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The Glutton
Sister Perpetue is not to move. She is not to fall asleep. She is to sit, keeping guard over the patient's room. She has heard the stories of his hunger, which defy belief: that he has eaten all manner of creatures and objects. A child even, if the rumours are to be believed. But it is hard to believe that this slender, frail man is the one they once called The Great Tarare, The Glutton of Lyon.
Before, he was just Tarare. Well-meaning and hopelessly curious, born into a world of brawling and sweet cider, to a bereaved mother and a life of slender means. The 18th Century is drawing to a close, unrest grips the heart of France and life in the village is soon shaken. When a sudden act of violence sees Tarare cast out and left for dead, his ferocious appetite is ignited, and it's not long before his extraordinary abilities to eat make him a marvel throughout the land.
Following Tarare as he travels from the South of France to Paris and beyond, through the heart of the Revolution, The Glutton is an electric, heart-stopping journey into a world of tumult, upheaval and depravity, wherein the hunger of one peasant is matched only by the insatiable demands of the people of France.
Before, he was just Tarare. Well-meaning and hopelessly curious, born into a world of brawling and sweet cider, to a bereaved mother and a life of slender means. The 18th Century is drawing to a close, unrest grips the heart of France and life in the village is soon shaken. When a sudden act of violence sees Tarare cast out and left for dead, his ferocious appetite is ignited, and it's not long before his extraordinary abilities to eat make him a marvel throughout the land.
Following Tarare as he travels from the South of France to Paris and beyond, through the heart of the Revolution, The Glutton is an electric, heart-stopping journey into a world of tumult, upheaval and depravity, wherein the hunger of one peasant is matched only by the insatiable demands of the people of France.
323 pages, Paperback
First published October 31, 2023
About the author
A.K. Blakemore
7 books249 followersA.K. Blakemore is the author of two collections of poetry: Humbert Summer and Fondue. She has also translated the work of Sichuanese poet Yu Yoyo. Her poetry and prose writing have been widely published and anthologized, appearing in The London Review of Books, Poetry, The Poetry Review, and The White Review, among other publications. Her debut novel, The Manningtree Witches won the Desmond Elliot Prize 2021. She lives in London, England.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 633 reviews
August 14, 2023
finger licking good.
June 26, 2023
The Glutton imagines life of the Great Tarare, a historical figure known for bottomless appetite, in the 18th century France.
The story begins with Tarare being locked up and under watchful eye of a nun. He relates his story to her. It begins in the small village of Tarare, where life is tough. At sixteen, he gets pushed out of the house, and in order to survive, he joins misfits. His limitless appetite is notices and used for a show.
The character of Tarare is wonderfully developed. His story is dark and can move many hearts. What shines through this story is the lyrical prose. However, the poetic descriptions take time to reveal the story.
I believe this book is more for those who are into expressive writing, rather than the story itself.
Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The story begins with Tarare being locked up and under watchful eye of a nun. He relates his story to her. It begins in the small village of Tarare, where life is tough. At sixteen, he gets pushed out of the house, and in order to survive, he joins misfits. His limitless appetite is notices and used for a show.
The character of Tarare is wonderfully developed. His story is dark and can move many hearts. What shines through this story is the lyrical prose. However, the poetic descriptions take time to reveal the story.
I believe this book is more for those who are into expressive writing, rather than the story itself.
Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
December 7, 2023
Notes:
* This book is a fictionalized version of the real Tarare who lived in the 18th century France and had the ability to devour anything.
*This book is excellent if one wants to go on a diet. You will most definitely lose your appetite.
*Napoleon makes a majestic albeit brief appearance in the book.
All is perfect, and delicious.
He is born in a village near Lyon around year 1772. His name is Tarare and he is always hungry. They say he eats anything and everything. They say once he ate a little child…
They call him The Great Tarare; they call him The Glutton of Lyon, The Hercules of the Gullet, The Bottomless Man; they call him The Beast.
The story begins with Tarare as a patient in a hospital in Versailles. He looks haggard, sallow, in pain and decaying. He claims the pain is caused by a golden fork that he swallowed whole and that it’s tearing him apart inside.
He is the patient “who must always be watched”. And watched he is, by a young nun who listens to him telling his life story; where it all began and how it all became.
* This book is a fictionalized version of the real Tarare who lived in the 18th century France and had the ability to devour anything.
*This book is excellent if one wants to go on a diet. You will most definitely lose your appetite.
*Napoleon makes a majestic albeit brief appearance in the book.
All is perfect, and delicious.
He is born in a village near Lyon around year 1772. His name is Tarare and he is always hungry. They say he eats anything and everything. They say once he ate a little child…
They call him The Great Tarare; they call him The Glutton of Lyon, The Hercules of the Gullet, The Bottomless Man; they call him The Beast.
The story begins with Tarare as a patient in a hospital in Versailles. He looks haggard, sallow, in pain and decaying. He claims the pain is caused by a golden fork that he swallowed whole and that it’s tearing him apart inside.
He is the patient “who must always be watched”. And watched he is, by a young nun who listens to him telling his life story; where it all began and how it all became.
October 30, 2023
I love reading literary and historical fiction works this time of year. AK Blakemore’s The Glutton not only delivered on both of these genres but also delivered me a truly incredible and unforgettable tale.
