Sin Eater: A Novel

Megan Campisi

Apr 2020 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

“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).

Ratings and reviews

Let’s start with an explanation: a sin eater is a woman, shunned from society and performs the ritual of consuming a meal, thus the sins of the dead, taking on those sins as a way to atone for their own. Our story starts with fourteen year old May, marked for the task after stealing a loaf of bread after she was orphaned. The setting is England, and roughly comparative to Tudor times with the Catholic purge, the Protestant reformation and the subsequent upheaval throughout the country when fear was rampant, death close to hand, and people, all people were looking for a ‘connection’ to understand their place in the world. Comparisons of this book run to Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, with twists from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland – and I’ll say that the connections that fit for me were the ‘position’ of women in society and the clever and often surreal feel to the tale – but I didn’t find it directly correlative. But on to the story: May, as a Sin Eater is not to be noticed or seen, speak not, never be touched, and constantly presented with foodstuffs that are meant to represent, and thus remove through her consumption, the sins of the dead. Thought to be a direct pathway to Eve, the original sinner, the life is difficult, particularly so for May who was known for her chattering on about any and every thing she notices. May’s internal dialog is the narrative voice of the story: with her questions, her snide comments and thoughts, and even moments that feel hopeful buried in the bleakness that is her situation. “Apprenticed” to another Sin Eater, marked with a collar and tattoo on her tongue, she’s expected (we can only glean this information from the story) learn by watching: until her ‘mentor’ refuses a ‘meal’ and is summarily executed for failing in her duty. From here, it becomes May’s task, self-assigned, to discover who was responsible for the uneaten meal, and why such a thing was done. This brings us to the search and her constant efforts to untangle the web of lies, manipulation and secrets – secrets which, as a Sin Eater used to spending time with the dying and hearing their sins have even her surprised. May was wonderfully complex, caught in a task she didn’t ask for and keeping herself amused with descriptions and names for the people she encounters, discovering the dark underside of human nature, and finding her own place in the strangely isolated existence she’s been placed in. There are places where the story feels repetitive as May’s days are very ‘samey-samey’, but the twists, when they come are fast and hard, with a particular ‘never saw that coming’ ending that was both fitting and wholly unexpected despite several ways I had in my head that suggested where the story would go. Want something all-encompassing and utterly unique? This is the story….. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

With a disturbing cover that is eerily compelling, Sin Eater by Megan Campisi cements that sense of unease with a story that is a chimera of mystery, historical fantasy, and socio-political commentary. Set in a fictional Britain that winkingly resembles that of the 16th century, the book borrows recognizable elements from that time period and uses them as a springboard for Campisi’s own imaginative interpretation. In her opening notes, the author explains that Sin Eaters did exist, but their genesis and the myths surrounding them are mostly undocumented. Apparently, these outcasts symbolically removed a dying person’s sins by eating bread laid out at their sickbed or funeral. This novel is Campisi’s attempt at building a deeper first-person narrative based on the meager details available. Orphaned and rejected by relatives who steal her home from under her, May is jailed for stealing bread. Sentenced to serve as an apprentice to a Sin Eater, she has no idea why her relatively small transgression warrants such extreme punishment. May receives a brand of an “S” on her tongue and a heavy yoke-like collar that will perpetually advertise her lowly station for the rest of her life. No longer allowed to speak, she is condemned to be untouchable and fated to serve “Eve” (the book’s version of Satan) after her death if she neglects any part of her duties. These responsibilities include hearing last confessions, ordering specific foods to be prepared based on the sins committed, and consuming them upon the person’s death. She thereby absolves the deceased of wrongdoing and transfers the sins onto her own soul. Every town needs a Sin Eater, one who is tolerated as an unwelcome but necessary part of every citizen’s life. May learns the rituals from the town’s existing Sin Eater, a slovenly older woman whom she dubs Ruth since they cannot speak to each other. May heartbreakingly tries to wring any possible affection from her teacher and forms an attachment despite her rough treatment. The premise of this novel is fascinating, but the storyline become a bit muddled when the two Sin Eaters are called to the Queen’s court. While performing their ritual, they are exposed to activities that some powerful people want to conceal, thereby endangering their lives. The book then morphs into a murder mystery involving court intrigue, religious intolerance and disputes about succession to the throne. The events described reference the turmoil seen during the reigns of Bloody Mary and Elizabeth I. Those who are unfamiliar with this historical period may miss many of the nuanced comparisons, and May’s use of nicknames for the characters she encounters can be difficult to decipher. The best parts of Sin Eater are outside of the central mystery—the plotlines depicting May’s discovery of kindness and kinship with fellow pariahs and her gradual realization of her own power within the social hierarchy. Ironically, the nature of her position and the fear it inspires serves as a source of freedom and provides unfettered access into all echelons of society. Original and well-written, Megan Campisi has taken a disturbing footnote from history and embellished it into a commentary on corruption and the price of freedom. Sin Eater is rewarding for those who persevere, enduring the twisting and somewhat divergent paths that the book wanders down along the way. Thanks to the author, Atria Books and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

About the author

Megan Campisi is a playwright, novelist, and teacher. Her plays have been performed in China, France, and the United States. She attended Yale University and L’École International de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. The author of Sin Eater, she lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her family.