resurrecting "old-fashioned' vaudeville entertainment including The Wonder Midgets; The Fattest Boy etc ; one such side show is The Starving Bride where by a young woman dressed as a bride is put in cage for forty days - she is not supposed to eat and talk to the viewing public - whilst a lion prowls the area around her. For this she is to be awarded the sum of £ 40,000.
The challenge is taken on by Hazel and the story follows her journey but not all is as it seems . The intensity of weight loss and its effects is not always easy reading . As well as exploring eating disorders and exploitation, the tale also recognises the impact from climate change as the stability of the Blackpool Tower comes under the spotlight.
This is a story that is as curious as the sideshows that are featured as we glimpse the surreal and macabre world of Hazel as she attempts to win the prize money. Personally, it did not grip as much as The Book of Guilt as the plot and main protagonist didn't totally convince - an original idea that didn't fully gel for me but still a fascinating read.
Thank you to John Murray Publishers and Netgalley for an advance copy in return for an honest review
The Starving Bride is certainly a unique tale- set in a non-too-distant future where climate change is reaping havoc and food shortages have resulted in riots. Hazel Whitlock is struggling with life ( an event in her teens left her scarred and rejecting the pathway expected for her) When the opportunity of a new job arises through a reunion with a teenage friend, Hazel finds herself in Blackpool. ( The Book of Guilt featured Margate- English seaside towns are a rich seam for exploration)
To generate income for the community, the council has created a nostalgic approach to tourism called A Simpler Time by resurrecting "old-fashioned' vaudeville entertainment including The Wonder Midgets; The Fattest Boy etc ; one such side show is The Starving Bride where by a young woman dressed as a bride is put in cage for forty days - she is not supposed to eat and talk to the viewing public - whilst a lion prowls the area around her. For this she is to be awarded the sum of £ 40,000.
The challenge is taken on by Hazel and the story follows her journey but not all is as it seems . The intensity of weight loss and its effects is not always easy reading . As well as exploring eating disorders and exploitation, the tale also recognises the impact from climate change as the stability of the Blackpool Tower comes under the spotlight.
This is a story that is as curious as the sideshows that are featured as we glimpse the surreal and macabre world of Hazel as she attempts to win the prize money. Personally, it did not grip as much as The Book of Guilt as the plot and main protagonist didn't totally convince - an original idea that didn't fully gel for me but still a fascinating read.
Thank you to John Murray Publishers and Netgalley for an advance copy in return for an honest review
October 31, 2026
A difficult book to review. The main character, Hazel is hired to be the ‘starving bride’, for 40 days displayed in a casket with a lion prowling around. Hazel already has eating issues and background trauma and there’s plenty of examples of the pressures on young women and girls to be skinny whether it be casual remarks within the family, cruel schoolmates or the insidious social media algorithms. So it’s a weird story with serious issues highlighted.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Set in a slightly future England, Ms Chidgey takes the reader on an uncomfortable journey along a tightrope between impending catastrophe and overwhelming attention.
Meet Hazel Whitlock. She has just been dumped by her boyfriend, has lost her job, is estranged from her parents and needs work and somewhere to live. With the help of her friend Gilda, she signs up for a sideshow act in Blackpool. She will be the Starving Bride: on display in the Blackpool Tower, in a glass case in an enclosure with a lion. If she can last 40 days, she will receive £40,000.
Meet Councillor Frank Marsh. He is concerned that the Blackpool Tower might collapse. Maintenance is urgently required, but most of the council choose to ignore a report recommending action.
Hazel’s past (which is gradually revealed) makes her particularly vulnerable. As she loses weight, the numbers of people queuing to see her transformation grow. Some are inspired; others are obsessed and many have a comment (which Hazel can hear).
As I kept reading, and as Hazel weakened, I wondered whether she would survive. And as the Blackpool Tower creaked and moaned around her, I wondered whether it would collapse.
When I finished reading, I thought about obsession with appearance, about the intrusive nature of surveillance, and the ease with which privacy can be invaded, and the contrast with ignoring the physical danger posed by a deteriorating structure. It struck me as both sad and absurd that the invasion of an individual’s privacy, once released via the internet, can become immortal while the record of an investigation into the physical danger posed by a poorly maintained building can somehow disappear.
Highly recommended. A challenging and thought provoking read.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Meet Hazel Whitlock. She has just been dumped by her boyfriend, has lost her job, is estranged from her parents and needs work and somewhere to live. With the help of her friend Gilda, she signs up for a sideshow act in Blackpool. She will be the Starving Bride: on display in the Blackpool Tower, in a glass case in an enclosure with a lion. If she can last 40 days, she will receive £40,000.
Meet Councillor Frank Marsh. He is concerned that the Blackpool Tower might collapse. Maintenance is urgently required, but most of the council choose to ignore a report recommending action.
Hazel’s past (which is gradually revealed) makes her particularly vulnerable. As she loses weight, the numbers of people queuing to see her transformation grow. Some are inspired; others are obsessed and many have a comment (which Hazel can hear).
As I kept reading, and as Hazel weakened, I wondered whether she would survive. And as the Blackpool Tower creaked and moaned around her, I wondered whether it would collapse.
When I finished reading, I thought about obsession with appearance, about the intrusive nature of surveillance, and the ease with which privacy can be invaded, and the contrast with ignoring the physical danger posed by a deteriorating structure. It struck me as both sad and absurd that the invasion of an individual’s privacy, once released via the internet, can become immortal while the record of an investigation into the physical danger posed by a poorly maintained building can somehow disappear.
