Review: Sin Eater by Megan Campisi

The Handmaid’s Tale meets Alice in Wonderland in this gripping and imaginative historical novel about a shunned orphan girl in 16th-century England who is ensnared in a deadly royal plot and must turn her subjugation into her power.

The Sin Eater walks among us, unseen, unheard
Sins of our flesh become sins of Hers
Following Her to the grave, unseen, unheard
The Sin Eater Walks Among Us.

For the crime of stealing bread, fourteen-year-old May receives a life sentence: she must become a Sin Eater—a shunned woman, brutally marked, whose fate is to hear the final confessions of the dying, eat ritual foods symbolizing their sins as a funeral rite, and thereby shoulder their transgressions to grant their souls access to heaven.

Orphaned and friendless, apprenticed to an older Sin Eater who cannot speak to her, May must make her way in a dangerous and cruel world she barely understands. When a deer heart appears on the coffin of a royal governess who did not confess to the dreadful sin it represents, the older Sin Eater refuses to eat it. She is taken to prison, tortured, and killed. To avenge her death, May must find out who placed the deer heart on the coffin and why.

“A keenly researched feminist arc of unexpected abundance, reckoning, intellect, and ferocious survival” (Maria Dahvana Headley, author of The Mere Wife) Sin Eater is “a dark, rich story replete with humor, unforgettable characters, and arcane mysteries. It casts a spell on your heart and mind until the final page” (Jennie Melamed, author of Gather the Daughters). 

Kindle Edition, 304 pages

Published April 7th 2020 

 by Atria Books 

4/5

Sin Eater is a unique story that, believe it or not, is based on a practice that took place in the 15th century and continued for years.

“Sin eaters existed in parts of Britain...they ate certain foods to absolve those who died of their sins, different foods for different sins”

This book got off to a great start, it’s a dark tale as a young girl is forced to be a sin eater. She is young, confused and her journey to acceptance is vividly written here.

Sin Eater has that fantasy feel with fictional characters but it isn’t hard for those familiar with Tudor England to recognize the landscape, characters and historical details which I thought was kinda neat.

Like I said it’s a dark tale but an addictive read.  I wanted to know what was happened to poor May, the author made me care about her and feel the injustices taking place.  As the story unfolded and the mystery grew I was in the mind set of 'just one more chapter'.

I believe this is the authors debut, so hats off to Megan Campisi for writing a unque story, I can’t wait to see what comes next.

My thanks to the published (via Netgalley) for an advanced digitize copy in exchange for an honest review.