The Glutton is the reimagined story based on the legendary tale of the historic figure Tarare, a man who was known for his insatiable hunger and bizarre eating habits. Set in 1798 the book begins in a Versailles Hospital. Sister Perpetúe has been tasked with sitting with a dying patient. The patient has been rumored to have consumed a golden fork in order to quench his insatiable appetite but the fork is killing him from the inside. The patient then begins telling Sister Perpetúe his life story and how he ended up here.
Born in a small village to an impoverished widowed mother, Tarare’s life was overflowed with happiness and his appreciation for the small things in life. But unfortunately, this peaceful existence doesn’t last forever and he is forced down the tumultuous path of the French Revolution. Tarare is soon left to the mercy of strangers and becomes increasingly ravenous.
Not only did this book pull me in with its compelling plot but the author's lyrical writing made me hang onto her every word. She took such a dark legend from history and polished it into a brilliant gem. It's very clear that the author researched the time and era of this book. I was so immersed in the story that I could easily imagine myself in France during the revolution.
I love it when an author can make me feel something that I typically wouldn't and The Glutton evoked a plethora of emotions in me. At times the story made me feel appalled, and at other times it made my heart spill over with sadness. I truly can't rave about this one enough and In a way, the story made me gluttonous for more! I cannot wait to read more of author A.K. Blakemore’s backlist and I highly recommend The Glutton!
The Glutton by A.K. Blakemore will be available on October 31. Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the free copy for review!
The Glutton is the reimagined story based on the legendary tale of the historic figure Tarare, a man who was known for his insatiable hunger and bizarre eating habits. Set in 1798 the book begins in a Versailles Hospital. Sister Perpetúe has been tasked with sitting with a dying patient. The patient has been rumored to have consumed a golden fork in order to quench his insatiable appetite but the fork is killing him from the inside. The patient then begins telling Sister Perpetúe his life story and how he ended up here.
Born in a small village to an impoverished widowed mother, Tarare’s life was overflowed with happiness and his appreciation for the small things in life. But unfortunately, this peaceful existence doesn’t last forever and he is forced down the tumultuous path of the French Revolution. Tarare is soon left to the mercy of strangers and becomes increasingly ravenous.
Not only did this book pull me in with its compelling plot but the author's lyrical writing made me hang onto her every word. She took such a dark legend from history and polished it into a brilliant gem. It's very clear that the author researched the time and era of this book. I was so immersed in the story that I could easily imagine myself in France during the revolution.
I love it when an author can make me feel something that I typically wouldn't and The Glutton evoked a plethora of emotions in me. At times the story made me feel appalled, and at other times it made my heart spill over with sadness. I truly can't rave about this one enough and In a way, the story made me gluttonous for more! I cannot wait to read more of author A.K. Blakemore’s backlist and I highly recommend The Glutton!
The Glutton by A.K. Blakemore will be available on October 31. Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the free copy for review!
January 10, 2024
**ARC of this book provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review**
Sometimes a novel is less than sum of its good parts.
The Glutton is a dual timeline novel separated into three parts that tells the story of Tarrare - a man with great appetite and bizarre eating habits. First timeline starts in a French countryside and shows Tarrare's childhood and how young and innocent he was and the second timeline shows manipulative and sinister Tarrare on his deathbed. Starting this book I hoped we will get to observe how pure and somewhat slow-minded boy became this vile creature tormenting nuns in his final days but after finishing this book I still have problems with seeing how this two Tarrare's were one person.
Tarrare's insatiable hunger is one of the main themes of this book but it was described in not a very convincing way. Instead on hyperfocusing on food Tarrare has a mental capacity to be a philosopher of sorts, musing about life and love and beauty. The hunger explodes sometimes resulting in pretty detailed descriptions of gorging on disgusting things and pushing Tarrare beyond the lines of taboo. Everything is described in this poetic way that makes it pretty and repulsive at the same time and I would say this turpism is the greatest strength of this book.
It's an OK book. Don't read Wikipedia article about Tarrare before reading this novel because it can spoil your reading experience.
Sometimes a novel is less than sum of its good parts.
The Glutton is a dual timeline novel separated into three parts that tells the story of Tarrare - a man with great appetite and bizarre eating habits. First timeline starts in a French countryside and shows Tarrare's childhood and how young and innocent he was and the second timeline shows manipulative and sinister Tarrare on his deathbed. Starting this book I hoped we will get to observe how pure and somewhat slow-minded boy became this vile creature tormenting nuns in his final days but after finishing this book I still have problems with seeing how this two Tarrare's were one person.
Tarrare's insatiable hunger is one of the main themes of this book but it was described in not a very convincing way. Instead on hyperfocusing on food Tarrare has a mental capacity to be a philosopher of sorts, musing about life and love and beauty. The hunger explodes sometimes resulting in pretty detailed descriptions of gorging on disgusting things and pushing Tarrare beyond the lines of taboo. Everything is described in this poetic way that makes it pretty and repulsive at the same time and I would say this turpism is the greatest strength of this book.
It's an OK book. Don't read Wikipedia article about Tarrare before reading this novel because it can spoil your reading experience.
Read
October 14, 2023A.K. Blakemore’s second historical novel continues her immaculate trend of injecting poetry into prose, and writing tales of tragedy and hardship with so much beauty and elegance.
The Glutton is based on the real-life story of Tarare, a young Frenchman born near Lyon in the year 1772. When the novel begins, Tarare is in his late twenties and on his deathbed, telling his tale to a nun who believes him an offence; an abomination, but who is curious enough to listen and learn about The Bottomless Man.