Highly recommended. A challenging and thought provoking read.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
October 25, 2026
Please note that this review discusses anorexia. If it raises any issues for you, help is available at Beyond Blue or Kids Helpline or Sane Australia or your local services.
Catherine Chidgey's tenth novel is a macabre foray into a near future that looks chillingly like our present. The Starving Bride channels the freak shows of the past to show that people still have a morbid fascination with human difference and that they enjoy a spectacle engineered to capitalise on their taste for watching harmful behaviours and dangerous situations. At the same time, the novel shows the dependence of failing towns on the tourism industry and how risky that can be.
Some time ago, Paddy O'Reilly's The Wonders (2014, see my review) featured three characters who become wealthy through their willingness to become 'curiosities' in freak shows. In the heartless world created by Chidgey in The Starving Bride, Hazel elects to be a celebrity in the tawdry Blackpool Tower because she is financially vulnerable. Her act, like everything else in the amusement park, is a revival from the 1930s, and her friend Gilda has set it up with the entrepreneur for her:
To read the rest of my review, please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2026/10/26/t...
Catherine Chidgey's tenth novel is a macabre foray into a near future that looks chillingly like our present. The Starving Bride channels the freak shows of the past to show that people still have a morbid fascination with human difference and that they enjoy a spectacle engineered to capitalise on their taste for watching harmful behaviours and dangerous situations. At the same time, the novel shows the dependence of failing towns on the tourism industry and how risky that can be.
Some time ago, Paddy O'Reilly's The Wonders (2014, see my review) featured three characters who become wealthy through their willingness to become 'curiosities' in freak shows. In the heartless world created by Chidgey in The Starving Bride, Hazel elects to be a celebrity in the tawdry Blackpool Tower because she is financially vulnerable. Her act, like everything else in the amusement park, is a revival from the 1930s, and her friend Gilda has set it up with the entrepreneur for her:
'So,' said Gilda,' this is the story: she's met the love of her life, but they're too poor to get married, so she agrees to lie on display in a glass casket and starve for forty days. People pay to come and see her — often more than once, to check her decline. If she makes it, she gets a big payout, and she can have her wedding and her happily-ever-after. The Showman adds a few flourishes to up the stakes, but that's basically it.'
'I starve? For forty days?'
'No, that's just the story.'
'What?'
'You lie there in the casket for ten hours a day, but you can eat at night — it's not real. And you get full board.' (p. 42)
To read the rest of my review, please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2026/10/26/t...
October 15, 2026
a mean little book that had me clutching my pearls.
October 8, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and John Murray for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I love Catherine's books so much. Which sounds like I've read them all, but apparently this is only my second one, which astounds me. I do own two others though and I must put them higher on my TBR list.
She just has such a way with words. Her very sentence structure, word choice, the simple things is just so masterful that it becomes effortless to read. And it's so descriptive, the everyday, often mundane things are described with such poetry that it's a joy to behold.
The female form an discourse about the female form and women's bodies and how everyone has an opinion on it is a topic that I hoped we would be in the past now, but it's there still and it's managed so well. It's sensitive and it's quiet but powerful. Sadly so many people, young girls mostly, have these ideas about the perfect body and so this might be a bit close to home for some. And whilst it's a novel and fictional, I think it would be a good book (if handled sensitively) for young girls to read as it doesn't shy away from these difficult topics and it's important to have these discussions.
I may be reading too much into it but I think it also talks about the idea of observation, the intrusion of privacy, whether volunteered or taken from us, that we can't get away from now. Whilst it's about Hazel being observed, it could easily reflect our lives now being permanently on social media.
It's weird because it's set in the near future and yet because of choices made in the story (I won't spoil them) it has this real nostalgic 1920s-1950s vibe about it. Because of the showgirls and the circus acts and the "freak acts", that you think of as being at seaside resorts in those times. That helps, even if it's unintentional, to add to the slight oddness of the book. There's something unsettling about it but you're not entirely sure why but it keeps you on your toes.
We get Hazel's story but we also get Frank's story (which is albeit shorter) which I thought would get suffocated by what was going on in Hazel's story, but it didn't. It held up it's own and made an interesting contrast to the main story.
I was expecting some sort of fantasy or supernatural story, which this isn't. And that's not a bad thing, I was actually pleasantly surprised just how accessible it was. It was a lot deeper and introspective and serious than I had first thought.
I think it's just the right length. It's not too short that you can't get invested, but it doesn't drag out. And the quick, short pace of it adds to the claustrophobic feeling of it all.
The only thing I'd say, and it's not a negative, just something I kept coming back to because it's such a personal thing. I prefer character development over plot, although I know a lot of people think otherwise. And because of that, I felt the plot did overshadow the characters somewhat, and I would have preferred a bit more depth to the characters as well as the intense plot. But again, that's purely a personal taste thing.
What I've learnt just after two books is that they are never quite what you think. The premise might be easy to grasp, but the execution is always a bit different, giving us an enjoyable story but with this added edge or twist that takes it out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary.
I love Catherine's books so much. Which sounds like I've read them all, but apparently this is only my second one, which astounds me. I do own two others though and I must put them higher on my TBR list.
She just has such a way with words. Her very sentence structure, word choice, the simple things is just so masterful that it becomes effortless to read. And it's so descriptive, the everyday, often mundane things are described with such poetry that it's a joy to behold.
The female form an discourse about the female form and women's bodies and how everyone has an opinion on it is a topic that I hoped we would be in the past now, but it's there still and it's managed so well. It's sensitive and it's quiet but powerful. Sadly so many people, young girls mostly, have these ideas about the perfect body and so this might be a bit close to home for some. And whilst it's a novel and fictional, I think it would be a good book (if handled sensitively) for young girls to read as it doesn't shy away from these difficult topics and it's important to have these discussions.
