The Confessions of a Flesh-eater (Original Fiction in Paperback S.)
Registered by melancholyman on 3/15/2005
7 journalers for this copy...
(NB, I’ve mislaid this book, but will make it available as soon as I locate it. UPDATE ==> reserved, tentatively, for someone who might be interested.)
Can I describe this as a comic romp through the exploits of cultured gastronome and cannibal; a creature which Clement Freud could so easily have been? Plus, we are given recipes, albeit with the recommendation - no, *demand* - that we substitute human flesh with that of some dumb animal. Pity.
David Madsen is a pseudonym for a “theologian and philosopher, who has lived and worked in Rome for 25 years”. That is all we know of him, but maybe enough. He is apparently fascinated by the early Gnostic traditions of Christianity, and the St. Sophia myth, and has worked his research into books such as this and ‘Memoirs of a Gnostic Dwarf’. Note, the Gnosticism he paints is not necessarily of the friendly, non-partisan and tolerant group of bunny-hugging hippies which has been expunged from the official history by shadowy groups entrenched in the Church.
#Cough# Da Vinci Code #Cough#
Instead we see a faintly misanthropic philosophy in which there is also heavy hints of cannibalism, mixed in with the concept of Communion. And it is well written; not some hack novel.
#Cough# Da Vinci Code #Cough#
In CoaFE, we meet the ghoulish Orlando Crispe who, from an early age, developed a seriously loopy Oedipal complex (and proceeded the enact at least half of it). He grows up to become a chef and high epicure for whom eating human flesh becomes a profound act in which the spirit of the sacrificial victim is absorbed by the suppliant. My favourite passage is his trial-and-error discovery of the dangers of feeding offerings imbued with the wrong type of emotion (that experienced at the point of demise). The cadence of the prose and graphic descriptions fits well with the image of an orgy resulting from a dinner-party gone wild. Read it out loud. Feel the revulsion in your mouth.
As with Madsen’s MoaGD, there is an underlying homoerotic text. I was initially unsettled by the graphic descriptions of anal sex, and then intrigued. I was straight in there, and I am as straight as a die! We also see pompous pseudo-intellectuals creating some pseudo-mystical myth; this time, of Teutonic glory but could easily be applied to another book I have mentioned in this post.
#Cough# Oh sod it... time for chamomile tea and honey...
Can I describe this as a comic romp through the exploits of cultured gastronome and cannibal; a creature which Clement Freud could so easily have been? Plus, we are given recipes, albeit with the recommendation - no, *demand* - that we substitute human flesh with that of some dumb animal. Pity.
David Madsen is a pseudonym for a “theologian and philosopher, who has lived and worked in Rome for 25 years”. That is all we know of him, but maybe enough. He is apparently fascinated by the early Gnostic traditions of Christianity, and the St. Sophia myth, and has worked his research into books such as this and ‘Memoirs of a Gnostic Dwarf’. Note, the Gnosticism he paints is not necessarily of the friendly, non-partisan and tolerant group of bunny-hugging hippies which has been expunged from the official history by shadowy groups entrenched in the Church.
#Cough# Da Vinci Code #Cough#
Instead we see a faintly misanthropic philosophy in which there is also heavy hints of cannibalism, mixed in with the concept of Communion. And it is well written; not some hack novel.
#Cough# Da Vinci Code #Cough#
In CoaFE, we meet the ghoulish Orlando Crispe who, from an early age, developed a seriously loopy Oedipal complex (and proceeded the enact at least half of it). He grows up to become a chef and high epicure for whom eating human flesh becomes a profound act in which the spirit of the sacrificial victim is absorbed by the suppliant. My favourite passage is his trial-and-error discovery of the dangers of feeding offerings imbued with the wrong type of emotion (that experienced at the point of demise). The cadence of the prose and graphic descriptions fits well with the image of an orgy resulting from a dinner-party gone wild. Read it out loud. Feel the revulsion in your mouth.
As with Madsen’s MoaGD, there is an underlying homoerotic text. I was initially unsettled by the graphic descriptions of anal sex, and then intrigued. I was straight in there, and I am as straight as a die! We also see pompous pseudo-intellectuals creating some pseudo-mystical myth; this time, of Teutonic glory but could easily be applied to another book I have mentioned in this post.
