From the prizewinning author of The Manningtree Witches, a subversive historical novel set during the French Revolution, inspired by a young peasant boy turned showman, said to have been tormented and driven to murder by an all-consuming appetite.
"Obscenely beautiful...Every sentence is gorgeous...Powerful and provocative." —The New York Times Book Review
"This year, I found myself seeking one quality above all others from the books I read: escapism. And no book plunged me into another world quite so bracingly as The Glutton." —Vogue
1798, France. Nuns move along the dark corridors of a Versailles hospital where the young Sister Perpetué has been tasked with sitting with the patient who must always be watched. The man, gaunt, with his sallow skin and distended belly, is dying: they say he ate a golden fork, and that it's killing him from the inside. But that's not all—he is rumored to have done monstrous things in his attempts to sate an insatiable appetite...an appetite they say tortures him still.
Born in an impoverished village to a widowed young mother, Tarare was once overflowing with quiet affection: for the Baby Jesus and the many Saints, for his mother, for the plants and little creatures in the woods and fields around their house. He spends his days alone, observing the delicate charms of the countryside. But his world is not a gentle one—and soon, life as he knew it is violently upended. Tarare is pitched down a chaotic path through revolutionary France, left to the mercy of strangers, and increasingly, bottomlessly, ravenous.
This exhilarating, disquieting novel paints a richly imagined life for The Great Tarare, The Glutton of Lyon in 18th-century France: a world of desire, hunger and poverty; hope, chaos and survival. As in her cult hit The Manningtree Witches, Blakemore showcases her stunning lyricism and deep compassion for characters pushed to the edge of society in The Glutton, her most unputdownable work yet.
From the prizewinning author of The Manningtree Witches, a subversive historical novel set during the French Revolution, inspired by a young peasant boy turned showman, said to have been tormented and driven to murder by an all-consuming appetite.
"Obscenely beautiful...Every sentence is gorgeous...Powerful and provocative." —The New York Times Book Review
"This year, I found myself seeking one quality above all others from the books I read: escapism. And no book plunged me into another world quite so bracingly as The Glutton." —Vogue
1798, France. Nuns move along the dark corridors of a Versailles hospital where the young Sister Perpetué has been tasked with sitting with the patient who must always be watched. The man, gaunt, with his sallow skin and distended belly, is dying: they say he ate a golden fork, and that it's killing him from the inside. But that's not all—he is rumored to have done monstrous things in his attempts to sate an insatiable appetite...an appetite they say tortures him still.
Born in an impoverished village to a widowed young mother, Tarare was once overflowing with quiet affection: for the Baby Jesus and the many Saints, for his mother, for the plants and little creatures in the woods and fields around their house. He spends his days alone, observing the delicate charms of the countryside. But his world is not a gentle one—and soon, life as he knew it is violently upended. Tarare is pitched down a chaotic path through revolutionary France, left to the mercy of strangers, and increasingly, bottomlessly, ravenous.
This exhilarating, disquieting novel paints a richly imagined life for The Great Tarare, The Glutton of Lyon in 18th-century France: a world of desire, hunger and poverty; hope, chaos and survival. As in her cult hit The Manningtree Witches, Blakemore showcases her stunning lyricism and deep compassion for characters pushed to the edge of society in The Glutton, her most unputdownable work yet.
Reviews-
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Graham Halstead meets the complex narration challenge posed by this audiobook. His performance provides the perfect mix of empathy and horror. Blakemore's work is a deeply literary journey based on a real historical figure. In the time of the French Revolution, Tarare is forced out of his home; eventually he joins a circus, where he becomes a freak attraction for his ability to eat high volumes of food--or anything else. Halstead's performance connects with literary prose that fleshes out the time and place, and provides listeners with a kind of lyrical rhythm. His voice captures the beauty and heartbreak in the story's grotesque events. S.P.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
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June 1, 2024
In 1798 France, Sister Perpetu�, a nun working in a hospital near Versailles, watches over a most unusual patient and learns of his heartbreaking past. The gaunt, sallow man is dying. It's rumored that he ate a golden fork that is killing him from the inside out, but he is also said to have done more monstrous things to satisfy his unending and unusual appetite. Born to a widowed mother, Tarare grew up loving the saints and Baby Jesus. However, his gentle country life is soon rocked by revolution, sending him on a dangerous path as his appetite grows increasingly insatiable. Blakemore's (The Manningtree Witches) historical novel, based upon the real-life Glutton of Lyon, reimagines his story. While the author delivers horrific descriptions, her novel is unexpectedly lyrical and even hopeful. Graham Halstead narrates, modulating his voice to capture Tarare as a young child with simple dreams to a young man seen as an oddity and, ultimately, as a monster. His narration, fully communicating the tenderness, anger, and tragedy of Tarare's story, brings this luminous novel to the next level. VERDICT Blakemore's highly recommended sophomore novel, illuminating the complexities behind an infamous historical figure, is devastating and compassionate in equal turns.--Elyssa Everling
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