I may be reading too much into it but I think it also talks about the idea of observation, the intrusion of privacy, whether volunteered or taken from us, that we can't get away from now. Whilst it's about Hazel being observed, it could easily reflect our lives now being permanently on social media.
It's weird because it's set in the near future and yet because of choices made in the story (I won't spoil them) it has this real nostalgic 1920s-1950s vibe about it. Because of the showgirls and the circus acts and the "freak acts", that you think of as being at seaside resorts in those times. That helps, even if it's unintentional, to add to the slight oddness of the book. There's something unsettling about it but you're not entirely sure why but it keeps you on your toes.
We get Hazel's story but we also get Frank's story (which is albeit shorter) which I thought would get suffocated by what was going on in Hazel's story, but it didn't. It held up it's own and made an interesting contrast to the main story.
I was expecting some sort of fantasy or supernatural story, which this isn't. And that's not a bad thing, I was actually pleasantly surprised just how accessible it was. It was a lot deeper and introspective and serious than I had first thought.
I think it's just the right length. It's not too short that you can't get invested, but it doesn't drag out. And the quick, short pace of it adds to the claustrophobic feeling of it all.
The only thing I'd say, and it's not a negative, just something I kept coming back to because it's such a personal thing. I prefer character development over plot, although I know a lot of people think otherwise. And because of that, I felt the plot did overshadow the characters somewhat, and I would have preferred a bit more depth to the characters as well as the intense plot. But again, that's purely a personal taste thing.
What I've learnt just after two books is that they are never quite what you think. The premise might be easy to grasp, but the execution is always a bit different, giving us an enjoyable story but with this added edge or twist that takes it out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary.
November 5, 2026
i was lucky enough to be sent a review copy by the publisher! if you loved 'my year of rest and relaxation' and 'boy parts', i can't recommend this enough. my favourite thing i've read from chidgey so far, deeply disturbing, magical and surreal.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Catherine Chidgey is in her demolition era of British seaside towns. First she cleared Margate’s Dreamland in The Book of Guilt and now she’s come for my beloved Blackpool, and I am screaming 💀
I make a pilgrimage to the pleasure beach twice a year. There’s no other place on the British coastline you’ll find me feral af at 3am sweating out my life to northern soul but in the shadow of The Tower.
But kiss me quick, squeeze the sinister slowly, she absolutely CLEARED, the DNA is literally baked into this book. If you sawed it in half it would literally have BLACKPOOL ROCK running all the way through it, fr 😭🍭
One of the most iconic things about her writing is the way she imprints nostalgia, local quirks, cultural peculiarities, she can make a setting feel comforting with all the things we used to obsess over while lowkey exposing the absolute rot underneath the promenade.
And The Starving Bride was an ACTUAL Blackpool attraction in the 30s. It’s giving British seaside heritage but Chidgey has set this in the near-future where the world is literally in the trenches with an economy that is like totally cooked. Wait, what? Excuse, but how near is like near? Feels eerily like now, no?
So the solution allegedly is retro freakshow. Because, of course it is. The bride is back in her box and let’s not talk about Midget Town. Read it and weep (I did) 😭💀
Hazel is twenty-three and is going to starve herself for 40 days for 40k in a glass box only she doesn’t know she’s being live-streamed in 4K. Oh and there’s a lion in the room with her but it’s the eyes of the paying public feasting on her day and night that feels more predatory. And the laughing man feeding their insatiable appetite.
The Starving Bride seems to have every flavour of women in literature absolutely going through that I absolutely crave. It’s weird, transgressive, feminist, darkly funny and grotesque, and so very, very clever about highlighting the ways we consume women’s suffering. This is everything I want from a book, plus the things Chidgey makes me realise I didn’t even know I wanted.
I walked away from this thinking that progress literally is the same old same old cruelty just under a new marketing campaign. Facts. I also booked another trip to Blackpool 🖤
If you couldn’t tell. I loved this. Catherine Chidgey, you are the moment fr 😭 Lowkey though, Skeggy was absolutely shaking in its boots until the news dropped you’re moving into your France era 🇫🇷 Viva La Fantasy Island!
Thank you
@johnmurrayspress @netgalley
these are my honest thoughts
I make a pilgrimage to the pleasure beach twice a year. There’s no other place on the British coastline you’ll find me feral af at 3am sweating out my life to northern soul but in the shadow of The Tower.
But kiss me quick, squeeze the sinister slowly, she absolutely CLEARED, the DNA is literally baked into this book. If you sawed it in half it would literally have BLACKPOOL ROCK running all the way through it, fr 😭🍭
One of the most iconic things about her writing is the way she imprints nostalgia, local quirks, cultural peculiarities, she can make a setting feel comforting with all the things we used to obsess over while lowkey exposing the absolute rot underneath the promenade.
And The Starving Bride was an ACTUAL Blackpool attraction in the 30s. It’s giving British seaside heritage but Chidgey has set this in the near-future where the world is literally in the trenches with an economy that is like totally cooked. Wait, what? Excuse, but how near is like near? Feels eerily like now, no?
So the solution allegedly is retro freakshow. Because, of course it is. The bride is back in her box and let’s not talk about Midget Town. Read it and weep (I did) 😭💀
Hazel is twenty-three and is going to starve herself for 40 days for 40k in a glass box only she doesn’t know she’s being live-streamed in 4K. Oh and there’s a lion in the room with her but it’s the eyes of the paying public feasting on her day and night that feels more predatory. And the laughing man feeding their insatiable appetite.