My full thoughts: https://booksandbao.com/best-historic...
The Glutton is based on the real-life story of Tarare, a young Frenchman born near Lyon in the year 1772. When the novel begins, Tarare is in his late twenties and on his deathbed, telling his tale to a nun who believes him an offence; an abomination, but who is curious enough to listen and learn about The Bottomless Man.
My full thoughts: https://booksandbao.com/best-historic...
May 14, 2023
Most assuredly my sort of book so firstly, thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
For reasons unknown (except perhaps the oddity of Tarare's disposition) it reminded me of Suskind's brilliant Perfume. The reason it reminded me of Candide is probably only because it is set in France (its at least 30 years since I read that particular novella). Either way this felt like a much older novel than it is. Just be assured that it is perfect this way.
I had not heard of Tarare (feel free to Google the correct pronunciation because you'll find at least four different ways). However he is a historical figure and this book is historical fiction. Tarare was supposedly a bottomless pit when it came to food but his peculiarity was that he could eat anything - cutlery, jewellery, dead and live animals (and worse).
The book is almost wholly seen through Tarare's eyes and although it is comically odd in parts it is clear by the end that this is a sad story.
I highly recommend this for fans of literary and historical fiction. The writing is beautiful and the subject bizarre. Well worth a read.
For reasons unknown (except perhaps the oddity of Tarare's disposition) it reminded me of Suskind's brilliant Perfume. The reason it reminded me of Candide is probably only because it is set in France (its at least 30 years since I read that particular novella). Either way this felt like a much older novel than it is. Just be assured that it is perfect this way.
I had not heard of Tarare (feel free to Google the correct pronunciation because you'll find at least four different ways). However he is a historical figure and this book is historical fiction. Tarare was supposedly a bottomless pit when it came to food but his peculiarity was that he could eat anything - cutlery, jewellery, dead and live animals (and worse).
The book is almost wholly seen through Tarare's eyes and although it is comically odd in parts it is clear by the end that this is a sad story.
I highly recommend this for fans of literary and historical fiction. The writing is beautiful and the subject bizarre. Well worth a read.
October 19, 2023
Not for the easily troubled.
This is by far the oddest book I have read in as long as I can remember.
It had bits of very dark, very funny humour and very touching emotive parts too.
If you want that
"Jesus what did I just read" feeling.
This is 100% for you.
This is by far the oddest book I have read in as long as I can remember.
It had bits of very dark, very funny humour and very touching emotive parts too.
If you want that
"Jesus what did I just read" feeling.
This is 100% for you.
September 1, 2023
Ughhhh. I wanted to like this much more than I did. It had elements that called to me; it was absolutely bizarre, disgusting, gruesome, but with a fantastical and whimsical touch...sometimes even quite humorous.
However, I just could not get in to it! I don't know if it's because of a personal issue I'm dealing with at the moment or what, but I didn't feel hooked. Although I love learning new vocabulary in books, I felt as if I was looking up words constantly (which I recognize to totally be a personal thing).
The Manningtree Witches by the same aithor was one of the few books I've ever DNF'd. I was able to get through this one based on the absolutely insane premise and fabulous writing--I will definitely remember this but it was not my favorite.
However, I just could not get in to it! I don't know if it's because of a personal issue I'm dealing with at the moment or what, but I didn't feel hooked. Although I love learning new vocabulary in books, I felt as if I was looking up words constantly (which I recognize to totally be a personal thing).
The Manningtree Witches by the same aithor was one of the few books I've ever DNF'd. I was able to get through this one based on the absolutely insane premise and fabulous writing--I will definitely remember this but it was not my favorite.
December 12, 2023
4 stars. utterly bizarre but wonderfully dark and grotesque.
December 12, 2023
This is somehow both the most beautiful and ugly piece of work I have ever read.
April 23, 2023
A. K. Blakemore arrived on the literary scene with the rather wonderful The Manningtree Witches, which took for its story that of Matthew Hopkins, a true historical figure, around whom a wonderful novel was woven. This new novel, The Glutton, shares much D.N.A. with that debut - here it is the true story of Tarare, a French man with a rather unusual ability - he can eat literally anything, and at the risk of turning your stomach, he does. A meal for 15, live animals, offal, eels eaten whole, alive. It is a sickening spectacle in many ways, and the mere beginning of an incredible tale.
Blakemore's prose sings throughout thus - it is baroque, it is full of life, it fills Tarare and his adventures in revolutionary France so stunningly that I had to pause to re-read a perfect sentence, on every page, and yet was so urgently pulled on by the narrative that I didn't want to stop. I was gluttonous too - finishing this masterpiece in one sitting - with the final third of the novel bringing out all my emotions.
This is a novel that will rest in my mind for many days - and I know I will read it again. Superb stuff.
Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.
Blakemore's prose sings throughout thus - it is baroque, it is full of life, it fills Tarare and his adventures in revolutionary France so stunningly that I had to pause to re-read a perfect sentence, on every page, and yet was so urgently pulled on by the narrative that I didn't want to stop. I was gluttonous too - finishing this masterpiece in one sitting - with the final third of the novel bringing out all my emotions.
This is a novel that will rest in my mind for many days - and I know I will read it again. Superb stuff.
Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.
October 12, 2023
How good it is to be back in the realm of A. K. Blakemore! It seems to've been such a long time since The Manningtree Witches, which was a standout book of 2021 for me.
Based upon the true story of a French peasant of around 1772 (Tarare, the glutton), the facts of whose life were conveyed to the world in an 1804 memoir in a medical journal following the patient's death, the peripatetic adventurings of Blakemore’s protagonist reminded me of those of Drosselmeier in Gregory Maguire’s Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker. The narrative vehicle of prison-cell confession employed in Part One and Part Two of ‘The Glutton’ calls back to The Corset by Laura Purcell, whereas the breadth and depth made apparent in the text of Blakemore's historical research into eighteenth-century France has something of the flavour of Nell Stevens’ 2022 masterpiece Briefly, A Delicious Life. And while other reviewers will doubtless report in greater detail upon the plot and structure of A. K. Blakemore’s new novel, I would like here to extol just a few aspects of her inimitable style and technique, which make ‘The Glutton’ like no other novel.
Blakemore’s figurative language in ‘The Glutton’ is characterised by inelaborate, yet elegant adjectives: 'diminished grace'; 'fretted silver'; 'pearly wounds'; 'sotted, vaunting farm boys'. And when she calls upon metaphors and similes, they are direct and indisputable: 'old, beaked women'; 'his vertebrae press against the freckled skin of his back like the seam of a bean'; 'the dry peppercorn eyes of a dead rat'. By means of these, coupled with a deceptively effortless language structure composed of short phrases, rhetorical questions and direct address by the author, pauses, repetition, and accumulating lists of three, Blakemore affects a kind of mesmerism upon her reader.
Once mesmerised thus, I found myself ultimately unmade by Blakemore's imagery:
I was transported by ‘The Glutton’. The following quote, I think, demonstrates the lure of Blakemore’s language, which held me so in thrall to the novel:
Based upon the true story of a French peasant of around 1772 (Tarare, the glutton), the facts of whose life were conveyed to the world in an 1804 memoir in a medical journal following the patient's death, the peripatetic adventurings of Blakemore’s protagonist reminded me of those of Drosselmeier in Gregory Maguire’s Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker. The narrative vehicle of prison-cell confession employed in Part One and Part Two of ‘The Glutton’ calls back to The Corset by Laura Purcell, whereas the breadth and depth made apparent in the text of Blakemore's historical research into eighteenth-century France has something of the flavour of Nell Stevens’ 2022 masterpiece Briefly, A Delicious Life. And while other reviewers will doubtless report in greater detail upon the plot and structure of A. K. Blakemore’s new novel, I would like here to extol just a few aspects of her inimitable style and technique, which make ‘The Glutton’ like no other novel.
Blakemore’s figurative language in ‘The Glutton’ is characterised by inelaborate, yet elegant adjectives: 'diminished grace'; 'fretted silver'; 'pearly wounds'; 'sotted, vaunting farm boys'. And when she calls upon metaphors and similes, they are direct and indisputable: 'old, beaked women'; 'his vertebrae press against the freckled skin of his back like the seam of a bean'; 'the dry peppercorn eyes of a dead rat'. By means of these, coupled with a deceptively effortless language structure composed of short phrases, rhetorical questions and direct address by the author, pauses, repetition, and accumulating lists of three, Blakemore affects a kind of mesmerism upon her reader.
Once mesmerised thus, I found myself ultimately unmade by Blakemore's imagery:
'The rising sun is at his back, shellacking the low cloud in carcinomic pinks and tentative oranges. All around him the trees droop, fetid with the late rain, and the hedgerows fill with lively music: crickets, calling birds.'Using imagery, Blakemore artfully marries literary substance and literary effect. Whether imagery is there to allure, to impress, to make readers keep reading, or - like here - more skilfully, to bring readers reflexively back to a pictorial expression of the tokens of eating, for example: the mouth, the belly, the substance of food (bean, broth, skin, fat), this is Literary Fiction at its best:
'Saint Jean Baptiste was born of Elizabeth, cousin of the Holy Virgin, Tarare remembers this. The Virgin went to visit with Elizabeth when they were both with child and, greeting one another with a kiss, they felt their swollen bellies quiver with the miracles that the Lord had planted in each of them. Saint Jean knew the Lord was close, even then, the Saviour of mankind curled blind as a bean in amniotic broth, beneath the skin and fat of a virgin girl.'In the audiobook edition, Phillipe Spall transmutes into music Blakemore’s intentness with regard to the rhythm of her language; the measure of downbeats and upbeats: ‘sets out in a shambling jog’ bears a regular pattern of emphases and theses. ‘There is no maybe about dead’ demonstrates the same rhythmic beats. Spall salutes the pacing of the text and gives voice to these metrical notes in a sensitive manner. Consider the stressed and unstressed syllables in the line: ‘where wolves could talk and sometimes wore hats’. Exquisite! ‘They don’t know how to handle bayonets’ is a flawless line of iambic pentameter. If, as Blakemore states in the Afterword to the novel, her intent is 'not to present a truth, but offer the most compelling, and therefore believable iteration of a myth', then her application of linguistic meter is apt; it accords with her mythopoeiaic intention. Rhythmic language is nursery-rhyme language, folk tale language, it is the medium by which we learn our fables, traditions, our allegories. So becomes The Great Tarare, the Glutton of Lyon. To this end, Spall’s narration engages his breath, modulates his volume (to almost a whisper whilst Sister Perpetué hears Tarare’s ‘confession’, for example), and pays meticulous attention to punctuation to unlock the poetic meter in Blakemore’s phrasing.
I was transported by ‘The Glutton’. The following quote, I think, demonstrates the lure of Blakemore’s language, which held me so in thrall to the novel:
‘The sky is whitening. The birds begin their fractal chorus, delicate in its thousand component parts: a grass-coloured woodpecker, a lovely blackbird. It would do no good to describe Tarare’s pain, which is enormous and in every part of his body, because in pain we are all alone, latched into the flesh, where the blood whistles and cells knit and unknit themselves. To tell you that the pain fills him like a heavy fire all over his young body would be feeble and perhaps ultimately deceitful. To tell you he tries to open his eyes and finds they will not open would be to pick your pockets of a truth you are likely already in possession of and perhaps, wish to forget: that in our suffering, we are all of us totally, irrevocably alone. To describe the vignettes that play out behind his swollen eyes: the screeching of hideous marionettes illuminated by a flat red glare, his mother weeping by the hearth, the robbers counting up their money with frilled whores in their laps, a mere sideshow.’A. K. Blakemore’s reiterative style, where she brings her reader back again and again to being within the flesh and blood of a body (through which and for which Tarare gluts himself), is drawn to a close in the novel’s final words, pulled from a description of the afterlife given by a spirit manifestation to the Cercle Harmonique: 'All is perfect and delicious'. I’d extend the same nomination to ‘The Glutton’: perfect; delicious. My sincere thanks to Granta Publications for an eARC of the novel, and to Bolinda Audio for a digital audio copy, via NetGalley. (Citations are subject to change. Any errors in transcribing quotes rest with me.)
April 1, 2024
4.5; Truly beautiful writing with a light historical fiction and horror-focused plot. Very unique and original. Would recommend for fans of “Lapvona”. RTC
June 27, 2023
Ghoulish tale of a man with a strange affliction from author who eats Thesaurus 3.5 raised
As others have noted, there are certainly similarities to Patrick Susskind’s Perfume. Blakemore’s book, however, is based on a man who really existed. Set in France, at the time of the French Revolution, this is the story of a somewhat simple boy from an pretty impoverished home. Tarare suffers from a very peculiar disorder, which was undiagnosed, is particularly rare, and there are documented accounts of others with the same affliction. An abnormal, insatiable appetite, such that the sufferer is permanently in pain through excessive hunger, and though he could eat the amount that 10 or more people might eat at a single sitting, remains slight in build
I had assumed, reading this, that the extraordinary story was imaginary. It is bizarre, horrific, gruesome, and yet fantastical, both awful and sometimes weirdly funny.
What held me back from full surrender, though, is a certain overwriting trick or tic. Blakemore loves words, clearly, but at times I imagine she must thumb through a substantial, weighty Thesaurus every paragraph or so trying to find the most unusual word possible for any number of perfectly suitable words.
I have a pretty good vocabulary, but this would have been a book impossible to read as a physical book unless a particularly huge and weighty dictionary were close by. Preferably one existing in several volumes. Reading it on an ereader, even with its own excellent included dictionaries, there were many words not included, and it would have needed reading with the internet turned on, in order to access them.
As others have noted, there are certainly similarities to Patrick Susskind’s Perfume. Blakemore’s book, however, is based on a man who really existed. Set in France, at the time of the French Revolution, this is the story of a somewhat simple boy from an pretty impoverished home. Tarare suffers from a very peculiar disorder, which was undiagnosed, is particularly rare, and there are documented accounts of others with the same affliction. An abnormal, insatiable appetite, such that the sufferer is permanently in pain through excessive hunger, and though he could eat the amount that 10 or more people might eat at a single sitting, remains slight in build
I had assumed, reading this, that the extraordinary story was imaginary. It is bizarre, horrific, gruesome, and yet fantastical, both awful and sometimes weirdly funny.
What held me back from full surrender, though, is a certain overwriting trick or tic. Blakemore loves words, clearly, but at times I imagine she must thumb through a substantial, weighty Thesaurus every paragraph or so trying to find the most unusual word possible for any number of perfectly suitable words.
I have a pretty good vocabulary, but this would have been a book impossible to read as a physical book unless a particularly huge and weighty dictionary were close by. Preferably one existing in several volumes. Reading it on an ereader, even with its own excellent included dictionaries, there were many words not included, and it would have needed reading with the internet turned on, in order to access them.
December 23, 2023
Really great, a hilarious, tragic and disgusting read about a man named Tarare who just cannot stop eating. This is a historical novel set in France and since his traumatic childhood Tarare has always had an insatiable appetite. When he leaves home his hunger forces into various situations around the country and his desires become increasingly dark and taboo.
I loved the writing in this and how it used a sort of framing narrative for a lot of the book. When he was lying in the bed speaking to the nun I was really enjoying these sections. His childhood was also one of the best parts of the book. I found the writing really tongue in cheek and it suited Tarare’s character so well. I felt like it was a great mix between satire and a truly abominable story - dark comedy at its finest.
I loved the writing in this and how it used a sort of framing narrative for a lot of the book. When he was lying in the bed speaking to the nun I was really enjoying these sections. His childhood was also one of the best parts of the book. I found the writing really tongue in cheek and it suited Tarare’s character so well. I felt like it was a great mix between satire and a truly abominable story - dark comedy at its finest.
May 25, 2024
Disgustingly brilliant.
