Word: erysicthon
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Greek mythology tells of King Erysicthon, the ‘Earth-tearer’ who offends Demeter by felling a tree sacred to the goddess. As punishment, Demeter orders Famine to inhabit Erysicthon’s stomach. Cursed with a voracious hunger, the king sells all of his possessions—and his daughter—for food. Eventually, wrought with despair, Erysicthon devours himself...
...graced with good looks and good luck; June, a disimpassioned, selfish woman whose adolescent urge to cause trouble transforms into a flinty resolve. They self-medicate with alcohol and analgesics, their compulsion not dissimilar to the reason for Sylvie’s own addiction. Like the ill-fated Erysicthon, they devour themselves, and yet for all their indulgence in masochistic punishment, they cannot wrench free from the consequences of their war-torn pasts. The author of three previous novels centered on the immigrant experience, Lee is still preoccupied with tropes of alienation, estrangement, and a loss of identity...
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