The Starving Bride seems to have every flavour of women in literature absolutely going through that I absolutely crave. It’s weird, transgressive, feminist, darkly funny and grotesque, and so very, very clever about highlighting the ways we consume women’s suffering. This is everything I want from a book, plus the things Chidgey makes me realise I didn’t even know I wanted.
I walked away from this thinking that progress literally is the same old same old cruelty just under a new marketing campaign. Facts. I also booked another trip to Blackpool 🖤
If you couldn’t tell. I loved this. Catherine Chidgey, you are the moment fr 😭 Lowkey though, Skeggy was absolutely shaking in its boots until the news dropped you’re moving into your France era 🇫🇷 Viva La Fantasy Island!
Thank you
@johnmurrayspress @netgalley
these are my honest thoughts
October 19, 2026
D.N.F. at 20%. There’s words, phrases and sentences in this book that I, personally, don’t want to read.
For anyone else who has requested this book it can be upsetting, especially concerning body image.
For anyone else who has requested this book it can be upsetting, especially concerning body image.
October 5, 2026
This book is for you if you want to go deep deep into the darkness of someone else's disturbed mind.
Hazel is in a bit of a crisis, and her childhood friend Gilda convinces her to take on a strange job at the Blackpool fair. For 40 days, she becomes the attraction at a sideshow, as The Starving Bride. All she has to do is lie in a glass case for people to stare at. But there is more to this role than it seems at first, leading Hazel into some dark places.
This book is beautifully written, and creates a fascinating atmosphere and setting. It covers topics like disordered eating, body image, fatphobia, beauty culture and diet culture, and it goes very deep into these, so be prepared. I found this book disturbing in the best way possible.
Hazel is in a bit of a crisis, and her childhood friend Gilda convinces her to take on a strange job at the Blackpool fair. For 40 days, she becomes the attraction at a sideshow, as The Starving Bride. All she has to do is lie in a glass case for people to stare at. But there is more to this role than it seems at first, leading Hazel into some dark places.
This book is beautifully written, and creates a fascinating atmosphere and setting. It covers topics like disordered eating, body image, fatphobia, beauty culture and diet culture, and it goes very deep into these, so be prepared. I found this book disturbing in the best way possible.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
thanks to edelweiss for the arc! this seriously banged. i'm torn on the rating because the parts that were good were EXCELLENT, but there were some style elements that didn't quite work for me and took away from the good bits. that being said, I really enjoyed how on-the-nose this was - it really works for the Vaudevillian vibe. I would love to read a review from someone with an eating disorder on the representation there, but personally as someone with a mother, this really felt spot fucking on. the ending also ROCKED; not too sweet, not too sour, and lived up to the spectacle it had been building to the whole time. If anyone else reads this before pub, I'd love to chat about it!!
cw: detailed descriptions of eating disorders (anorexia, BED)
cw: detailed descriptions of eating disorders (anorexia, BED)
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was thrilled to see that Catherine Chidgey had a new book coming out as I absolutely loved The Book of Guilt, and even more thrilled to be approved for an ARC of The Starving Bride!
The premise immediately intrigued me - Hazel has honestly been going through a rubbish time when she's offered an opportunity to earn some serious cash by performing as a sideshow act laying in a coffin and abstaining from food whilst she's ogled by the public for ten hours a day. And there's the little detail that she has to complete the full 40 days if she wants to see any of the cash, and did I mention that there's a LION in the enclosure with her? Sounds easy, right?!
The Starving Bride is often a very uncomfortable read, and I can understand that the content may be quite triggering for some readers. As someone who has struggled with food/disordered eating/body image for as long as I can remember, Hazel's experiences and thoughts around food and body image really resonated with me, and the overall attitudes of the supporting characters in the book are spot on.
There is a lot explored over the course of the book, and certainly a lot of food for thought. I'm in awe of how Catherine Chidgey's brain works. This was such a compelling read - she has an incredibly addictive writing style, and I binged this book in a day.
Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House, and Catherine Chidgey for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The premise immediately intrigued me - Hazel has honestly been going through a rubbish time when she's offered an opportunity to earn some serious cash by performing as a sideshow act laying in a coffin and abstaining from food whilst she's ogled by the public for ten hours a day. And there's the little detail that she has to complete the full 40 days if she wants to see any of the cash, and did I mention that there's a LION in the enclosure with her? Sounds easy, right?!
The Starving Bride is often a very uncomfortable read, and I can understand that the content may be quite triggering for some readers. As someone who has struggled with food/disordered eating/body image for as long as I can remember, Hazel's experiences and thoughts around food and body image really resonated with me, and the overall attitudes of the supporting characters in the book are spot on.
There is a lot explored over the course of the book, and certainly a lot of food for thought. I'm in awe of how Catherine Chidgey's brain works. This was such a compelling read - she has an incredibly addictive writing style, and I binged this book in a day.
Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House, and Catherine Chidgey for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
October 8, 2026
There’s something about Catherine Chidgey’s writing - it captivates me from start to finish. Slightly ominous undertones run throughout from Hazel’s little skull carvings at the almond factory to her bunk mate’s French vocabulary mumblings about fear and being scared to death.
Set slightly in the future in Blackpool, England, Hazel is part of a sideshow act as the starving bride where she spends her days in a glass coffin on display, with only water to drink, and a caged lion to keep her company. (This was a real attraction in Blackpool in the 1930s.)
The story highlights Hazel’s isolation and otherness, along with her body dysmorphia, but a lot of other themes come into play including exploitation, climate denial, and the Cassandra predicament.