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
November 4, 2023Not a bad book by any means, but I just stopped connecting with it after a third of it. Read two thirds of it in total, and I appreciate my experience with the text, and maybe I'll go back to it in the future, yet I think that I've had enough. Sort of uses a generic, "flowery" register to enhance sensory detail. It's all about purposelessness, the irrational, what it means to be a freak (particularly in contrast to the bourgeois), the messiness of revolution, and personal and public mythmaking. Cool to see a book about this man, since I remember going down a Wikipedia rabbit hole about him and his oddity five or six years ago. The book is better than the Wikipedia article.
December 27, 2023
Well, that was pretty wild.
July 3, 2024
Wow!! I am completely blown away by this book and it really solidifies A.K Blakemore as a favourite author for me.
I had never heard of Tarare but what an exceptional piece of history. The story takes us from cradle to grave of Tarare's life, from boyhood as a peasant in the French countryside to travelling, mythical showman, to a disgraced man destroyed by his insatiable hunger.
Blakemore marries disgust, the macabre, the uncanny with beauty so well! Gorgeous but then jarring writing fills every page to the point where underlining becomes reductive. The fine line between beauty and disgust, the conflict between humanity and morality. Yep, it's all in here
(Thank you netgalley for the pdf arc!)
I had never heard of Tarare but what an exceptional piece of history. The story takes us from cradle to grave of Tarare's life, from boyhood as a peasant in the French countryside to travelling, mythical showman, to a disgraced man destroyed by his insatiable hunger.
Blakemore marries disgust, the macabre, the uncanny with beauty so well! Gorgeous but then jarring writing fills every page to the point where underlining becomes reductive. The fine line between beauty and disgust, the conflict between humanity and morality. Yep, it's all in here
(Thank you netgalley for the pdf arc!)
January 3, 2024
a devastating, disgusting, revelatory read.
Blakemore is a wordsmith on a level all her own.
Blakemore is a wordsmith on a level all her own.
February 23, 2024
There are a whole slew of monsters in this book. All of them human.
November 18, 2023
Let me introduce you to my favorite read of November.
Oh, yes, I realize that November is far from over. It’s possible that something could top this or, at the very least, stand beside it. That’s just difficult for me to imagine right now, as I absolutely adored The Glutton.
The story is strange, evocative, brutal, disturbing, and lyrically composed. I could not ask for a more outstanding blend in a historical fiction novel.
There is a great deal of decadent symbolism, like a rich chocolate indulgence you must savor slowly. I was especially intrigued by the numerous occurrences of deep red imagery leading up to and in the midst of the French Revolution, but the novel is, in all ways, deliciously layered.
It’s impressive how Blakemore managed to paint Tarare into a sympathetic character; a monster not born, but made. As the novel began, I had not expected to feel anything beyond revulsion toward him. As readers, we eventually see how innocence is tainted and irrevocably changed by violence. I came to understand Tarare as a symbol of poverty, greed, war, and trauma, individually. He became the all consuming nature of each of these savageries. I felt saddened by his story, how he was never given the right to be his own person, and how he was used by many for personal gain. His hunger was not the only thing beyond his control.
Unlike Tarare’s appetite for food, my longing for an utterly absorbing novel has been satiated. Make no mistake, though: This story is profoundly distressing. I, however, found its wealth of insight and gorgeous vocabulary worth every ache.
“‘You are telling me these stories so that I will pity you, so that I will think you hard done by, and I do not believe you. You are not a victim. You are a vile, unpleasant man.’
“He rolls his blue doleful eyes toward her. ‘Can I not,’ asks the Great Tarare, ‘be both?’”
Oh, yes, I realize that November is far from over. It’s possible that something could top this or, at the very least, stand beside it. That’s just difficult for me to imagine right now, as I absolutely adored The Glutton.
The story is strange, evocative, brutal, disturbing, and lyrically composed. I could not ask for a more outstanding blend in a historical fiction novel.
There is a great deal of decadent symbolism, like a rich chocolate indulgence you must savor slowly. I was especially intrigued by the numerous occurrences of deep red imagery leading up to and in the midst of the French Revolution, but the novel is, in all ways, deliciously layered.
It’s impressive how Blakemore managed to paint Tarare into a sympathetic character; a monster not born, but made. As the novel began, I had not expected to feel anything beyond revulsion toward him. As readers, we eventually see how innocence is tainted and irrevocably changed by violence. I came to understand Tarare as a symbol of poverty, greed, war, and trauma, individually. He became the all consuming nature of each of these savageries. I felt saddened by his story, how he was never given the right to be his own person, and how he was used by many for personal gain. His hunger was not the only thing beyond his control.
Unlike Tarare’s appetite for food, my longing for an utterly absorbing novel has been satiated. Make no mistake, though: This story is profoundly distressing. I, however, found its wealth of insight and gorgeous vocabulary worth every ache.
“‘You are telling me these stories so that I will pity you, so that I will think you hard done by, and I do not believe you. You are not a victim. You are a vile, unpleasant man.’
“He rolls his blue doleful eyes toward her. ‘Can I not,’ asks the Great Tarare, ‘be both?’”
