Review: The Sin Eater

The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not gonna lie, this was a disappointment for me.

I think my problem was my preconceived notions. 'Sin-eating' to me sounded a heck of a lot like fantasy, so that's what I expected. Turns out this was once an actual thing that once happened?! So that's entirely on me but it really coloured my experience of this novel.

For those who have not yet encountered the concept of sin eating, it's basically a medieval spiritual practice, where someone eats symbolic food to absolve a person of their sins before they die. Not fantasy. Just a person eating food. Speaking of food, check out the egg on my face.

So the plot basically involves a girl who becomes a sin eater, then proceeds to tell dying people what food she will eat for them, and then revisit when they die to eat said foods. Only, in the course of her Reciting and Eating, she discovers a Dastardly Plot which of course she must unravel because she's the only one privy to everyone's deepest darkest secrets.

It may not come as a surprise that a lot of people die in this book.

The whole embellished concept of sin eating is what drives this novel, so I got a bit bored with all of the talking about food and the eating of food. The sins were fun but rarely expanded on. Whereas the lists of foods were endless (there's literally a list at the front so you know what foods are for what sins, but then the story goes ahead and tells you anyway). It's like the author took a sketch of a scene from history that was only a faint outline and has darkened the lines then gone to town with markers and colouring pencils. It's a richly detailed slice of this world so I suspect historical fiction lovers are going to enjoy that immensely.

Next you've got the fact that sin eaters are considered outcasts, so that's what really tugs the heart strings here (and is maybe also a reason I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped - I hate reading about suffering). I mean, she's doing these religious nutters a pretty solid favour by taking all their sins as her own, but they shun her and treat her terribly. I found it quite heartbreaking because even when she finds a slice of kindness here and there, the overwhelming sense is that things are just not destined to go well for this girl.

The story is gloomy and slow, but also coarse and vulgar. The language was so beautiful at times but then it would shock me with it's bluntness and uncouth references. Also the adjective 'fugging' had me feeling mighty awkward. Was this an actual term once upon a time or was the author trying to swear in a novel manner? It's likely the former but it felt like the latter which contributed to the writing sitting poorly for me. Overall, I found that the writing contrasted too harshly - it was like the story was a queen and every now and then a beggar would come and kick her in the shins and then move off again. You kinda bask in this beautiful language then suddenly there's a reference to someone's 'cunny' and you're wrinkling your nose in displeasure.

There is of course an actual story to keep things moving along, and it involves a mystery surrounding the royal family and all their sins. I enjoyed it, but it unravelled too slow at the start for me and then too fast at the end. The characters beyond the main protagonist weren't fleshed out quite to my liking, and there's more focus on her and her fellow outcasts than those involved in the Plot. So while the mystery kept me reading, it wasn't anything too intriguing and felt more like an excuse to show off the main character. Not necessarily a bad thing, just not really for me. I am a lover of action, that's for sure.

The vivid details of this one is what will draw readers in, but the mystery lovers will likely be disappointed by the pace. The concept of the sin eater and the religious/spiritual practice itself is rather fascinating, so will appeal to lovers of historical fiction and those with a taste for the unusual. And sinners will get a kick out of deciding what foods might have been eaten on their behalf, back in the day.

Stewed gurnards, anyone?

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