Book Club: Hungry Eyes
A tale of obsession from Anthony McFly.
First published in 2018, Hungry Eyes is a novel by Anthony McFly. Originally written in French, a translation into English by Nicola Clitheroe was published in 2024.
This was McFly's first novel.
What's it about?
Amaury is a young man who is obsessed with his neighbour - observing him closely every day. The story focuses on one evening when Amaury decides to follow his neighbour - determined to connect with him in some way.
What themes does the novel explore?
Obsession: Amaury demonstrates numerous obsessive behaviours. He is obsessed with his appearance - particularly his hair-loss, he is obsessed with words, and he is obsessed with his neighbour. It's also interesting how Amaury switches his obsession from his neighbour to the waiter - a new object of desire once too much is known about Valentin.
Jealousy: Amaury's fascination with his neighbour is primarily driven by jealousy - he appears to have everything that Amaury does not and be everything that Amaury wishes he could be.
Self-awareness: Amaury is hyper-fixated on how he fits into the world and how the world perceives him, but doesn't have much awareness of his impact on the world, or much empathy for others. He doesn't recognise himself in Patrick's pursuit of him, and he doesn't recognise that he is actively shutting the world out instead of allowing people to connect with him - such as Valentin's friend who is in class with him.
Sexuality: Amaury's sexuality is clearly established but not the main driver of the narrative. It shapes his interactions and his perspective, but it's not a specific plot-point. McFly has described it as "gentle and ordinary visibility".
Auto-fiction: McFly wrote this story when he was 20 years old, when he was living in Bordeaux. He self-published it when he was 32. In interviews, McFly has said that Amaury reflects who he was at the age of 20 - a shy, anxious, awkward young man, full of desires but unable to fulfill them because he was too crushed by external expectations, and not yet financially independent.
McFly has confirmed that he wrote the story drawing on personal experience - he lived across the street from a young neighbour, a man who intrigued him because he was about the same age but he seemed much more mature, confident, self-assured. McFly would watch what he was doing - learning about him, observing from a distance - which was easy to do because he lived with his windows open. McFly says that the difference was that he was simply curious about his neighbour whereas Amaury is obsessive.
McFly's second novel - Aux abois (2021) - also draws on his personal experiences for the characters and the narrative. His style could be described as auto-fiction.
Why is this an important novel for gay men?
This is a tightly-written taut story of a young queer man disconnected from the world around him.
The story highlights our need for community and intimacy, illustrating how we can spiral when we feel alienated, unseen, and alone.
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