#Cough# Oh sod it... time for chamomile tea and honey...
Reserved for Dagon, just as soon as I find it again.
Update ==> Found, and dispatched to Dagon. I'm offering this book for a bookring, with members from http://fellraven.bookcrossing.com/journal/1629859/fellraven/book_-The-Memoirs-of-a-Gnostic-Dwarf-David-Madsen given first refusal. So far:
... Dagon...
... Semioticghost...
... Fellraven (still to receive book, 13/7)...
... Tehuti...
... Netstation...
... Urbanspaceman...
I won't advertize it too much to begin with, and open it up for an International ring shortly.
NB ==> as I consider myself one of Condee Rice's 'Old Europeans', I do *not* consider Europe as really 'international'. So, the French and German members of the MoaGD ring are welcome to stake their claims immediately.
Update ==> Found, and dispatched to Dagon. I'm offering this book for a bookring, with members from http://fellraven.bookcrossing.com/journal/1629859/fellraven/book_-The-Memoirs-of-a-Gnostic-Dwarf-David-Madsen given first refusal. So far:
... Dagon...
... Semioticghost...
... Fellraven (still to receive book, 13/7)...
... Tehuti...
... Netstation...
... Urbanspaceman...
I won't advertize it too much to begin with, and open it up for an International ring shortly.
NB ==> as I consider myself one of Condee Rice's 'Old Europeans', I do *not* consider Europe as really 'international'. So, the French and German members of the MoaGD ring are welcome to stake their claims immediately.
Actually received this a couple of days ago.....apologies for tardy journalling.However,it has given me a chance to give a preliminary view of what I have read so far.I LOVE IT! Details when I've finished,but so far I'm so glad I'm not a vegetarian....just look at what I would be missing out on........Mmmmm...Boeuf Stroganoff......
Well,I wolved this down in just a couple of big bites....
Vegetarians....all your worst fears realised!
Meat-eaters....have the indigestion tablets handy!
Decadent...Depraved....and Delicious!!
I'm not going to say anything about this book,(don't want to spoil others' enjoyment)except that it is never a good idea to be rude to the chef,and that I've always been a bit wary of eating out since reading Orwell's 'Down and Out in London and Paris'.
Oh,and I didn't like Balletti from the start!
Will post this in the morning toSemioticGhost.
Vegetarians....all your worst fears realised!
Meat-eaters....have the indigestion tablets handy!
Decadent...Depraved....and Delicious!!
I'm not going to say anything about this book,(don't want to spoil others' enjoyment)except that it is never a good idea to be rude to the chef,and that I've always been a bit wary of eating out since reading Orwell's 'Down and Out in London and Paris'.
Oh,and I didn't like Balletti from the start!
Will post this in the morning toSemioticGhost.
Found on my arrival back in the country today - starting to read tonight. Thanks very much for starting this ring...I'm looking forward to it!
"Confessions of a Flesh Eater" serves up a gourmet meal and does not hold back on the condiments, though the cooking remains simple despite reflecting the complexities of Orlando Crispe - chef extraordinaire, gnostic and hedonist.
Single-mindedly devoted to his cause of inducing in the Eater the emotions he wishes to convey, he lets us taste the lives of others with the unique flavours imparted by their experience and demise.
Crispe is delightfully prurient, and there is method to his madness, which justifies his actions on the basis of what he terms 'absorptionism': The consumption of flesh is a final act of love, with the weaker being eaten, ascending to ultimate fulfilment by becoming part of the stronger.
Not as complext as Madsen's former novel 'Memoirs of a Gnostic Dwarf", but a very fine read in its own right.
Fellraven wants to move one down the list, so I have PMed Tehuti for her address in the meantime.
Single-mindedly devoted to his cause of inducing in the Eater the emotions he wishes to convey, he lets us taste the lives of others with the unique flavours imparted by their experience and demise.
Crispe is delightfully prurient, and there is method to his madness, which justifies his actions on the basis of what he terms 'absorptionism': The consumption of flesh is a final act of love, with the weaker being eaten, ascending to ultimate fulfilment by becoming part of the stronger.
