theinkwyrm's review against another edition
3.0
This is truly a…unique…reading experience. The writing itself is a little odd and takes some getting used to, as it is entirely a long monologue (and occasionally dialogue) by the titular cannibal to his captive through which we get the plot via his verbal reactions to the events, words, reactions, etc. which are apparently taking place even though we have no concrete proof of such. While I was never fully absorbed by the writing, I was compelled by the idea presented, namely that we should literally eat the rich. Whether this is a satirical philosophy or a literal one I’m still not sure, but either way I am intrigued. I think the literal interpretation is much more interesting myself, in that it challenges the idea of what exactly is so special about humans that we are precluded from the human food chain just because we are the only beings on this planet with the capability of cognizant speech. A truly thought provoking read, although I don’t know if I would call it a comedy. I also would have been more invested if we got to hear from Louis in more than just the short letter at the end.
starrygarland's review against another edition
3.0
This book is exactly what the motto "Eat the rich" is all about. And this time it even has recipe examples, how handy is that?
Truly disturbing but not enough for me to call gross in any sense. Definitely not for people with an aversion to gore or body horror (None of these are too explicit, but having a big imagination can be counterproductive here.)
Sometimes a spooky story, sometimes social commentary. Not a bad book at all, I'll definitely be checking more of the author's works.
Truly disturbing but not enough for me to call gross in any sense. Definitely not for people with an aversion to gore or body horror (None of these are too explicit, but having a big imagination can be counterproductive here.)
Sometimes a spooky story, sometimes social commentary. Not a bad book at all, I'll definitely be checking more of the author's works.
nmuels's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
djinn_n_juice's review against another edition
4.0
Bizarro seems to be a genre for wrestling with big issues. The issue here is, "How should we deal with the problem of rich fucks?"
And, I'd like to point out that the key word here is not "rich," but "fucks." Not every millionaire needs to be offed, but there are certainly a large portion of them that should be. For instance:
What purpose does this ho serve? She inherited a shit-ton of money, and continues making more by being filmed (which is different from acting) and going to parties. Money is filtered out of the hands of the rest of us because we have a strange obsession with the glamorous, the wealthy, the waifish. This is an unhealthy, distracting obsession, and we would not have it if we simply ate her.
This is, of course, the answer which Hansen proposes: like Aerosmith before him, Hansen says it's high time we eat the rich. While we're at it, we could eat Steven Tyler.
I know what you're thinking: "But Michael, Steve wrote all kinds of great songs back in the seventies! Dream On! Walk This Way!" My response to this is, the cells in our body are only around for seven years. Thus, the Steven Tyler in this picture did not write any of those songs. So, it's okay for us to eat him.
By picking out celebrities, I might be diverting this discussion--uhh, monologue--from the subject it's mostly considering: those rich fucks who were born into incredible wealth, with astounding personal connections making it so they can do pretty much anything they want--working only if they feel like it--and thus allowing them to live lives of complete uselessness. Only those who would in fact choose to be useless would be eaten, if I understand his point completely.
I can totally get down with this philosophy, and am putting a napkin on my lap right now. On my (mostly) raw food diet, I usually don't eat meat, but I'd make an exception for the housewives of Orange County. Perhaps with buffalo sauce.
See, once we eat these rich fucks, the money they would've squandered on eighth houses, fighter jets, and weddings than cost more than regular people spend in entire lifetimes, some of this money would be filtered out of their family's hording little hands through the estate tax--which is the best tax ever, because it's a tax on rich fucks who die. The only problem is that not nearly enough of the money would be relocated into the real economy, because so much would pass down to Rich Fuck Jr. The solution of this is, of course, to eat rich families in entirety. Then, we totally relieve society of the burden of this rich fuck family, and the money has nowhere to go but back into the fluid economy.
When we think about societal problems--the housing crash; the overabundance of food in certain parts of the world while other parts of the world starve; reality TV--we usually point the blame in the wrong direction. Know who the real problem is with all of these three important issues? Rich fucks. That's right.
This book was decadently tasty, and although the POV made it a little hard to swallow at first, I became enamored after a few chapters. And, despite the brevity, I didn't finish this book unsatiated. The ending was successful, with everyone getting their just desserts...I'm so sorry. How could I resist punning a little bit, though?
I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I'm excited to read more by Hansen!
And, I'd like to point out that the key word here is not "rich," but "fucks." Not every millionaire needs to be offed, but there are certainly a large portion of them that should be. For instance:
What purpose does this ho serve? She inherited a shit-ton of money, and continues making more by being filmed (which is different from acting) and going to parties. Money is filtered out of the hands of the rest of us because we have a strange obsession with the glamorous, the wealthy, the waifish. This is an unhealthy, distracting obsession, and we would not have it if we simply ate her.
This is, of course, the answer which Hansen proposes: like Aerosmith before him, Hansen says it's high time we eat the rich. While we're at it, we could eat Steven Tyler.
I know what you're thinking: "But Michael, Steve wrote all kinds of great songs back in the seventies! Dream On! Walk This Way!" My response to this is, the cells in our body are only around for seven years. Thus, the Steven Tyler in this picture did not write any of those songs. So, it's okay for us to eat him.
By picking out celebrities, I might be diverting this discussion--uhh, monologue--from the subject it's mostly considering: those rich fucks who were born into incredible wealth, with astounding personal connections making it so they can do pretty much anything they want--working only if they feel like it--and thus allowing them to live lives of complete uselessness. Only those who would in fact choose to be useless would be eaten, if I understand his point completely.
I can totally get down with this philosophy, and am putting a napkin on my lap right now. On my (mostly) raw food diet, I usually don't eat meat, but I'd make an exception for the housewives of Orange County. Perhaps with buffalo sauce.
See, once we eat these rich fucks, the money they would've squandered on eighth houses, fighter jets, and weddings than cost more than regular people spend in entire lifetimes, some of this money would be filtered out of their family's hording little hands through the estate tax--which is the best tax ever, because it's a tax on rich fucks who die. The only problem is that not nearly enough of the money would be relocated into the real economy, because so much would pass down to Rich Fuck Jr. The solution of this is, of course, to eat rich families in entirety. Then, we totally relieve society of the burden of this rich fuck family, and the money has nowhere to go but back into the fluid economy.
When we think about societal problems--the housing crash; the overabundance of food in certain parts of the world while other parts of the world starve; reality TV--we usually point the blame in the wrong direction. Know who the real problem is with all of these three important issues? Rich fucks. That's right.
This book was decadently tasty, and although the POV made it a little hard to swallow at first, I became enamored after a few chapters. And, despite the brevity, I didn't finish this book unsatiated. The ending was successful, with everyone getting their just desserts...I'm so sorry. How could I resist punning a little bit, though?
I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I'm excited to read more by Hansen!
ethelglz's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
foxrunes's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Violence, and Gore
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