Name: Clarissa Nauss's review of The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi
Item: The Sin Eater
Rating: 5
Author: Clarissa Nauss

Megan Campisi

An old adage says there are really only two stories: a man goes on a voyage, and a stranger arrives in town. This is the third: a woman breaks the rules . . . Set in a thinly disguised sixteenth-century England, Megan Campisi's The Sin Eater is a wonderfully rich story of treason and treachery; of women, of power, and the strange freedom that comes from being an outcast – because, sometimes, being a nobody sometimes counts for everything . . . A Sin Eater’s duty is a necessary evil: she hears the confessions of the dying, eats their sins as a funeral rite. Stained by these sins, she is shunned and silenced, doomed to live in exile at the edge of town. Recently orphaned May Owens is just fourteen, only concerned with where her next meal is coming from. When she’s arrested for stealing a loaf of bread, however, and subsequently sentenced to become a Sin Eater, finding food is suddenly the last of her worries. It’s a devastating sentence, but May’s new invisibility opens new doors. And when first one then two of the Queen’s courtiers suddenly grow ill, May hears their deathbed confessions – and begins to investigate a terrible rumour that is only whispered of amid palace corridors . . . Can you uncover the truth when you’re forbidden from speaking it? 'A dark and thrilling page-turner that turns a dystopian eye on the past in an unnervingly contemporary way. All hail Megan Campisi' - Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of Room and The Pull of the Stars

The Sin Eater

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).

A Novel

Sin Eater

shall I compare thee to piss in the pot? 

Alli

The rain's finally come, and it's coming down hard. I sit on the bottom step of a set of stairs near the kitchen to wait for it to let up. It clinks like piss in the pot, but nicer because it's just rain.

Clarissa Nauss

such an interesting concept but was a bit slow and repetitive at times

Essence

Francine Corry

I think I found it! A 5 star book for 2020, which will make my Top 10 List. I had been in a muddle, unable to choose a book to read when I read a review of Sin Eater, a debut book by Megan Campisi and thought "That sounds like the book, I need to read now." You know what? It was.

We are taken to a parallel universe, an alternate history of Elizabethan London. In this version, the Virgin Queen is Bethany and the new religion is quite different. In this religion, when a person is about to die, they call for the Sin Eater and recite their sins:

"SALT FOR PRIDE. Mustard seed for lies. Barley for curses. There are grapes too, laid red and bursting across the pinewood coffin—one grape split with a ruby seed poking through the skin like a sliver through flesh. There’s crow’s meat stewed with plums and a homemade loaf, small and shaped like a bobbin."

The family then prepares the meal and the Sin Eater must eat them.

We meet May, a 14 year-old orphan when she is thrown in prison for stealing bread. May is horrified to find that her punishment is to be a Sin Eater for the rest of her life. She is given a metal color with an S hanging on it and her tongue is tattooed with an "S " as well. 

The Sin Eater must not speak until she is taking confession and she is considered a pariah. But with the horror, May brings an innocence to the profession. 

We become immersed in the seedy underbelly of London, but we also visit the court where strange things are going on and May wants to get to the bottom of it.

I encourage all who love historical fiction to read this book. It is so good and exciting, that I decided not to be critical at all.

Very interesting premise, the execution was mid.

I really loved this book. Though I do have to warn that to me the ending didn’t leave me satisfied, even though it surprised me on who did what and why, I was hoping to get a little more closure. But maybe that’s the point, that we don’t always get that in the end and that’s ok. Otherwise I really loved it. Sin eating is very original I have never read any book like this. I love how to author makes this terrible thing like being sentenced to a life of eating sins powerful and thrilling. I love mystery so I was really excited to try and piece everything together. The author also does a great job of helping with that. I also love how balanced it feels, not too focused on the crime but also relationships and discovering her past. It is a really interesting and page-turning book and I think May deserved better. Definetly recommend 🦌

Sadie Hoffman

Salwa Mohamed

Dear fellow readers, 

There are other reviews that explain the premise of the novel. It’s one of my favorite books in 2021 so far. I think it receives more criticism on booktube than it deserves so read it yourself and form your own opening. 4.8 stars. This book would have been perfect if it wasn’t for the pacing of the last 6 chapters, where the author could have focused less on the details of atmosphere and more on the plot and gave us more details in the climatic scenes; these felt rushed. Otherwise I have enjoyed this mostly thoughtful Elizabethan murder mystery

A Sin Eater's duty is a necessary evil: she hears the final private confessions of the dying, eats their sins as a funeral rite, and so guarantees their souls access to heaven. It is always women who eat sins - since it was Eve who first ate the Forbidden Fruit - and every town has at least one, not that they are publicly acknowledged. Stained by the sins they are obliged to consume, the Sin Eater is shunned and silenced, doomed to live in exile at the edge of town. Recently orphaned May Owens is just fourteen, and has never considered what it might be like to be so ostracized; she's more concerned with where her next meal is coming from. When she's arrested for stealing a loaf of bread, however, and subsequently sentenced to become a Sin Eater, finding food is suddenly the last of her worries. It's a devastating sentence, but May's new invisibility opens new doors. And when first one then two of the Queen's courtiers suddenly grow ill, May hears their deathbed confessions - and begins to investigate a terrible rumour that is only whispered of amid palace corridors.

