How to Be Eaten Audiobook By Maria Adelmann cover art

How to Be Eaten

A Novel

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

How to Be Eaten

By: Maria Adelmann
Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.49

Buy for $19.49

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

One of NPR's Best Books of the Year: This darkly funny and provocative novel reimagines classic fairy tale characters as modern women in a support group for trauma.

In present-day New York City, five women meet in a basement support group to process their traumas. Bernice grapples with the fallout of dating a psychopathic, blue-bearded billionaire. Ruby, once devoured by a wolf, now wears him as a coat. Gretel questions her memory of being held captive in a house made of candy. Ashlee, the winner of a Bachelor-esque dating show, wonders if she really got her promised fairy tale ending. And Raina's love story will shock them all.

Though the women start out wary of one another, judging each other’s stories, gradually they begin to realize that they may have more in common than they supposed . . . What really brought them here? What secrets will they reveal? And is it too late for them to rescue each other?

​Dark, edgy, and wickedly funny, this debut for readers of Carmen Maria Machado, Kristen Arnett, and Kelly Link takes our coziest, most beloved childhood stories, exposes them as anti-feminist nightmares, and transforms them into a new kind of myth for grown-up women.

*Belletrist June Book Club Pick*

Named a Best Book of May by TIME Magazine & Glamour One of NPR’s Best Books of the Year

©2022 Maria Adelmann (P)2022 Little, Brown & Company
Fairy Tales Fantasy Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Funny Mind-Bending Scary
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

“Even better than it sounds, How to Be Eaten presents vividly real women haunted by their fairy tale pasts in this deliciously angsty debut. Pure fun pulsing with a dark heart.”—Rachel Yoder, author of Nightbitch

“In this wildly imaginative and trenchant novel, female characters from mythic fairytales emerge as modern-day heroes capable of reclaiming their lives from the trauma of their past. A deft exploration of trauma, authorship, the power of storytelling, and the healing potential of connection, How To Be Eaten will stun readers page after page, offering an unforgettable, empowering, and above all entertaining tale of reclamation and transformation.”—Christie Tate, New York Times bestselling author of Group

What listeners say about How to Be Eaten

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    125
  • 4 Stars
    87
  • 3 Stars
    45
  • 2 Stars
    16
  • 1 Stars
    14
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    156
  • 4 Stars
    63
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    114
  • 4 Stars
    75
  • 3 Stars
    36
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    15

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolute wild ride.

I love the taking of the classic fairytales and flipping them into this modern beautifully tragic stories. That have so much depth to them and twists!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fairytale Group Therapy

Believe it or not my Therapist mentioned this book during our session, and I got this book right after my session. I highly enjoyed it and fun looking at the fairytale characters in a new light, and good to hear Bluebeard story. We don't heard that story as much also Rumplestiltskin. Would recommend and worth a reread

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Super interesting concept!

This was a really fun listen, I love how the author brought fairy tales into the present in unique ways, just a unique perspective I truly enjpyed!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic, engaging writing through and through.

Clever, bizarre and far too short. The world she creates leaves a lot of questions but creates a fantastic story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Wow

Well I never knew what was going to happen next. Beautiful story telling. The characters were all unique and amazing?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Unique Premise that had Potential

Warning: Not YA. Totally inappropriate for kids including teens.


Niche themes/trigger scenarios:
people purposefully deceivin others
women are misled
lacking consent
conflicts of interest including inequity and in workplace
Stigmatizing and occasionally dehumanizing body types, based on superficial standards, incl dwarfism


The interpretations of old well-known characters, protagonists and villains alike, were VERY creative and vivid.


However the read felt imbalanced, very segmented prerogatives, didn't flow, like it could've used more edits before going to print.


I was surprised it was written by a woman bc felt like trauma-p*rn which is VERY unappealing to me. I think the sensibilities and values behind this writer's storytelling just didn't align with me, nor other writers/characters/storylines I greatly enjoy that include strong fem protagonists who are empowered wo needing to exhibit exploitation or degradation.

The character narratives and story structure seemed to improve throughout the 2nd half. imo the strengths were some bright spots of monologue, once a more cohesive group dynamic was created, and the suspense and uptick in action with twist/reveals.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

I had high hopes...

I could not wait to listen to this story. I'm a huge fan of the macabre side of fairy tales, and this is right up my alley. Sadly not all of the stories were treated with the same respect. Too much detail on the uninteresting characters (e.g., Ashley and Ruby) and not NEARLY enough on the most intriguing (e.g., Gretel). The end twist did catch me off guard but didn't build enough story afterward. My fav was Raina, and it took a bit to figure out her deal but loved her the most. (Also ... an erection was his undoing? Ugh!) Narration was superb, but the story ... eh, it was okay. No need to revisit.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

unexpected

enjoyed this novel twist on old tales and really like the prose and voices of the performer. I'm looking for more by this writer and voice actor.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A clever synopsis but strange execution

This one had such high potential but I’m not sure the darkly comic and gritty writing choices settled with me on the execution.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Delightfully disturbing.

The narrator was crisp, clear, and entertaining. The story was original and strange, in the best of ways. I love the symbolism of villains, the enrichment of fairytale characters, and the modernization of their trauma.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful