Show Notes
Debut author Katie Huttlestone joins Tom's Book Club to discuss A Healthy Appetite, a darkly funny and unsettling novel about cancer, recovery, desire and what we might sacrifice to survive. Hannah has spent a decade living with cancer. Now in her thirties, with her future seemingly disappearing before her, she's given the chance to take part in a clinical trial that could save her life. But when the treatment begins to work, Hannah's appetite returns, first for meat, despite being a committed vegetarian, and then for much more. In this episode, Katie Huttlestone talks about writing "recovery horror", drawing on her own experience of cancer, and exploring what happens after survival. We discuss Hannah's changing relationship with her body, sex and desire and the complicated reality of relying on the NHS while recognising its flaws. 📚 Buy books discussed on the podcast through the Tom’s Book Club Bookshop.org page: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/TomsBookClub
Tom’s Book Club may earn a small commission from purchases made through our Bookshop.org link, at no extra cost to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Tom's Book Club
Luke Kennard joins Tom’s Book Club to discuss Black Bag, his offbeat novel shortlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize. A penniless actor takes a job wearing an oversized black bag as part of a university experiment, with unexpected consequences for love, friendship and the possibility of turning the whole thing into a business.
Roddy Doyle joins Tom’s Book Club to talk about A Ghostly Little Book, a new collection of contemporary ghost stories from five acclaimed writers.
Hernan Diaz joins Tom’s Book Club to talk about Ply, his new novel set centuries in the future. Diaz is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Trust, which won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
John Boyne joins Tom’s Book Club to talk about his new novel, The Weight of Angels, an imaginative reworking of the life of Oscar Wilde that asks what might have happened if Wilde had made a different decision at a crucial moment in his life.
Louise Kennedy joins Tom’s Book Club to talk about her new novel, Stations, a powerful story of friendship, love, family and the long shadows cast by the choices we make when we are young.