Joena 

Though the writing style had me hooked, the plot was... a little all over the place at times. I'm keeping an eye out on her future work for sure, there's so much potential here!

Paulina 

Lera D

I don't know if it was the hype around the book, but I was expecting a lot more and was let down. I considered not finishing it, but decided to continue going. Half way through the book it did get slightly more interesting and I was already too invested to not finish it. Whenever something more "exciting" happened I kept thinking this is where we see what the hype is about, but it never actually happened.

The main idea of the book is actually very good and I think it was just the way it was executed that did not sit well with me. In my opinion, too much time is spent on little details and not enough on details that would make the story more captivating. But on the other hand, it shows that not all "adventures" have to be filled with action, shocking discoveries and glamourous endings.

A Sin Eater's duty is a necessary evil: she hears the final private confessions of the dying, eats their sins as a funeral rite, and so guarantees their souls access to heaven. It is always women who eat sins - since it was Eve who first ate the Forbidden Fruit - and every town has at least one, not that they are publicly acknowledged. Stained by the sins they are obliged to consume, the Sin Eater is shunned and silenced, doomed to live in exile at the edge of town.Recently orphaned May Owens is just fourteen, and has never considered what it might be like to be so ostracized; she's more concerned with where her next meal is coming from. When she's arrested for stealing a loaf of bread, however, and subsequently sentenced to become a Sin Eater, finding food is suddenly the last of her worries.It's a devastating sentence, but May's new invisibility opens new doors. And when first one then two of the Queen's courtiers suddenly grow ill, May hears their deathbed confessions - and begins to investigate a terrible rumour that is only whispered of amid palace corridors.

Anyaconda

First of all can we please all swoon over this cover. It's a perfect picture of what you're in for.

We follow May, who is made into a Sin Eater after she gets caught committing a small crime. Being a Sin Eater means to be ostracized from society - untouchable. 
A Sin Eater's work is to listen to people's sins before they die, to pair up those sins with the food (pomegranate for witchcraft, raisins for adultery for example) and to eat them at the deceased's wake. 
From there we follow May's story to uncover a royal secret, some murders and her own family secret.

The author has created a beautiful work with a fascinating topic and I loved the creativity around the 49 types of food and their meaning. I'm really glad that I live at this day and age with showers and running water, because Megan Campisi has a way with describing smells and atmosphere.

This is going to be one of those stories that stay with me for a long while.

I cannot recommend this highly enough.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5 out of 5 stars.

This has already been published by Pan Macmillan Australia and is available now.

Aida Mateescu

A Sin Eater's duty is a necessary evil: she hears the final private confessions of the dying, eats their sins as a funeral rite, and so guarantees their souls access to heaven. It is always women who eat sins - since it was Eve who first ate the Forbidden Fruit - and every town has at least one, not that they are publicly acknowledged. Stained by the sins they are obliged to consume, the Sin Eater is shunned and silenced, doomed to live in exile at the edge of town. Recently orphaned May Owens is just fourteen, and has never considered what it might be like to be so ostracized; she's more concerned with where her next meal is coming from. When she's arrested for stealing a loaf of bread, however, and subsequently sentenced to become a Sin Eater, finding food is suddenly the last of her worries. It's a devastating sentence, but May's new invisibility opens new doors.

Beth Benbow

Annie baxter

Marie

Rhia Rafalski

Ruby

envee

paula

Victoria

“For fans of The Handmaid’s Tale...a debut novel with a dark setting and an unforgettable heroine...is a riveting depiction of hard-won female empowerment” (The Washington Post). 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. “Very much reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale…it transcends its historical roots to give us a modern heroine” (Kirkus Reviews). “A novel as strange as it is captivating” (BuzzFeed), The Sin Eater “is a treat for fans of feminist speculative fiction” (Publishers Weekly) and “exactly what historical fiction lovers have unknowingly craved” (New York Journal of Books).

Clarissa Nauss &
The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi

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Clarissa Nauss &The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi

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Clarissa Nauss &
The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi