Carnivore by Jonathan Lyon

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Carnivore by Jonathan Lyon. Thanks to Joe for organising the tour.
Don't forget to check out the rest of the stops.

The Synopsis

Meet Leander: lover, fighter, liar.
He learnt a long time ago that nothing is as intoxicating as blood. But whether it’s his or someone else’s doesn’t matter any more. There’s a mysterious pain in every muscle of his body – and it’s got so bad that he’ll do anything to escape it.
Up to now, it’s been his secret. But it’s hard to remain invisible when you leave a trail of destruction everywhere you go. So, when he comes to the attention of one of London’s most infamous criminals, Leander decides to put his appetite for violence to the ultimate test.
Let the villain win.

My Review

For me, Carnivore is more of a literary novel than a crime novel and it wasn't what I was expecting at all. Nevertheless, its eye opening representation of chronic illness was definitely worth the read.
The way Leander deals with his pain is shocking and very dark, and throughout, the book is violent and graphic. It's certainly not for the faint hearted and I think it's often written to shock. However I felt that beneath all of the violence and in depth descriptions, the book explored the mind of Leander well. He's not likeable, the narration is unreliable and he's definitely an anti-hero, but the extremes he goes to to cope, really illustrate how much pain he must be feeling.
Overall, I'm giving Carnivore 4 out of 5. It's such an interesting read from a psychological perspective and it's very impactful and memorable. If you can cope with the extremely graphic descriptions, it's worth a read for the eye-opening exploration of this invisible chronic illness which affects many people but isn't widely discussed or well-known.
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This book was provided free in exchange for an honest review.

About the Author

Jonathan Lyon was born in 1991 in London. He studied at Oxford University, graduating in 2013 with the Gibbs Prize. He moved to Berlin in the same year. He has had a chronic illness for over a decade. He is a self-made demon. Carnivore is his debut novel.