Not as complext as Madsen's former novel 'Memoirs of a Gnostic Dwarf", but a very fine read in its own right.
Fellraven wants to move one down the list, so I have PMed Tehuti for her address in the meantime.
Oh my, this sounds so deliciously distasteful...
and deliciously distasteful it was too!
A story that includes recipes is not a new idea, but David Madsen adds a new twist concerning a potential alternative source for his raw ingredients - as well as adding a whole new dimension to the principle of marination. Those of a more intellectual bent can ponder the validity of the philosophy of Absorptionism, while those who are simply bent can revel in.... .....ummm, no, not appropriate to expound this on a family-friendly website!
A story that includes recipes is not a new idea, but David Madsen adds a new twist concerning a potential alternative source for his raw ingredients - as well as adding a whole new dimension to the principle of marination. Those of a more intellectual bent can ponder the validity of the philosophy of Absorptionism, while those who are simply bent can revel in.... .....ummm, no, not appropriate to expound this on a family-friendly website!
Posted first class to Netstation today as Fellraven still wants to be skipped.
Waiting for me when I got home, though I expect it got here on Saturday. I have the sequel to this on my shelf and have staunchly resisted reading it 'til this arrived. Having just cleared all my ring / ray books it's on with the feast!
This was passed to me at the Unconvention by Netstation. I've held off journalling it, as we agreed, to give him time to post his review but as he hasn't I thought I'd better let everyone know where the book is now.
I am in fact about half way through it but will comment when I've finished it.
I am in fact about half way through it but will comment when I've finished it.
Journal Entry 12 by Fellraven from Redditch, Worcestershire United Kingdom on Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Oh, I did enjoy this little adventure. Unfortunately everyone else has already hogged many of the applicable adjectives such as depraved, decadent and prurient. Fortunately there's still lewd, perverted, degenerate, grotesque, rabelaisian, dissolute, vicious and filthy, not to mention "gothic" and "completely barking", so that's all right then.
Needless to say there were few surprises, except the final twist which was, I think, more unexpected than the twist at the end of Memoirs of a Gnostic Dwarf. No-one who has read the latter will be surprised or shocked by Madsen's rip-roaring spin through the universe of buggery, gluttony, twisted dark humour and his particularly hilarious take on sado-masochism and the German military.
Memo to Netstation - any chance of having the Unconvention at Le Piat d'Argent next year?
And finally, on to UrbanSpaceman as soon as I have his name and address.
Needless to say there were few surprises, except the final twist which was, I think, more unexpected than the twist at the end of Memoirs of a Gnostic Dwarf. No-one who has read the latter will be surprised or shocked by Madsen's rip-roaring spin through the universe of buggery, gluttony, twisted dark humour and his particularly hilarious take on sado-masochism and the German military.
Memo to Netstation - any chance of having the Unconvention at Le Piat d'Argent next year?
And finally, on to UrbanSpaceman as soon as I have his name and address.
Journal Entry 13 by Fellraven from Redditch, Worcestershire United Kingdom on Wednesday, August 3, 2005
Posted to UrbanSpaceman at a Kingston University address today. In his PM he said he was in Canada until September so won't be able to confirm the book's receipt until his return.
Waiting for me when I got back today - along with another 5 rings books...
[journalled this when logged on to another shelf - have deleted that a rejournalled correctly!]
A charmingly ghoulish and baroque romp through the aesthetics of culinary cannibalism. Others before me in the ring have given excellent descriptions so I won't endeavour to guild the lily. Great fun. I have "Orlando Crispe's Flesh Eater's Cookbook" on my TBR shelf, so I will read that next.
I presume this goes back to MelancholyMan now. I have his address from a few months back, so I will put in the post in the next couple for days unless I hear different.
A charmingly ghoulish and baroque romp through the aesthetics of culinary cannibalism. Others before me in the ring have given excellent descriptions so I won't endeavour to guild the lily. Great fun. I have "Orlando Crispe's Flesh Eater's Cookbook" on my TBR shelf, so I will read that next.
I presume this goes back to MelancholyMan now. I have his address from a few months back, so I will put in the post in the next couple for days unless I hear different.
