Book
The glutton : a novel / A.K. Blakemore.
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.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781668030622 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: 300 pages ; 24 cm
- Edition: First Scribner hardcover edition.
- Publisher: New York : Scribner, 2023.
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Appetite > Fiction. Gluttony > Fiction. Nuns > France > Fiction. Peasants > France > Fiction. France > History > 1789-1815 > Fiction. |
| Genre: | Historical fiction. Novels. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroud Branch | FIC Blake | 31681010348399 | FICTION | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
1798, France. Nuns move along the dark corridors of a Versailles hospital where the young Sister Perpetuâe 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 villageto 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. - Baker & Taylor
In 1798 France, in a Versailles hospital lies The Great Tarare, a dying man rumored to have done monstrous things in his attempts to sate an insatiable appetiteâan appetite they say tortures him still. - Simon and Schuster
A New York Times EDITORSâ CHOICE | Shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize | MOST ANTICIPATED by The Guardian ⢠Paste Magazine ⢠LitHub ⢠The Millions ⢠Library Journal
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.
âObscenely beautifulâ¦Every sentence is gorgeous...Powerful and provocative.â âThe New York Times Book Review
âThis 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.â âVogue
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 itâs killing him from the inside. But thatâs not allâhe is rumored to have done monstrous things in his attempts to sate an insatiable appetiteâ¦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 oneâand 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.
