It begins with a fly. Or maybe it ends with one. Either way, the hunger and thirst in Claire Fuller’s latest novel are both terribly real and frighteningly metaphorical. 

HUNGER AND THIRST follows Ursula Major, first as an orphaned and troubled 16-year-old and then as a successful and reclusive artist working under the name Uschi. Both today and in the past, Ursula is haunted --- by her traumatic losses, her lack of stability and her memories. But she also may be literally haunted and cursed, beginning with the death of her mother and then being compelled to try to outrun a force that seems to possess those around her, constantly threatening her that “it is your turn next.” 

"[T]he hunger and thirst in Claire Fuller’s latest novel are both terribly real and frighteningly metaphorical.... Emotionally complex and quite weird, HUNGER AND THIRST is a novel that lingers in your mind long after you have read the last page."

Ursula’s bohemian young mother, Sadie, died when Ursula was quite young. She lived with a series of foster families and in various children’s homes. In 1987, at the age of 16, Ursula has a new job at an art school that opens up new possibilities for her. She is drawn to the studios, especially the sculptural work, and begins to experiment sculpting in wood with stolen tools. But she is equally drawn to a new coworker, Sue. They become fast friends, but Sue’s temperament and moods are unpredictable and demanding. 

Soon, against the advice of her social worker, Ursula is living in a creepy squat with Sue’s on-again, off-again lover, Vince. The house, known as The Underwood, was the scene of terrible violence, and Ursula and Vince live with the physical and psychic remains. It seems like The Underwood makes everyone sick and crazy. Ursula’s life is also full of sickness and craziness, but Fuller never gives readers clear answers on reality versus imagination or illness.

The one person who acts as a comforting and stabilizing force in Ursula’s life is Sue’s brother, Raymond. Raymond is concerned about Sue and Ursula, not in the least because of the time they spend in The Underwood with Vince. Still, he reluctantly participates in a séance that seems to invite Ursula’s ghosts or demons back into her life and the lives of her friends. Even years later, when Ursula and Raymond (now successful adults) reconnect, their actions that night are inescapable. 

Death and murder. Love and fear. Ambition and trauma. Hunger and thirst. Bears and flies. Not to mention found footage and a true-crime documentary, as well as the power of art and unconditional love. Fuller packs a lot into this enigmatic, slow-burning novel. The ground is shifty here. While Ursula’s perceptions are not to be trusted, this is indeed her real world. In the end, perhaps it is best to read this less as a story of the supernatural and more as a story of loss, woundedness and trauma. These are elements of life that Ursula herself cannot help but lean into.

Emotionally complex and quite weird, HUNGER AND THIRST is a novel that lingers in your mind long after you have read the last page.