I Eat Men Like Air by Alice Berman
‘Maybe the things everyone said would fix you actually didn’t do anything,’ says Lulu, just one of the rich, beautiful, and deeply troubled narrators of I Eat Men Like Air, ‘the only thing that could fix you, is you’. In the lives of her and her six twenty-something friends, it seems that there is little that they lack. Status and wealth are the centrepieces of the image they present to the world, one that says, ‘we have it all together’. But behind the scenes, and over a lavishly planned weekend in New Hampshire, these illusions dissipate as one of them is found dead in a bathtub filled with their own blood. Along with the perspective of a crime podcaster, the reader is pulled into the story to piece together the true cause of death.
Admittedly, I’m usually one who shies away from new-age mystery and thriller novels. I never quite got the hype over Gillian Flynn, and I can’t say I’m a fan of now Netflix adapted, You. It’s not to say that such works aren’t in their own right, impressive and gripping, but rather that there is a noted pressure in contemporary fiction to produce stories that are brim-filled with action and twists. In my perspective, there is such a thing as doing too much. So, while I understand that shocking reveals are meant to create excitement and surprise, they often leave me scratching my head at how unrealistically they come across.
With each chapter deeper into I Eat Men Like Air, I was pleasantly surprised that Berman had resisted that urge and maintained a storyline that was still engaging without being far fetched. The power in Berman’s writing rests in her commitment to creating a thriller infused with realism, producing a piece of work that feels just on the edge of true life. Raising the hairs on your arm with the thought that, ‘this could really happen’. It is not something that takes you out of this world, but rather places you directly in it, in perhaps the darkest of its corners.
As a young writer, Berman is undoubtedly in-tune with her generations’ experience of modern life. Her ability to do so allows her to then accurately depict it, a concept which some long-time writers resist, or attempt to do in an almost awkward manner. In I Eat Men Like Air, her voice comes through clear and defiant, representational of the millennial population that have grown up in a time that has not only witnessed but also been behind so many rapid changes. One of which includes the breakdown of social taboos surrounding the discussion of serious issues like mental health, sexual abuse, and substance use.
Image from @writeordietribe
Even when touching on these topics, Berman maintains a stance that doesn’t create a spectacle of the situation which, for many, is very real. Most notably, her characters speak openly and shamelessly about depression and anxiety, Lulu for example being introduced as having freshly left a mental health clinic, a point that is touched on through-out the book. In a time of the #MeToo movement, Berman is grossly aware of the significant shift in the culture of speaking up, and isn’t afraid to show this to the reader.
In each instance, the situation is approached thoughtfully, which is unsurprising given Berman’s commitment to research, stating to us, ‘I read interviews... and psychology books… I talked to friends…I read Chanel Miller’s statement to her rapist probably ten times, and I cried every single time’.
This mimicking of the modern age is extended into the finer details, too. When thinking of how often we scroll, tap, like, comment in a day, it is almost baffling how little of social media and phones we see in contemporary fiction. In the case of crime in fiction especially, technological movements of the characters would undoubtedly have the potential to completely alter the storyline itself. Again, Berman refreshingly incorporates these elements readers are aware of in real life but rarely see in writing, speaking of Revolve trips, juuling, podcasts, and social media influencing.
In its whole, I Eat Men Like Air is a modernised, female-powered, mystery novel that exceeds expectations from the get-go. Berman is clearly a writer that is highly observant of her surroundings, of current culture, and of everyday language, and knows how to incorporate that into her work without it coming across as forced. Her consistent plot development is able to carry her message through to a satisfying end, making up a thoughtful piece of work that, much like the title itself, stings with fiery defiance.
by Alice Berman
Audible Original. 2019
ABOUT ROUMINA PARSAMAND
Roumina is a journalism and finance student from Melbourne, Australia. She is a filler of journals with words and drawings, and an obsessive reader. Always happy to chat books, pet dogs, and drink tea. You can find her on Instagram at @nami.reads