Thanks NetGalley! Pub date March 30, 2027
Set slightly in the future in Blackpool, England, Hazel is part of a sideshow act as the starving bride where she spends her days in a glass coffin on display, with only water to drink, and a caged lion to keep her company. (This was a real attraction in Blackpool in the 1930s.)
The story highlights Hazel’s isolation and otherness, along with her body dysmorphia, but a lot of other themes come into play including exploitation, climate denial, and the Cassandra predicament.
Thanks NetGalley! Pub date March 30, 2027
October 12, 2026
This one’s for my weird girls, my weird lit fit girls. One million and one trigger warnings on weight and eating disorders and mannn was it triggering yay! However, a really obscurely weird plot I’ve never seen before and definitely worth a geez. The audiobook is (as evident) super easy to smash out in a day (or a handful of hours at work if you’re a freak like me)
The entire plot of the book is strange girl gets a gig laying in a box as a sideshow circus type attraction, she wastes away, there’s a bridal veil, there’s a lion, it’s so w e i r d
The entire plot of the book is strange girl gets a gig laying in a box as a sideshow circus type attraction, she wastes away, there’s a bridal veil, there’s a lion, it’s so w e i r d
October 6, 2026
I found the plot of this book quite intriguing and the messages embedded in the story were relevant and insightful. However the device used whereby we hear all the multiple conversations of bystanders or all the anxious inner thoughts of the main character became annoying. I think it just needed to at least be scaled back. I could see the point of it but the volume was unnecessary. The reveal towards the end was shocking and heartbreaking which in turn made the ending all the more satisfying.
I received this arc from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I received this arc from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
October 18, 2026
“Ask yourself: Am I hungry?”
October 12, 2026
TW: disordered eating, anorexia
Ever since The Book of Guilt, Catherine Chidgey has been an instant-read author for me. Over the past year, I have made my way through her bibliography and loved every single book. Chidgey's subjects change each time, but you can always instantly tell it's one of hers because of her impeccable writing. You can imagine how I excited I was to pick up The Starving Bride.
Sadly, the book left me slightly disappointed. For starters, a book like this needs trigger warnings at the front, not just a few support links at the end. Chidgey also touched on a lot of different subjects (unhealthy relationships with our bodies & food, being perceived by others, beauty expectations, desire for nostalgia, climate change...) without ever going deeper into them. I could deeply relate to Hazel - as any woman subjected to diet culture will - but I was waiting for a great unravelling or a satisfying resolution that never came. The plot twist was rather predictable, and the ending felt rushed to me.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a good read, and Chidgey’s writing is exquisite and unique, as always. But my biggest problem was that the book was too short! It was over before it could get properly stuck into any of its topics or characters. I would have loved more chapters on Frank and the Anabelles. As it stands, they felt like nice additions that didn’t land as well as they could have.
Thank you, NetGalley & Penguin Random House AU, for the ARC. All opinions are my own - 3.5 stars
Ever since The Book of Guilt, Catherine Chidgey has been an instant-read author for me. Over the past year, I have made my way through her bibliography and loved every single book. Chidgey's subjects change each time, but you can always instantly tell it's one of hers because of her impeccable writing. You can imagine how I excited I was to pick up The Starving Bride.
Sadly, the book left me slightly disappointed. For starters, a book like this needs trigger warnings at the front, not just a few support links at the end. Chidgey also touched on a lot of different subjects (unhealthy relationships with our bodies & food, being perceived by others, beauty expectations, desire for nostalgia, climate change...) without ever going deeper into them. I could deeply relate to Hazel - as any woman subjected to diet culture will - but I was waiting for a great unravelling or a satisfying resolution that never came. The plot twist was rather predictable, and the ending felt rushed to me.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a good read, and Chidgey’s writing is exquisite and unique, as always. But my biggest problem was that the book was too short! It was over before it could get properly stuck into any of its topics or characters. I would have loved more chapters on Frank and the Anabelles. As it stands, they felt like nice additions that didn’t land as well as they could have.
Thank you, NetGalley & Penguin Random House AU, for the ARC. All opinions are my own - 3.5 stars
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A new book from Catherine Chidgey is always a treat and this one is no exception. Set in the not too distant future, Blackpool, England. Hazel is obsessed with her body image. She hates her chubby self but gorges on food hiding the evidence. Teased at school and worse a video of her went viral, now out in the adult world she has lost her job and her boyfriend. Her friend suggests she tries out for one of the sideshow jobs going at the pier. In order to boost tourism and foot traffic the council has brought back a lot of the old seaside attractions. Hazel ends up being hired to be The Starving Bride, all she has to do is lie in a glass coffin for 40 days, not eat and she will get £40,000. She can of course eat when the attraction is closed in her tiny quarters at the pier. There is a tiger in the mix too, he is let out during the day and can stroll around the coffin, adding extra excitement for the crowds who pay to see the Starving Bride. At first it is done with tricks, a bigger wedding dress that they fold in at the back so they can slowly let it out to look like Hazel is wasting away, clever make up to make her look wane, but as the first few days pass Hazel stops eating and becomes obsessed with how life will be, compared to how it was. She also reflects on her short life as she lays there in a dream like state with the eyes of the paying spectators who come back more than once to see her becoming smaller.
Frank is a councillor and he has become concerned about the Blackpool Tower that sits over the pier and all the attractions. No maintenance has been done in a long time and the high tides are eating away at the pylons which are more rust than steel in a lot of places. But the committee doesn’t want to listen, they don’t have the funds to repair anything.
It’s a fabulous book, most young girls have body image issues and the gorging on food is akin to starving. Hazel as the Starving Bride and her band of followers, called The Anabelles are literally starving themselves to death. Probably too close for comfort for some families.
