The Glutton
-
-
3.7 • 21 Ratings
-
-
- £6.99
Publisher Description
Sister Perpetu� 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...
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This is a historical romp with a deliciously moreish twist. Set in the late 18th century as the French Revolution takes hold, A.K. Blakemore breathes vivid life into a mythical figure. The Great Tarare, Glutton of Lyon, is a teenage peasant whose ferocious hunger has made him famous throughout the land. Legend has it that he’s eaten entire larders, human bodies, live animals, even babies. Now a nun keeps watch as the ailing patient lies chained to a hospital bed, recounting his picaresque life story—from his impoverished rural upbringing to violent crime, military service, scientific experiments and recruitment as a spy. Is he a flesh-eating monster or a misunderstood victim? A fairground freak or a medical marvel? Recalling Patrick Süskind’s Perfume or Hannibal Lecter’s origin story, it isn’t for the squeamish (or perhaps the vegan). Yet this is a fairytale feast of a novel—tender, tragicomic and hauntingly atmospheric, with an appetite for life to match its insatiable anti-hero.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in the last turbulent decades of the 18th century, Blakemore's savory second novel (after The Manningtree Witches) is loosely based on the life of the Great Tarare, a French peasant renowned for his insatiable hunger. The story begins with Tarare chained to a hospital bed near Versailles, recounting his story to an incredulous nun named Sister Perpetué. Born in 1772 near Lyon, 17-year-old Tarare escapes after being beaten and left for dead by his mother's salt-smuggling lover Nollet. He begins a new life with a band of traveling entertainers, whose enterprising leader capitalizes on Tarare's talent for devouring anything and everything: "Trotters and snouts, sod and corks, snakes and rats, mice white and browning and throbbing in mute terror as they are dangled by their tails above the mouth, scrabbling their tiny person-like hands uselessly." Tarare performs for an increasingly rebellious peasantry, who maraud throughout the countryside smearing human waste on the wrecked walls of abandoned chateaux. As war ravages Europe, Tarare becomes a soldier and a spy and ends up in the care of two doctors—one benevolent, the other cruel. When a child disappears, perhaps devoured by someone or something, Tarare vanishes. Atmospherically charged and written in eloquent and compassionate prose, this is a lusty feast.
Customer Reviews
not for the squeamish
3 1/2 stars out of 5 — i personally just didn't enjoy the writing style and found it hard to follow. i hadn't realised beforehand the lack of speech marks was difficult. i was expecting the level of gore/disturbing content so that wasn't too shocking. i think it's a novel that does what it sets out to do, even if i did find many moments confusing. overall, an interesting story!