Wow, what a book! This novella packs so much tension, allure, and appeal into its short pages. Anatema is a humanoid spider who takes up the entire ceilings of rooms--she is enormous, and so is her appetite and her temper. Anatema is searching for a bride, but she always ends up eating the women who come to her. Her only companion is the keeper of her keys--her human servant who opens drawers for her and completes other small tasks that are easier for human hands. Dália, orphaned at a young age, has spent her life training to be Anatema's keeper one day, and when Anatama eats Dália's teacher, it is finally her turn to serve. Dália is not disgusted by Anatema nor very frightened of her, and Anatema becomes more and more interested in and charmed by her new keeper. Whether that interest is good for Dália or not remains to be seen.