#TheStarvingBride #NetGalley
Frank is a councillor and he has become concerned about the Blackpool Tower that sits over the pier and all the attractions. No maintenance has been done in a long time and the high tides are eating away at the pylons which are more rust than steel in a lot of places. But the committee doesn’t want to listen, they don’t have the funds to repair anything.
It’s a fabulous book, most young girls have body image issues and the gorging on food is akin to starving. Hazel as the Starving Bride and her band of followers, called The Anabelles are literally starving themselves to death. Probably too close for comfort for some families.
#TheStarvingBride #NetGalley
October 10, 2026
Catherine Chidgey does it again!
If you’ve been here a while, you’ll know I’m a BIG Chidgey fan. Remember that time she came to my book club?! (Yes, I’m still talking about it.) Sometimes when expectations are this high, a book is fighting an uphill battle before you’ve even opened it. But this did NOT disappoint.
Set in a near-future England, Hazel Whitlock has lost her boyfriend, her job and her relationship with her parents. So naturally, she signs up to become a human spectacle in Blackpool Tower, where she’ll starve herself in silence while thousands of strangers watch.
Now. You only have to read the synopsis (or perhaps the title) to realise this one probably needs a trigger warning.
At its heart, this is a book about diet culture. But I think it’s also a pretty damning commentary on voyeurism, particularly the kind we’ve normalised through social media. We consume other people’s lives, scrutinise their bodies and somehow convince ourselves that because someone has made themselves visible, we’re entitled to have a say.
And the clever thing? As readers, we’re spectators too. Watching Hazel waste away, turning the pages to see what happens next. We’re part of the audience. Uncomfortable, isn’t it?
I haven’t read any interviews or chatted with my mate Catherine about it (she had her book launch while I was out of the country. Rude!), so this is entirely my interpretation.
But as a woman who grew up in NZ reading Dolly magazine, and who has had a complicated relationship with food and body image pretty much her entire life, this one hit a nerve.
Did it trigger me? Maybe? Not in an I’m appalled, why have you done this to me? kind of way. More in a holy shit, we are all so fucked up kind of way.
Now, can we talk about the Toblerone?!
When Catherine came to book club (have I mentioned that?), she told us how little things she encounters in everyday life can plant the seed of an idea that worms its way into a story.
Without giving ANYTHING away, I desperately want to know where the Toblerone idea came from.Perhaps we need to invite Catherine back to book club to discuss!
Anyway, I absolutely DEVOURED this one. (See what I did there?)
Disturbing, provocative, darkly funny and so bloody clever. Chidgey has this extraordinary ability to take something utterly bizarre and make you recognise something deeply uncomfortable about the world we live in.
ALL THE STARS. LOVED IT.
If you’ve been here a while, you’ll know I’m a BIG Chidgey fan. Remember that time she came to my book club?! (Yes, I’m still talking about it.) Sometimes when expectations are this high, a book is fighting an uphill battle before you’ve even opened it. But this did NOT disappoint.
Set in a near-future England, Hazel Whitlock has lost her boyfriend, her job and her relationship with her parents. So naturally, she signs up to become a human spectacle in Blackpool Tower, where she’ll starve herself in silence while thousands of strangers watch.
Now. You only have to read the synopsis (or perhaps the title) to realise this one probably needs a trigger warning.
At its heart, this is a book about diet culture. But I think it’s also a pretty damning commentary on voyeurism, particularly the kind we’ve normalised through social media. We consume other people’s lives, scrutinise their bodies and somehow convince ourselves that because someone has made themselves visible, we’re entitled to have a say.
And the clever thing? As readers, we’re spectators too. Watching Hazel waste away, turning the pages to see what happens next. We’re part of the audience. Uncomfortable, isn’t it?
I haven’t read any interviews or chatted with my mate Catherine about it (she had her book launch while I was out of the country. Rude!), so this is entirely my interpretation.
But as a woman who grew up in NZ reading Dolly magazine, and who has had a complicated relationship with food and body image pretty much her entire life, this one hit a nerve.
Did it trigger me? Maybe? Not in an I’m appalled, why have you done this to me? kind of way. More in a holy shit, we are all so fucked up kind of way.
Now, can we talk about the Toblerone?!
When Catherine came to book club (have I mentioned that?), she told us how little things she encounters in everyday life can plant the seed of an idea that worms its way into a story.
Without giving ANYTHING away, I desperately want to know where the Toblerone idea came from.Perhaps we need to invite Catherine back to book club to discuss!
Anyway, I absolutely DEVOURED this one. (See what I did there?)
Disturbing, provocative, darkly funny and so bloody clever. Chidgey has this extraordinary ability to take something utterly bizarre and make you recognise something deeply uncomfortable about the world we live in.
ALL THE STARS. LOVED IT.
November 8, 2026
This is a slightly tough one to review. I love Catherine Chidgey's writing and her strange blend of dystopian/historical/speculative fiction and I was sucked in right from the first page. For the most part, I liked the circus setting, the characters and the dark twists and turns.
However, it deals with EDs and at first I thought this would be done in a way that highlighted how wrong the pressures are that cause women to be constantly scrutinising their bodies, which I think was done well at the beginning (note: especially through the depictions of mother/daughter relationships and learned behaviours, and Hazel's inner monologue which lived as a hungry beast inside her). I think in the face of the current beauty trends and the rise of Ozempic etc it all really resonated. But then later in the story once Hazel actually begins starving herself and with the introduction of the Anabelles, it felt very much like #ana on tumblr back in the 2010s with tips and tricks of how to suppress your appetite etc etc which was really tough and I feel this book should kinda be read with caution. I know it's trying to demonstrate that earlier point, and comment on society's obsession with female bodies as sites of spectacle but for me it didn't really feel like it was offering any sort of alternative, or moment of realisation/resolution for Hazel or the other girls.