March 11, 2024
i have so many thoughts.... i think mainly it is low as three stars because i just don't gel with historical fiction but at the same time there were so many things i liked about it..... just loved all the discussions of hunger which of course were frequent.. especially when it was like the all consuming painful hunger.. bordering on desire and at times erotic so awesome... loved all the dream sequences.... loved the grotesque throughout it really reminded me of lapvona in that sense especially in the beginning (young tarare and young marek were so similar to me), also like the charivari stuff was sooo fun <-- i loved studying the charivari and carnival and stuff at undergrad....
as i said before I'm so desperate to read more sources about him cos he's interesting and thank god blakemore listed a bunch of works in the acknowledgements so thank god i can get on jstor... and she also mentioned the passion according to g.h. which is awesome like i need to read some lispector real bad all signs are pointing towards her.
basically yeah super enjoyed but there's just something indescribable about historical fiction that irks me. but clearly not that much cos i just rambled for ages.
as i said before I'm so desperate to read more sources about him cos he's interesting and thank god blakemore listed a bunch of works in the acknowledgements so thank god i can get on jstor... and she also mentioned the passion according to g.h. which is awesome like i need to read some lispector real bad all signs are pointing towards her.
basically yeah super enjoyed but there's just something indescribable about historical fiction that irks me. but clearly not that much cos i just rambled for ages.
June 6, 2024
*Libro.fm ALC
I read this one on audio and whilst I think the narration was well done, I probably would’ve enjoyed it more if I read it physically. I overall didn’t really care about the story at any point. The writing was pretty though; it’s more of a no plot just vibes book imo.
I read this one on audio and whilst I think the narration was well done, I probably would’ve enjoyed it more if I read it physically. I overall didn’t really care about the story at any point. The writing was pretty though; it’s more of a no plot just vibes book imo.
June 1, 2024
A chance encounter with victims of sexual assault for a college project left a huge impact on me
" They grabbed us with horrifying force. I don't remember anything but their odour, smell of their salivating mouths & that disgusting hunger....an insatiable hunger"
What else but this INSATIABLE HUNGER is making our world suffer. Hunger for Power, power to kill, kill to terrorize, terrorize to eradicate
- Tarare is a victim of this insatiable hunger- Gluttony that starts for food but leads to creating terror. French revolution (1798) tested the bodies of many with extreme hunger. Reason which pushed Tarare to this macabre state where he could eat anything to everything - cork, belt, dead rats, babies but nothing could satiate him
Tired & guilt ridden Tarare - a freak turned spy- awaits his death while narrating his story to sister Perpetue. His innocent beginnings tugs at your heart whereas cannibalistic future invokes horror
Blakemore's writing is such a wonderful allegory to today's time & a masterpiece on creative plot
"Bodies laid out, poor and broken, living and dead. Strange, she thinks, perhaps even perverse, that we are denied the measure of ourselves that we may take of others."
" They grabbed us with horrifying force. I don't remember anything but their odour, smell of their salivating mouths & that disgusting hunger....an insatiable hunger"
What else but this INSATIABLE HUNGER is making our world suffer. Hunger for Power, power to kill, kill to terrorize, terrorize to eradicate
- Tarare is a victim of this insatiable hunger- Gluttony that starts for food but leads to creating terror. French revolution (1798) tested the bodies of many with extreme hunger. Reason which pushed Tarare to this macabre state where he could eat anything to everything - cork, belt, dead rats, babies but nothing could satiate him
Tired & guilt ridden Tarare - a freak turned spy- awaits his death while narrating his story to sister Perpetue. His innocent beginnings tugs at your heart whereas cannibalistic future invokes horror
Blakemore's writing is such a wonderful allegory to today's time & a masterpiece on creative plot
"Bodies laid out, poor and broken, living and dead. Strange, she thinks, perhaps even perverse, that we are denied the measure of ourselves that we may take of others."
May 10, 2024
This is a great historical novel. A K Blakemore writes lyrical prose that is visceral and pulls no punches. There is also a great deal of compassion.
My only gripe is the language. I have never known a book where every page or second page I was sent to the dictionary to find the definition. It was as if she had binged on the Thesaurus. Maybe appropriate considering the tale that she wove so beautifully.
A really great read. I will now try to read her other books.
My only gripe is the language. I have never known a book where every page or second page I was sent to the dictionary to find the definition. It was as if she had binged on the Thesaurus. Maybe appropriate considering the tale that she wove so beautifully.
A really great read. I will now try to read her other books.
September 16, 2023
Tarare constantly craves food and will eat almost anything. It is 1798 and he lies dying in a hospice in Versailles (after eating a golden fork, he claims). He recounts the story of his life to Sister Perpetué, the nun who is tending him. His story is interspersed with her reflections on their encounter and the nature of morality and mortality.
Tarare is born to a young unmarried peasant on the day – almost at the moment – that his father dies. She defies village morality, showing courage and some initiative in his upbringing, but from his birth Tarare is an outsider. He is gentle, naive and open. After a horrific injury something changes and he becomes incessantly hungry.
Tarare falls in with a group of travelling players who are also outsiders in their way, amoral, free and contemptuous of the law. They turn his terrible craving for food into a business opportunity, encouraging him to eat increasingly grotesque items – from rotting flesh to metal implements – for entertainment.
Tarare’s story is relayed to us by an omniscient narrator, rather than his own words. This works well because the narrator is able to offer barbed and at times amusing commentary on his adventures. Village life is vividly drawn and the characters are rich and complex.
Blakemore doesn’t shy away from the horrors of violence and poverty but she shows that even at times of crisis there are gossip and petty grudges and fleeting pleasure. The players and the people they encounter articulate different views on injustice and revolution.
Tarare’s adventures are beautifully rendered. The Glutton is funny, dark, engaging and thought-provoking. Yet there are a few flaws.
