The novel grew out of werewolf stories hew wrote during college, which he called "male-centered," with the female characters being either pray or prostitutes who are raped "so that a male predator can come to terms with his own predatory nature." Das claimed those early versions of characters remain in his final novel and also said, "but the novel was woven around questioning how easily I, as a straight male writer, slipped so comfortably into using this misogynistic narrative device of taking away the voice of women, even while exploring violence against women (and ostensibly questioning and criticizing it)."[4]
Plot
The story, which takes place primarily in Kolkata, is set during the reign of the Mughal Empire in the seventeenth century and extends to modern India. The main character, Alok Mukherjee, is a college professor and historian who happens upon a stranger that tells him a story about shape-shifters that devour human souls in order to survive. The stranger claims that the tale he tells it true, and although Alok is skeptical, he is intrigued and insists on finishing the story. Alok is then enlisted to translate and transcribe a collection of notebooks and texts documented on human skin, through which the rest of the story is told.[5]
"Not for the squeamish, Das' debut is an ambitious, unsettling trip into our own capacity for violence," according to Kirkus Reviews.[9] Author of The Obelisk Gate, N. K. Jemisin, concluded in her review of the book in The New York Times, ”Readers will savor every bite."[5]
In a starred review, Publishers Weekly praised Das' debut novel as "brutal, intoxicating, and gorgeously visceral."[10]Podcast host and writer for Tor.com Mahvesh Murad described The Devourers similarly and expanded on the sentiment: "It is violent and vicious and deeply unsettling for a number of reasons. But it is also showcases Das’ incredible prowess with language and rhythm, and his ability to weave folklore and ancient legend with modern day loneliness."[2]
The LA Review of Books said that "very little happens plotwise in the novel" but pointed out how it critiques patriarchal violence and "the harm inflicted by heterosexual norms."[11]
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