When the Candy People aren't hunting and eating children, they live in an underground world made of candy. After Franklin Pierce witnessed a Candy Woman feast on his three siblings when he was a child, he made it his mission to prove the existance of the elusive Candy People to the rest of the world. The vivid and mouth-watering descriptions of the underground world of candy are exquisite. The story is packed with gore (both candy and human), carnality (again, both candy and human) and just a touch of Stockholm Syndrome. This is yet another fabulous Bizarro novella from Carlton Mellick III.

Mailed to VictoriaWagtail to start the bookring.

Bookring Participants:
VictoriaWagtail (Sweden)
Appelsinni (Finland)
PJLBewdy (Australia)
GoryDetails (USA)
NMReader (USA)
innae (USA)
hyphen8 (USA)
AKSarah (USA)

Thanks AKSarah for sending me this book, I've allready started reading it :)

This book makes up for in imagination and gory satire what it lacks in language. The story is as tantalizing as candy but not entirely spot on...

The book is now on its way across the Baltic Sea :) Enjoy Appelsiini!

Arrived today, thanks Victoria! :) I have one book to read before I can start this one.

Quite basic although the story is so bizarre. I was expecting more from this delicious subject, I think it was quite plain :/ Better eat some fudge now before starting a next book! This one will be off to Australia tomorrow!

Travel safe! Happy bookcrossing!

Received today from beautiful Finland - thanks for sending it on. I shall read this book with interest!

Read it. Found it interesting but didn't really like it. Mellick uses a very tedious present tense style and very spare vocabulary. One feels that he is not being spare in the manner of an Elroy or a Vonnegut but because he is writing fast and just wants to get the concepts and the narrative down. Franklin's submission in the human world really seems to be worse than anything he endured in Candyland.

Will send this book on to the USA on Monday

On it goes to GoryDetails - Enjoy!

I got back from a visit to my folks in Texas to find this book waiting for me; many thanks! Will read it and get it moving again soon.

OK, this was pretty grim for a candy-themed story! But once I realized that I simply shouldn't get attached to anyone or anything in the narrative {wry grin} I enjoyed it; Mellick certainly isn't afraid of seeing where a concept takes him and then going even further.

The basic idea of mysterious candy people who catch and devour children has classic nightmare elements, with the candy people looking rather clownish (memories of King's "It" cropped up more than once). While I can't say I liked our hero, who's clearly pretty creepy himself from the start (if not completely bonkers), I was happy to follow along and find out what would happen to him. (I also appreciated his explanation about his name, including the sad history of Franklin Pierce, who's a local boy where I live.) And even though I knew it wasn't likely to end well, I found myself pulling for him to escape, and to rescue the - er, never mind who. Gotta leave something for readers to discover!

Anyway, I really began to enjoy the story when Franklin woke up in Candyland (where he began to undergo some things that reminded me of another Stephen King story). It's a lovely spin on Hansel and Gretel, in its way - and also a rather good illustration of fundamental cultural differences {grin}.

During the many horrific (and occasionally hilarious) scenes that follow, the tone remains rather distant - not quite deadpan, but remote. Given Franklin's submissive and easily-distracted nature (not to mention the narcotic effects of... some of his surroundings) this makes sense, and for me it helped punctuate some of the creepier bits of the story. ("It's ant season already?" {shudder!})

[Amusing coincidence: I had another bookring in hand at the same time as this one, and The Tiny Wife - which is weird enough that it might touch on "bizarro" territory itself - features a woman made of candy too. Very different take, though!]

The book will be on its way to BCer NMReader tomorrow. Enjoy!

I am so very sorry. This arrived and then fell behind my computer table,

I will start soon

I started the book last night and am presently around midbook.

I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting but I thought it might be a world a little more like the Candyland game. While different, it is an interesting quick paced book.

I hope to finish the book this evening or Tuesday.

Dec 14: I had hoped to finish this last night but I fee asleep while reading. I only have 20 pages left. Shouldn't take long tonight.

I finished this book Weds night. Interesting tale

Dropped at the PO

This book arrived yesterday -- so much for the post office being slow :-). I will try to get it read and passed on soon!!

What can I say about this little story?? -- It is weird, and disturbing, and pretty dang entertaining to read. Wish Crabcake had been okay though.

waiting to hear from hyphen8, but will get this in the mail as soon as I have an address. :-)

I have hyphen8's address and will be getting this in the mail ASAP!!

Arrived today with a companion, a couple of "Get Out of Hell Free" cards, and a box of red vines - judging from the front cover, they were presumably provided so that I can make my own whip. ;)

Sounds like a wild ride, but I'll give it a try, thanks!

Definitely something different. Some of the differences between human life and the life of the candy people were well thought out but I agree that there wasn't a lot of character development. Mostly it was a look at a strange - and probably often sticky - world.

Checking with AKSarah to see where this goes next.

The candy people are headed north to Alaska!

The book made it back home! Thanks, all!

Mailed to a member of paperbackswap.com.