“Was it my idea to have him hurt me, or did he just let me think it was?”
If you’re pulled to sharp-edged satire, morally messy characters, and stories that stay with you, then Eliza Clark is an author you need on your bookshelf. Best known for her bold, unsettling depictions of obsession, online culture, and the darker realities of modern life, Clark has quickly established a reputation as one of the most exciting contemporary voices in literary fiction. From her debut novel, Boy Parts, to her later releases, her books are as provocative as they are compulsively readable. Today at What We Reading, we’re running you through the best Eliza Clark books in order, delving into each novel, what it’s about, and why it deserves a spot on your TBR pile. Whether you’re a newcomer to her work or looking to catch up on everything she’s written so far, this list will help you choose where to start.
Boy Parts (2020)
First up on our list of Eliza Clark books is her 2020 debut novel and viral sleeper hit, Boy Parts. Irinia obsessively takes explicit photographs of the average-looking men she persuades to model for her, scouted from the streets of Newcastle. Placed on sabbatical from her dead-end bar job, she is offered an exhibition at a fashionable London gallery, promising to revive her career in the art world and presenting an escape from her rut of alcohol, drugs, and extreme cinema.
The news triggers a self-destructive tailspin, centred around Irina’s relationship with her obsessive best friend, and a shy young man from her local supermarket who has caught her attention. Boy Parts is an incendiary pitch-black comedy, both shocking and hilarious, fearlessly exploring the taboo regions of sexuality and gender roles in the twenty-first century.
Check Out Our Book Review For Boy Parts
Penance (2023)
It’s been nearly a decade since the horrifying murder of sixteen-year-old Joan Wilson rocked Crow-on-Sea, and the events of that terrible night are now being published for the first time. That story is Penance, a dizzying feat of masterful storytelling, where Eliza Clark manoeuvers us through the accounts of the inhabitants of this small seaside town.
Placing us readers in the capable hands of journalist Alec Z. Carelli, Clark allows him to construct what he claims to be the ‘definitive account’ of the murder – and what led up to it. Built on hours of interviews with witnesses and family members, painstaking historical research, and, most notably, with the killers themselves, the result is a riveting snapshot of lives rocked by tragedy, and a town left in turmoil. The only question is: how much of it is true?
She’s Always Hungry (2024)
She’s Always Hungry is a collection of short stories by Eliza Clark, firmly establishing the British author as undoubtedly one of the rising stars in literature. A woman welcomes a parasite into her body. A teenager longs for perfect skin. A scientist tends to fragile alien flora. A young man takes the night into his own hands.
Each of these characters introduced to us has a desperate desire. Can any of them be sated? Unsettling, revelatory, and laced with her signature dark humour, Eliza Clark’s debut short story collection plumbs the depths of that most basic human feeling within us all: hunger.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