Chidgey dedicated the book "For our younger selves, who were beautiful already." and yet the ending sees Hazel just as obsessed with her body image as ever, giving out tips on how to stay motivated to not have treats and showing off her tanned thighs, which feels like a missed point for me and knocked it down from a 4 stars to a 3.75.
Another note: I'm going to a talk about this book next week so I do wonder if hearing Chidgey explain it a bit more will change my opinion. Hmmm.
However, it deals with EDs and at first I thought this would be done in a way that highlighted how wrong the pressures are that cause women to be constantly scrutinising their bodies, which I think was done well at the beginning (note: especially through the depictions of mother/daughter relationships and learned behaviours, and Hazel's inner monologue which lived as a hungry beast inside her). I think in the face of the current beauty trends and the rise of Ozempic etc it all really resonated. But then later in the story once Hazel actually begins starving herself and with the introduction of the Anabelles, it felt very much like #ana on tumblr back in the 2010s with tips and tricks of how to suppress your appetite etc etc which was really tough and I feel this book should kinda be read with caution. I know it's trying to demonstrate that earlier point, and comment on society's obsession with female bodies as sites of spectacle but for me it didn't really feel like it was offering any sort of alternative, or moment of realisation/resolution for Hazel or the other girls.
Chidgey dedicated the book "For our younger selves, who were beautiful already." and yet the ending sees Hazel just as obsessed with her body image as ever, giving out tips on how to stay motivated to not have treats and showing off her tanned thighs, which feels like a missed point for me and knocked it down from a 4 stars to a 3.75.
Another note: I'm going to a talk about this book next week so I do wonder if hearing Chidgey explain it a bit more will change my opinion. Hmmm.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 17, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
This is an astonishingly good and astonishingly beautiful book that revels in how unpleasant it is at times. A marvellous blend of carnival chicanery, modern beauty standards, and our obsession with being the most perfect version of ourselves we can be, this is a spectacular read.
I feel my favourite elements were definitely the fair ones - there’s so much to explore in that little world, and everything has a bit of a nasty edge to it. Hazel is doing her absolute best to make sure that she’s staying as on top of things as she can, but after losing her job at a factory, she’s set adrift.
Hazel is well-structured and has a distinct narrative presence. She’s increasingly sad as the novel goes on, and we see more and more of the reasoning behind why she is the way she is. To see the way that she slowly declines is incredible in the novel- and there’s so much in her development that is well done.
I think the ultimate ending at the tower was a little less climactic than I anticipated, and I was hoping that there’d be a little less in the way of some of the other characters, but it’s close to a perfect novel.
More than anything, the bit I was most fascinated by was the idea that we’ve always had ‘influencers’ who are obsessed with body image and the concept of themselves- it’s just that some of them used to be carnival attractions rather than being on the ‘Gram.
This is an astonishingly good and astonishingly beautiful book that revels in how unpleasant it is at times. A marvellous blend of carnival chicanery, modern beauty standards, and our obsession with being the most perfect version of ourselves we can be, this is a spectacular read.
I feel my favourite elements were definitely the fair ones - there’s so much to explore in that little world, and everything has a bit of a nasty edge to it. Hazel is doing her absolute best to make sure that she’s staying as on top of things as she can, but after losing her job at a factory, she’s set adrift.
Hazel is well-structured and has a distinct narrative presence. She’s increasingly sad as the novel goes on, and we see more and more of the reasoning behind why she is the way she is. To see the way that she slowly declines is incredible in the novel- and there’s so much in her development that is well done.
I think the ultimate ending at the tower was a little less climactic than I anticipated, and I was hoping that there’d be a little less in the way of some of the other characters, but it’s close to a perfect novel.
More than anything, the bit I was most fascinated by was the idea that we’ve always had ‘influencers’ who are obsessed with body image and the concept of themselves- it’s just that some of them used to be carnival attractions rather than being on the ‘Gram.
October 8, 2026
5 stars
The Starving Bride by Catherine Chidgey. Every time I read a book by Catherine I have to wonder HOW ON EARTH her brain comes up with these plots… but I’m so glad her brain works the way it does.
The book is set in near future England.
Our main character, Hazel, finds herself jobless, loveless and a bit hopeless, and ends up getting a job as a nostalgic sideshow act, The Starving Bride. She must exist in a clear casket up the Tower while a lion (a lion!) roams… and she starves. The audience pays to go up the tower and observe hungrily as she fades away before their eyes, the morbid fascination of it all. And better yet, if they visit regularly they get the satisfaction of her body and face changing each time.
As usual, it’s so relevant in many ways to what is going on currently, it’s brilliant, thought provoking and absolutely addictive, I binged it as greedily as you might demolish a..say… a toblerone (Inside joke, you’ll find out!). I can’t give it anything else but 5 star, and I shall be buying a trophy copy! I loved it.
Thankyou NetGalley, Catherine Chidgey and Penguin Random House Australia for the advance copy in exchange for my honest, clumsy and totally enamoured review.
Happy release day!
The Starving Bride by Catherine Chidgey. Every time I read a book by Catherine I have to wonder HOW ON EARTH her brain comes up with these plots… but I’m so glad her brain works the way it does.
The book is set in near future England.
