Tarquin Winot, voluptuary, super-civilized ironist and snob, sets out on a journey of the senses from the Hotel Splendide, Portsmouth, to his cottage in Provence, his spiritual home. With his head newly shaved and his well-thumbed copy of the Mossad Manual of Surveillance Techniques safely stowed, Tarquin elegantly introduces his life, itself a work of art, through the medium of seasonal menus. Poisonously funny and opinionated, Tarquin graces us with accounts of his unjustly celebrated sculptor sibling, his beloved Irish ...
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Tarquin Winot, voluptuary, super-civilized ironist and snob, sets out on a journey of the senses from the Hotel Splendide, Portsmouth, to his cottage in Provence, his spiritual home. With his head newly shaved and his well-thumbed copy of the Mossad Manual of Surveillance Techniques safely stowed, Tarquin elegantly introduces his life, itself a work of art, through the medium of seasonal menus. Poisonously funny and opinionated, Tarquin graces us with accounts of his unjustly celebrated sculptor sibling, his beloved Irish nanny, his adoring parents, their alcoholic Norwegian cook, as well as Tarquin's neighbours in France; and the series of unfortunate accidents that they have unaccountably met with...
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John Lanchester is one of the smartest, funniest writers working today. I am reading all of his books and enjoying each one as I go.
Gyllie
Apr 26, 2009
Wicked pleasure
This novel is a as satisfying and decadent as the recipes it contains. Lanchester weaves rich, vivid descriptions of the best parts of England and France with his narcissitc narrator's twisted tale. Read hungry.
Polymath
Jan 10, 2008
Finish this book!
I have to admit, I read this book because a friend of mine loved it and couldn't find anyone who would read it. I figured I can read almost anything, so borrowed her copy and started reading.
It was odd, sometimes strangely amusing, and ... I ... was ... not... getting...through... it.
BUT THEN - something weird happened in the book, and I thought, "huh?" and finished the book (don't peek!), said "oh WOW"... and then turned to the front and read the whole book through again.
Yeah. It's that kind of book. I can't tell you what happens, or it will ruin the ending. But what you will find is an extremely self-centered narrator taking you on a sort of food tour. I have two favorite lines in the book. The first one is "I myself have always disliked being called a 'genius.' It is fascinating to notice how quick people have been to intuit and avoid this term." The second quote is the last line of the book (don't peek!).
If you are a fan of unreliable narrators, I highly recommend this book.
