The Glutton by A. K. Blakemore

"Though dark, disturbing and at times, truly disgusting, Blakemore has created an unforgettable character in Tarare and his sad, sordid tale. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time for many different reasons and to me, that's a sign of a great read."

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

Pros: Tarare wasn't a monster, it just seemed that the world was against him/I liked Lozeau and his strange band of misfits/Dr. Dupuis seemed like a genuinely good person, or at least, he had his moments.

Cons: Some of the timeline/people of the French Revolution were just white noise to me/Courville was a despicable man.

Full Review:

The Bottomless man, the Glutton of Lyon, Tarare the Terrible. The man who has many titles but who's name is simply, Tarare, is dying in a hospital in Versailles. Citizen Doctor Tissier has written to his friend, Dupuis, in hopes that he'll be able to cure this mysterious illness that plagues Tarare. For now though, he lays, chained to his bed and waits for death.

Sister Perpetue, one of the nuns of the hospital, has the unfortunate duty of sitting with Tarare tonight, as Tissier has insisted that the patient must be kept under constant supervision. She's heard the stories about him, unsure if their truth or rumor. Regardless, some of them are simply unbelievable while others are horrifyingly grotseque. Tarare will and has eaten anything and everything, including human flesh.

After some initial discomfort and tension, Perpetue and Tarare develop a report and she finds hereslf listening to his sad story. He wasn't always this way. He was made what he is by the circumstances of his life. And as Perpetue listens, she learns, as does the reader, that Tarare is not a monster. He was made into one by the cruelty of his fellow man.

This was a very dark and distrubing read but Blakemore has done an incredible thing in creating a character who was both repulsive and riveting. At first, it seeemed impossible to like Tarare, to feel badly for him but as his story unfolded, I found myself hoping, wishing that he would eventually find peace. For an author to make the reader feel sympathy for a character who has done some truly disgusting things, to me, is a sign of an unforgettable read.

Comments

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