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The Wolf in the Whale
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'IMAGINATIVE AND COMPELLING' Juliet Marillier, author of the Sevenwaters Series THERE IS A VERY OLD...
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Beneath the Veil of Smoke and Ash
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The Sin Eater
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Can you uncover the truth when you’re forbidden from speaking it? A Sin Eater’s duty is a...
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Men of Khyber
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Jawar Dil is the influential and charismatic leader of a powerful Hindu clan in Khyber. His skill in...
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ClareR (6225 KP) rated The Glutton in Books
Dec 20, 2023
The Glutton by A. K. Blakemore is based on the real life story of Tarare, a man born into poverty but happy with that life. That is until his mother meets the man who changes her life, presumably for the better - and changes Tarare’s life for the worst.
He’s known as the man who ate a golden fork (that eventually kills him), live animals, offal, a baby - but still people want to watch him put away vast amounts of food (and non-food!). And if it means he’s fed, Tarare sees it as a way of satiating the ever-present hunger. The draw of the circus freak is overwhelming for the French public.
Tarare is a simple man who is taken advantage of at every turn. I felt so sorry for him. He has the disadvantage of not only being very unusual, but also uneducated and poor. He has to fight to survive, both as a soldier and as a civilian, and he’s seen as a joke by the more well-off.
For such a grotesque subject matter, the writing really is rather beautiful. Descriptions of Tarare’s childhood and the place that he grew up were sensitively done - you could see the love of his local area and the love he felt for his mother. Even in the most disgusting sections of the book, there was a kind of beauty.
A deliciously bizarre, beautifully written book. I loved it.