A bog body is discovered on the estate of Lucy’s sister, Sarah, and Sarah soon begins to send Lucy disturbing letters. When she refuses to eat and is diagnosed with temporary insanity, Lucy tries to unravel her sister’s secrets – only a monstrous hunger seems to be awakening in Sarah that forces Lucy to question everything…
Do you ever read a book that immediately draws you in close and, like a mother holding on to her dead baby, refuses to let you go? Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen captures the Gothic horror atmosphere beautifully; while gory and uncanny at times, it’s also intimate. Her take on Dracula/Carmilla isn’t a contemporary retelling – it takes place in 1887, the Netherlands – but tackles some of the same themes from a more modern perspective.
Based on the title – which, can we take a moment to appreciate it, because it is phenomenal – I was expecting a, potentially Sapphic, romance. While there are elements of both throughout, to a greater degree it’s about sisterhood, codependency, mental health, and misogyny. One of the most intriguing questions the book explores is what, fundamentally, makes a person who they are.
Blood on Her Tongue has some interesting notes on ticks and parasitism, as well as an insightful portrayal of medical history and the ostracism of mental illness, queerness, and women. There are quite a few trigger warnings at the start of the book, and I would say it is relatively gory and descriptive (some eye-related body horror, anyone?). So if you’re squeamish, this might not be the book for you; however, I didn’t think it was too uncomfortable to read.
I’m going to be honest and say that most of the books I consume these days are audiobooks – they are much easier to listen to during a busy week. Yet, there is something special about reading physical books. Something grounding. While Gothic horror doesn’t exactly scream “Christmas,” I felt incredibly cosy cuddled up on my grandparents’ sofa near the fireplace, the smell of duck and cinnamon in the air.
While I can imagine that Blood on Her Tongue is also excellent as an audiobook, the physical format did allow me to enjoy the language more fully, particularly how van Veen strings sentences together, such as in the following: “What was a person if not the sum of all they had ever thought and felt?”
Yet, there are also times when van Veen tells more than she shows. In one scene, she writes: “…she had only said a few sentences before Not-Sarah had taken over. She had not noticed because it was not unusual. Her sister had always been eager to talk and Lucy eager to sit back and listen.” While it can be argued that van Veen was trying to show that Lucy was realising how imbalanced her and her sister’s relationship is, I find the last two lines unnecessary. It should be obvious from other scenes throughout the book that this was a common occurrence.
Moreover, while I’m sure people in the Netherlands in the 1880s swore, certain lines, such as “I’m so fucking hungry,” sound more like modern slang. This might not be to everyone’s taste, but I personally found it funny.
If you are in the mood for a well-written, historical horror about codependent, sisterly love with some bloody, vampiric spice, this is the book for you.
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