The character of Tarare in the convent, approaching death, seems entirely at odds with the boy and man throughout the book. He is knowing, cruel, manipulative. There is no explanation of why his character might have changed. (It was so marked that I kept waiting for a twist that never came.)
Blakemore likes to throw in obscure words. This is mostly fine with me, it’s consistent with the heightened, playful narrative voice. Reading on my Kindle I can look them up without leaving the page so it doesn’t disrupt the flow. Sometimes, though, I felt they broke the spell – eg “polysaccharide” threw me into the world of gut-health podcasts and it took my monkey mind a moment to find its way back to 18th-century France.
I guess it’s the nature of a picaresque that nothing changes, there is no great epiphany or revelation or growth, but I do feel that the book peters out towards the end. I also feel that more could have been made of the resonances with revolutionary France. As it stands, apart from the obvious (trauma leading to insatiable, destructive desire) the historical setting feels more like a nice backdrop.
All of which sounds a bit negative, which isn’t my intention. I’m just trying to understand why I didn’t quite love The Glutton. It’s certainly original and entertaining and worth your time, so I’ll be interested to see what others make of it.
*
I received a copy of The Glutton from the publisher via NetGalley.
Tarare is born to a young unmarried peasant on the day – almost at the moment – that his father dies. She defies village morality, showing courage and some initiative in his upbringing, but from his birth Tarare is an outsider. He is gentle, naive and open. After a horrific injury something changes and he becomes incessantly hungry.
Tarare falls in with a group of travelling players who are also outsiders in their way, amoral, free and contemptuous of the law. They turn his terrible craving for food into a business opportunity, encouraging him to eat increasingly grotesque items – from rotting flesh to metal implements – for entertainment.
Tarare’s story is relayed to us by an omniscient narrator, rather than his own words. This works well because the narrator is able to offer barbed and at times amusing commentary on his adventures. Village life is vividly drawn and the characters are rich and complex.
Blakemore doesn’t shy away from the horrors of violence and poverty but she shows that even at times of crisis there are gossip and petty grudges and fleeting pleasure. The players and the people they encounter articulate different views on injustice and revolution.
Tarare’s adventures are beautifully rendered. The Glutton is funny, dark, engaging and thought-provoking. Yet there are a few flaws.
The character of Tarare in the convent, approaching death, seems entirely at odds with the boy and man throughout the book. He is knowing, cruel, manipulative. There is no explanation of why his character might have changed. (It was so marked that I kept waiting for a twist that never came.)
Blakemore likes to throw in obscure words. This is mostly fine with me, it’s consistent with the heightened, playful narrative voice. Reading on my Kindle I can look them up without leaving the page so it doesn’t disrupt the flow. Sometimes, though, I felt they broke the spell – eg “polysaccharide” threw me into the world of gut-health podcasts and it took my monkey mind a moment to find its way back to 18th-century France.
I guess it’s the nature of a picaresque that nothing changes, there is no great epiphany or revelation or growth, but I do feel that the book peters out towards the end. I also feel that more could have been made of the resonances with revolutionary France. As it stands, apart from the obvious (trauma leading to insatiable, destructive desire) the historical setting feels more like a nice backdrop.
All of which sounds a bit negative, which isn’t my intention. I’m just trying to understand why I didn’t quite love The Glutton. It’s certainly original and entertaining and worth your time, so I’ll be interested to see what others make of it.
*
I received a copy of The Glutton from the publisher via NetGalley.
September 22, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of
The Glutton.
I've never heard of Tarare before and the premise was so intriguing I had to request this.
** Minor spoilers ahead **
A troubled young man named Tarare is on his deathbed and confesses to a young nun how he came to end up in her care.
And so we learn the story of how Tarare came to exist. And it's not a pretty story.
It's graphic, disgusting, filthy, and sad so squeamish readers should be aware and prepared.
I know this is the author's fictional account of Tarare, but it's very sad.
The author can write and the research she did shines through.
I also enjoyed the historical and political backdrop of France in the 18th century during which Tarare lived.
But I didn't enjoy the format of the narrative; no quotation marks for dialogue, and long paragraphs with no breaks.
The entire story read like a summary or recap, long exposition and descriptions.
The writing is good, but its a slog to get through; the pacing tedious and humdrum, like real life.
Still, this is a unique and compelling fictional story based on the real Tarare; his life story having been lost to history, who had the bad luck to be born during a time when his medical condition was not understood.
I've never heard of Tarare before and the premise was so intriguing I had to request this.
** Minor spoilers ahead **
A troubled young man named Tarare is on his deathbed and confesses to a young nun how he came to end up in her care.
And so we learn the story of how Tarare came to exist. And it's not a pretty story.
It's graphic, disgusting, filthy, and sad so squeamish readers should be aware and prepared.
I know this is the author's fictional account of Tarare, but it's very sad.
The author can write and the research she did shines through.
I also enjoyed the historical and political backdrop of France in the 18th century during which Tarare lived.
But I didn't enjoy the format of the narrative; no quotation marks for dialogue, and long paragraphs with no breaks.
The entire story read like a summary or recap, long exposition and descriptions.
The writing is good, but its a slog to get through; the pacing tedious and humdrum, like real life.
Still, this is a unique and compelling fictional story based on the real Tarare; his life story having been lost to history, who had the bad luck to be born during a time when his medical condition was not understood.
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