The Orange Eats Creeps

In her electrically charged debut novel, The Orange Eats Creeps, Grace Krilanovich re-imagines the grunge-rock era Pacific Northwest, only this time the region is populated with self-described "slutty teenage hobo vampire junkies." Whether these are "actual" vampires or imaginary is unclear; Krilanovich has situated the story in the roving mind of her narrator, and her frequently metaphorical (and always dazzling) language and prodigious drug use challenge the veracity of her narrative. Still, the novel steadily pulsates with vivid detail as the band of beer guzzling, train-hopping nightwalkers stumble and smash their way through a soulless, civilized void. While the narrator searches for Kim, her lost foster sister, she occasionally lapses into memories of their tortured childhoods in between vivid scenes of debauchery. But this is about the closest the book gets to a traditional plot. The Orange Eats Creeps should be read less for a climactic payoff than for a frightening vision of what it feels like to be reckless, homeless, plagued with as many demons as insatiable desires, but above all, convinced that you'll never die.