Review | The Hunger by Alma Katsu

When the Donner Party sets off to California in search of a new life, they have no idea the hell their journey would be. The planned path takes longer than expected, a child goes missing, families argue and supplies dwindle. As their despair grows, something worse awaits in the mountain. Something old, and very hungry.

Hope, Tamsen realized, could be a very dangerous thing, especially when dealt to desperate hands.

When I first heard about the Donner Party years ago I read up everything I could about it. The long trek, various obstacles, starvation, sacrifice. It was absolutely harrowing. A fictionalised horror story based on the events has the potential to be really terrifying. But this book disappointed me.

The book’s premise is that every character who takes the long journey to California has a secret. Sinful secrets, and the journey is a penance. To me the tragedy of the Donner Party is that they were regular people who had no idea what they were in for. They had to do whatever they did to survive, even to the extent of eating the flesh of their own family members. But in this book, the characters are mostly unlikeable. They commit adultery, incest, murders, rape. It is hard to relate to them, because they feel more like archetypes than real people.

I don’t mind romance in horror but there is too much emphasis on it. Putting aside the anachronistic portrayal of various casual sexual relationships, I find it hard to believe they find time to hook up while being in that situation. One of the male characters is written as queer, and kills another man in a gay relationship gone wrong. I’m always happy to see diverse characters in horror. However, this fictionalised account of a real-life murder feels exploitative. Every dramatic moment is caused by a romantic reason or past romantic history when there could more to the story.

There is a haunting moment when the supernatural element is first hinted at. The possibility of something unnatural following them during the journey is scary. Unfortunately, we didn’t really get the key moment when hell breaks loose. The various romantic drama pushes aside the survival story. We also get regular flashbacks and letters of events taking place elsewhere. This happens even during the climax and reduces the tension. The ending fizzles so we never get the chance to experience the worst moments.

Although I wasn’t fond of the story, I found the book easy to read and the writing beautiful. I was moved by the last moments of a particular character. The prologue is suspenseful and built my interest. I think readers unfamiliar with the Donner Party will find the book enjoyable. For me, it’s a missed opportunity to not only bring a supernatural twist to the tragedy but also show the horror of what they went through.

About the author: Alma Katsu

Photo by Anastasia Fomina