Sacred Hunger - Barry Unsworth
Sacred Hunger has an interesting topic, an interesting theme, and interesting characters.
The majority of the narrative takes place aboard a slave-ship as it leaves England, travels to Africa, and begins 'trading' for slaves. Our main protagonist in this section of the ship is doctor Matthew Paris, the nephew of the ship's owner, who has come on the voyage to atone - or punish himself - for actions in his past that he believes led to the death of his wife and unborn child. Paris dislikes the whole venture, but is still willing to be a part of it... this will impact events as they unfold. This part of the book is powerful, fairly graphic in patches, far too coarse for my liking but with enough interest that I decided to give it a bit more time than I normally would have.
Scattered throughout this narrative, we also get chapters focussed on Eramus Kemp, the son of the ship's owner, who has a strong and fairly irrational hatred for his cousin, Matthew Paris. Erasmus is driven, stubborn, possessive, and arrogant about his own ideas. He is also attempting to court Sarah Wolpert, the daughter of one of his father's friends and colleagues. We are told at the beginning of the narrative that Erasmus's father is going to die at some point, and when this finally happens, it drastically impacts this part of the narrative.
The phrase 'sacred hunger' is used a few times in the book, and is tied explicitly to greed and obsession - the hunger for more that drives the slave trade, and also Erasmus's actions, both in the early parts of the narrative, and then in the latter half of the book, where the plot moves ahead twelve years. In this later time period, Erasmus becomes obsessed with learning what has happened to his father's ship (something that we as the readers are also wondering, as the first narrative ends rather abruptly), and especially with confronting his cousin, whom he believes is responsible somehow for its disappearance. As we gradually learn what has happened to the ship and its occupants, the narrative offers a number of flashbacks, which fill in the gaps and explain why some characters who were prominent are now dead, and some very minor characters are now prominent.
The book leads up towards the confrontation between Erasmus and Paris, and then... it happens... and the book wraps up fairly suddenly. I see what the author is going for, but although the ending fits the idea that obsession and greed don't lead to any good outcome, it is a fairly unsatisfying ending after such a long time investing in the characters. The book also leaves a number of questions unanswered, particularly regarding the reason the ship's captain, Thurso, was so superstitious, and whether or not he was answering to some... demonic god?? That's the vibe I get, but its never really spelled out.
Overall, not my favourite.
Although I've officially given up on the Bookerworm quest of reading every Booker Prize-winning novel out there, I still had hopes that this one - with such an interesting and important historical subject matter - might be worth the slog.
Meh. Not really.
Completed 6 April 2026.
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