I had no knowledge of Tarrare before reading this wonderful book but such was the quality of the writing that I decided to do some homework after the event!

This piece of historical fiction was a feast for the senses. Descriptions were beautiful and real, almost Hardy-esque but less wordy! The writing verges on the academic at times, vocabulary is complex (again, Hardy springs to mind).

It is a dark story, yet compelling. I think that I am glad that I sought out information on the main character AFTER reading the novel as it made me question why certain things had not been dealt with. This notwithstanding, there is so much to love about this tale with clever nods to philosophy along the way.

The Glutton is an enthralling, gut-wrenching story of hardship and humanity set in revolutionary France, following the bizarrely likeable protagonist, Tarare. From his ugly childhood, raised by a single mother who fights to give him a decent life but inevitably falls victim to the terrible reality of society, resorting to the unthinkable to keep food on the table.

When his mother falls into a toxic relationship with a shady character, so begins a chain of events through which Tarare stumble, fighting for his life at every corner, getting to know an eclectic and fascinating ensemble of acquaintances along the way. The plot flows exceptionally smoothly and the action keeps coming, keeping the reader thoroughly engaged as the novel develops.

Blakemore has truly created a wonderful world in which I found myself absorbed. I didn't want this book to end, and found myself mulling over so many questions of morality. This is a wonderful novel, I highly recommend reading if you're a fan of historical fiction, borderline magical-realism with a basis in real-life mythology.

Thank you to NetGalley and Granta Books, who gave me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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“'Perhaps you can write my story down somewhere. He closes his eyes and tents his hands over his chest, with a chuckle. The Great Tarare. My own little blue book for sale at Monsieur Dessein’s. It would please me.'
The memoirs of a cannibal, she thinks. But who would wish to read such a thing?"

Everyone who picked up this book, apparently.

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The Glutton is a novel that introduces us to Tarare, a peasant who lives in eighteenth-century France. He is in the care of a convent and is rumoured to be a cannibal and a monster. He begs the Sister on watch to hear his final confession, in which he details his sad life: how he came to have the unnatural, uncontrollable hunger that he was infamous for and the dark paths that hunger led him down.

I’d never heard of Tarare before I came across this book. The fact that he was supposedly a real person is a bit of a mad thought. Though I know this is a reimagining of a real person’s life, I found myself wondering in general how much of Tarare’s ