In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.
Previous contributors include Jesmyn Ward, Lauren Groff, Bret Easton Ellis, Celeste Ng, T.C. Boyle, Dana Spiotta, Hanif Abdurraqib, Andrew Sean Greer, Roxane Gay, and many others.
P Paramita’s Appetite is my favorite debut novel of the year so far, a mesmerizing amalgamation of food, professional wrestling, fandom, and connection.
Jinwoo Chong wrote of the book:
“Peerless in its wily and humorous blend of back-of-house restaurant life, internet fan culture, and the extravagant pageantry of pro-wrestling, P. Paramita’s Appetite holds a mirror to the puzzling ways humans sometimes find themselves connecting with one another, on and offline. It’s as comforting as a warm hug—prepare to be captivated, and hungry.”
In her own words, here is P Paramita’s Book Notes music playlist for her debut novel Appetite:
My debut novel, Appetite, offers a look into what happens when a parasocial relationship with a celebrity hero becomes a sudden part of daily life. In Appetite, we meet wrestling aficionado Zarina, a rising Bangladeshi cook who hopes to open her own fusion restaurant someday. However, her plans get derailed when she falls into the wrestling Twitter rabbit hole and eventually entangled in the life of her favorite wrestler, Sierra Myst. Music plays a big role in the book, and it was a big part of my journey when writing the book. As a result, here is a playlist full of songs that feature a combination of songs carrying themes of the book alongside having served as inspiration in the writing process.
I Know a Place / MUNA – “I Know a Place” is directly mentioned in the book. Zarina listens to it while planning her own restaurant, envisioning it to be a place where there is no discrimination, where everyone is free to be themselves, and anything is possible. It’s the perfect anthem for creating a safe space full of love and joy.
Pied Piper / BTS – BTS’s “Pied Piper” is iconic. In this track, K-Pop powerhouse boyband BTS directly address the impact they have on their fans. The septet address the listener, acknowledging how their coaches and parents must hate the band for the impact they have on their fans. Although the song is primarily in Korean, the chorus ends in English with the straightforward statement, “I’m taking over you.” Sierra Myst does indeed take over Zarina’s life. Plus, Appetite leans into embracing Bangla words amidst an English novel and Pied Piper as a song is linguistically a nice fit as well.
Poth Chola / Artcell – This is a Bangla song that is so melodic it transcends language. The singer laments about his journey, wondering where his life path will take him and whether his dreams will be fulfilled. He’s full of hope, waiting for life to take him where he wants to be. The plot of Appetite is largely entails waiting for Zarina to realize her true calling and it is very much a dream-come-true novel, both for character and author.
Shrike / Hozier – A shrike is a bird that impales its prey on sharp thorns. Hozier uses this as a metaphor for a failing relationship and the subsequent regret. Zarina and Sierra have a strong start, but it slowly start to feel like this friendship might not be the best thing for Zarina. In fact, getting lost in the world of wrestling stands in the way of Zarina achieving her goals, and misdirects her. Zarina’s not the best friend to Sierra either. At a point where it feels like they are done, they do think about each other and Sierra tries to get Zarina back in her life in a number of ways. The song feels apt with this book.
Without Me / Halsey – On a similar note, perhaps this is the song from Zarina’s perspective. Zarina is influential in raising Sierra Myst’s popularity with online wrestling fans. She tweets positively about her, makes GIFs of Sierra, and organizes projects to bring fans closer to Sierra. When Zarina feels betrayed, “Without Me,” a song about putting someone on a pedestal who lets you down, rings true.
Liability / Lorde – Appetite is very much a book about loneliness—the one that comes with graduation, separation from friends, feeling lost in your early 20s, and struggling to find your people. Combining that with job and career frustration means that Zarina very much has to rely on herself and find ways to love herself, and “Liability” is the anthem for that feeling.
Din Gelo / Habib Wahid – Another artist who’s mentioned in the book! This is one of my favorite songs of all time. Din Gelo is about watching the days pass by as you wait to feel seen and waiting for a loved one to return. While not literally, is very much the emotional vibe of Appetite. Zarina has big dreams, a lot of potential, but not a lot of recognition.
Modigliani / Lucy Dacus – Lucy Dacus was an integral part of my writing journey. I listened to her especially while I was editing Appetite. And how fitting that she has this beautiful friendship song. A prominent theme in Appetite is the importance of discerning good friends from bad. Zarina finds friends eventually who reflect the message of this song—the want to tell your friend about every little detail of your day, thinking about them when one of you is out of town, knowing all their anecdotes by heart.
Soup / Remi Wolf – I couldn’t make this list without including a song that mentions soup. Food is about community and love, food brings people together. I love listening to this song at dinner parties, in the car with friends, and while sitting home and writing. “If you give me your keys, I’ll go and pick up the soup” is such an expression of love and it is very much Zarina’s love language.
P. Paramita is a Bangladesh-born, New Haven-based writer, professor, and pop culture enthusiast. Paramita’s work has appeared in Teen Vogue, them, Color Bloq, Autostraddle, Southampton Review, and Dogwood Journal, where she was a finalist for the Dogwood Literary Award in Nonfiction.