Book Review: Hunger by Choi Jin-Young

jolaineabad
Feb 13
5 min read

Updated: Mar 23

The ultimate test happens when you're faced with something that makes you want to cry out, But the doesn't make any sense at all! Have faith, and sense will follow.

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Start Date: 02/09/2026	End Date: 02/13/2026
Genres: Adult//Psychological, Dark Romance, Grief	Format: eBook
Pages: 144 pages	Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)

⚠️ Content Warnings ⚠️

This book contains mature, intense, and potentially disturbing themes. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

🧠 Themes & Triggers

Cannibalism (central to the story’s premise)
Graphic violence
Body horror / physical suffering
Trauma and grief
Obsession
Intense emotional distress
Death and loss
Self-destructive behavior
Adult situations and dark intimacy
Existential and philosophical strugglesThis book contains mature, intense, and potentially disturbing themes. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

📍 Tone & Style

The narrative can be haunting, raw, and unsettling
Descriptions may focus on physical and emotional deterioration
The story explores pain, survival, and the meaning of love in extreme circumstances

📌 For Potential Readers

This is not a light or casual read — it’s a dark, literary novel meant for mature audiences and may be upsetting to some readers.

BOOK TROPE GUIDE

⚠️ Mature Fiction

🖤

Dark Romance

🔥

Thriller

💀

Horror Elements

🧠 Psychological Horror

ABOUT THIS BOOK:

Twisted• Heart-Breaking• Raw

Dam finds Gu lying lifeless on the street—murdered.

Dam loves Gu so deeply that she does something she never thought herself capable of. To protect the love of her life, she decides to bring him home. She begins disinfecting him, and one by one, she starts eating him.

Dam believes that by doing this, she is saving Gu from the possibility of being sold to pay off his parents’ debts.

Did I enjoy the book? Yes / No / Unsure

Would I read this again? Yes / No / Unsure

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes / No / Unsure

What did I like the most?

This book is very relatable despite its heavy themes. I got curious about it because of a YouTube video I watched, and I didn’t regret picking it up! It’s so good—I need to buy a physical copy of the book.

What I liked the least (and why)?

It’s not my least favorite thing about the book, per se. I just find the way she consumes Gu a little disturbing. Then again, I don’t think cannibalism is ever a comfortable topic to read about or watch.

Another thing—the dots that represent each character’s POV are unique, but I’ll be honest—they can be quite confusing.

Favorite Character

Favorite character/s:

Dam

A very brave woman who made an incredibly difficult decision—not just for herself, but for Gu as well.

Ratings

Book Cover

★★★★★

Writing Style

★★★★★

Story & Plot

★★★★★

Characters

★★★★★

Favorite Quotes

I will live. I will carry your remains with me to the very end of time. You will die only when I die. I won't follow you into death; I will have you follow me. I won't watch you disappear. I will live. I will live to remember you.

My Book Review ✎ᝰ.

Diving into this book, I was expecting heavy cannibalism. I mean, it’s still there—but what this book did to me was break my heart instead.

There’s so much more to it than just cannibalism. It’s about deep love, poverty, parents mentally abusing their children at a very young age, grief, and capitalism.

Like I said—it may be disturbing, but it’s also gut-wrenching if you truly understand the story.

I want to start with the writing of this book. It was translated from Korean to English—sometimes, words can get lost in translation, but this one still had the same effect. It might be completely different in its original language, but the message of the book remains clear—at least for me.

This book review was actually kind of hard for me — I’m not going to lie. I’m at a loss for words with this book. But I feel like it would be a crime not to post anything about it, because there’s so much more to it than just being advertised as a cannibalism book.

At the beginning of the book, it’s more about imagining what the world will look like in a thousand years—what people will look like, whether money will still matter, and how beauty standards might change. Then we get to the chapter where she sees Gu on the streets and starts eating him. I was like, girl! Without any warning? But that actually intrigued me, so I kept reading — and note, this is the first book I’ve read on my Kindle.

As I read through it— the cannibalism topic just went out of the window! This book represents a lot of things. Dam and Gu, born and raised through poverty hits hard.

Dam losing her parents at an early age, seeing the only family she ever had slowly get eaten by cancer, and then witnessing the death of an amazing boy is something that can really affect someone in the long run.

Gu, on the other hand, might have his parents with him, but they’re constantly fighting and deep in debt.

Their relationship is very toxic, in my opinion, but I can’t fully blame them because of their life circumstances. What hurts me the most, though, is how their lives ended and how they had to constantly run from something they didn’t even do.

After reading this book, I realized how capitalism can be harmful at times, and this is what pushed Dam to eat the love of her life. She doesn’t want greedy people to have him, and even though her heart is broken, she still tries to believe that this way she can keep him alive and with her at all times. It’s the kind of sweet yet disturbing act.

Overall, this book shows how grief is different for everyone. It also highlights the raw emotions and situations of people living in poverty, and how some people think money is more powerful than anything — even to the point of feeling entitled to claim a person. That part was very sickening for me.

I can’t say I would recommend this to everyone, because it may not be for you, but it’s definitely worth checking out.