Reading Envy 165: Delightful Reads with Claire Handscombe

Claire Handscombe joins Jenny to discuss recent reads, bookish podcasts, and Claire talks about what brought her to DC, her writing project, and the bookseller's life. Be sure to check out Claire's podcast, blog, and books, all linked at the end of the shownotes.

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Books discussed:



Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Flights by Olga Takarczuk; Translated by Jennifer Croft
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
Summerlings by Lisa Howarth
Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson


Other mentions:

Reading Glasses podcast
Book Riot "main" podcast
East City Bookshop
Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Homesick by Jennifer Croft
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Takarczuk
Piglettes by Clementine Beauvais
Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson
The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton
The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Trust Exercise by Susan Choi
Mina by Kim Sagwa, translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton


Related Episodes:

Episode 155 - Books About Music Recommendations Episode with Thomas


Stalk us online:

Jenny at Goodreads
Jenny on Twitter
Jenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy
Claire on Twitter
BritLitPodcast on Twitter
Link to UNSCRIPTED
Link to WALK WITH US: HOW THE WEST WING CHANGED OUR LIVES 

The Taste of a Man by Slavenka Drakulić

The Taste of a Man by Slavenka Drakulić
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. It is about a relationship between Tereza, a Polish graduate student, and José, a Brazilian anthropolgist, who meet in the New York Public Library. (Bonus points for library-based romance!) His research examines the belief of cannibalism as a sacrament, and the novel is written from her perspective, during a span of four days where she is deep-cleaning her apartment and reflecting on her relationship with José, which has come to a close.

The first 175 pages of the book are compelling - well-written, erotic, highly-charged with emotion, obsession, and desire. The author is obvious about what happens between Tereza and José throughout the novel, but doesn't really spell out the very graphic details until the end. If cannibals and flesh consumption bother you, this is not the book I'd recommend. The last 30-40 pages or so are very hard to read, even knowing what was coming. I guess it is kind of like some sexual fantasies - far better kept in the realm of the imagination than played out in the messy, stinky, reality that will eventually demand a good bleaching.

What follows is an examination of the characters that includes a spoiler.  I think it wouldn't be as disturbing if I felt like José was as much of a party to the cannibalism as Tereza thinks he is. I think his drinking is typical grief about a relationship he can't stay in, and she manages to interpret it as consent to eat him. These are two very different things. Also disturbing is frequent mention of sexual abuse she suffered as a child, which is not presented in a way that condemns it. She clearly never understood it to be abuse, and to me this colors her perspective of the need for flesh toward uncomfortable rather than sexy. [
I think it wouldn't be as disturbing if I felt like José was as much of a party to the cannibalism as Tereza thinks he is. I think his drinking is typical grief about a relationship he can't stay in, and she manages to interpret it as consent to eat him. These are two very different things. Also disturbing is frequent mention of sexual abuse she suffered as a child, which is not presented in a way that condemns it. She clearly never understood it to be abuse, and to me this colors her perspective of the need for flesh toward uncomfortable rather than sexy. (hide spoiler)]

Loved this little bit about words, unrelated to the story:
"It strikes me that in our everyday lives we use words like frozen food from the supermarket. We defrost them quickly in our mouths and they come out ready to serve. It is only different when I write, because then I pick, prepare and cook them myself. Some I use raw, others I sprinkle on the text like marjoram or pepper, like aromatic spices."