Our main character, Hazel, finds herself jobless, loveless and a bit hopeless, and ends up getting a job as a nostalgic sideshow act, The Starving Bride. She must exist in a clear casket up the Tower while a lion (a lion!) roams… and she starves. The audience pays to go up the tower and observe hungrily as she fades away before their eyes, the morbid fascination of it all. And better yet, if they visit regularly they get the satisfaction of her body and face changing each time.
As usual, it’s so relevant in many ways to what is going on currently, it’s brilliant, thought provoking and absolutely addictive, I binged it as greedily as you might demolish a..say… a toblerone (Inside joke, you’ll find out!). I can’t give it anything else but 5 star, and I shall be buying a trophy copy! I loved it.
Thankyou NetGalley, Catherine Chidgey and Penguin Random House Australia for the advance copy in exchange for my honest, clumsy and totally enamoured review.
Happy release day!
October 2, 2026
Thanks to Grand Central Publishing & NetGalley for the arc of this book!
I’m a huge fan of Catherine Chidgey’s previous book, Pet, and was so excited to get my hands on a copy of The Starving Bride.
The premise was so good—a sideshow act of a bride who willingly wastes away and the woman who agrees to perform in the sideshow slowly embodying the act itself? And there’s a lion hanging out just for fun. It was so cool to find out that this was inspired by a real sideshow performance from the 1930s.
So I was stoked heading into this book but walked away feeling kind of flat about the whole thing. The characters lacked depth, something I found surprising considering that the character development in Chidgey’s Pet was stellar. In The Starving Bride, the characters seemed to play second fiddle to the plot & they mostly seemed like they were just along for the ride.
Still absolutely worth a read, and if I hadn’t gone in expecting the quality of character development I found in Chidgey’s other work, I may have felt like it was a stronger book. But I’m afraid my expectations were set pretty high & and I ultimately wished for more.
I’m a huge fan of Catherine Chidgey’s previous book, Pet, and was so excited to get my hands on a copy of The Starving Bride.
The premise was so good—a sideshow act of a bride who willingly wastes away and the woman who agrees to perform in the sideshow slowly embodying the act itself? And there’s a lion hanging out just for fun. It was so cool to find out that this was inspired by a real sideshow performance from the 1930s.
So I was stoked heading into this book but walked away feeling kind of flat about the whole thing. The characters lacked depth, something I found surprising considering that the character development in Chidgey’s Pet was stellar. In The Starving Bride, the characters seemed to play second fiddle to the plot & they mostly seemed like they were just along for the ride.
Still absolutely worth a read, and if I hadn’t gone in expecting the quality of character development I found in Chidgey’s other work, I may have felt like it was a stronger book. But I’m afraid my expectations were set pretty high & and I ultimately wished for more.
October 19, 2026
Devoured it (like a bag of almonds not a Toblerone). Dark, near-future dystopian, angry…what’s not to love?
The extended metaphor of the sideshow detracting from what’s really important is on the nose but I really don’t mind. It needs to be. In today’s society there are too many “sideshows” and Chidgey challenges the reader to be more intelligent, and to see through the BS.
As a similar age to the author, a lot of the body image/food stuff was very confronting; both as a woman and mother of teen girls. If that could trigger you, I’d probably stay away.
I am intrigued why Chidgey is so obsessed with the UK but, again, no complaints. As a Brit living in NZ, I think she captures the British nuance so well. I do wonder if it is because it makes the novels more commercially viable being set there and not in NZ? Or maybe it’s just more believable for the UK to be bleak and dystopian?
Final note: yes, I loved it but The Book of Guilt still reigns supreme.
The extended metaphor of the sideshow detracting from what’s really important is on the nose but I really don’t mind. It needs to be. In today’s society there are too many “sideshows” and Chidgey challenges the reader to be more intelligent, and to see through the BS.
As a similar age to the author, a lot of the body image/food stuff was very confronting; both as a woman and mother of teen girls. If that could trigger you, I’d probably stay away.
I am intrigued why Chidgey is so obsessed with the UK but, again, no complaints. As a Brit living in NZ, I think she captures the British nuance so well. I do wonder if it is because it makes the novels more commercially viable being set there and not in NZ? Or maybe it’s just more believable for the UK to be bleak and dystopian?
Final note: yes, I loved it but The Book of Guilt still reigns supreme.
Read
November 8, 2026It’s Catherine Chidgey, so it’s obviously well conceived, beautifully written and original. How she manages to produce so many incredible novels honestly exhausts me. She’s the Taylor Swift of NZ authors.
I couldn’t stop reading The Starving Bride and finished it in a day. But while it’s utterly compelling, it’s also an unsettling read. Food, control and the way we see ourselves are such powerful themes, and Chidgey explores them with an uncomfortable level of detail.
It’s also a book about friendship, the extraordinary power of connection with animals, and the vulnerability of women – particularly younger women – and just how suggestible we can be. How easily trust can be exploited, how influence can become control, and how corruption can both destroy and corrupt.
There is so much going on beneath the surface, but Chidgey never loses her grip on the story. Disturbing, thought-provoking and completely absorbing. Another extraordinary novel.
I couldn’t stop reading The Starving Bride and finished it in a day. But while it’s utterly compelling, it’s also an unsettling read. Food, control and the way we see ourselves are such powerful themes, and Chidgey explores them with an uncomfortable level of detail.
It’s also a book about friendship, the extraordinary power of connection with animals, and the vulnerability of women – particularly younger women – and just how suggestible we can be. How easily trust can be exploited, how influence can become control, and how corruption can both destroy and corrupt.
There is so much going on beneath the surface, but Chidgey never loses her grip on the story. Disturbing, thought-provoking and completely absorbing. Another extraordinary novel.
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