BROADCASTS.com

b'

\\u201cReminiscent of The Handmaid\\u2019s Tale\\u201d (Kirkus Reviews), playwright Megan Campisi\\u2019s debut novel, SIN EATER ( Atria), is an inventive exploration of history and womanhood in 16th century England\\u2014with a dystopian and eerily contemporary feminine twist.

When 14-year-old May is caught stealing, she receives a life sentence: rather than being hanged, she must become a Sin Eater\\u2014a shunned, silent woman, performing a funeral rite of consuming food that symbolizes each particular sin\\u2014from lust to rebellion to murder. This allows the dying to leave behind their sins, thus giving their souls access to heaven.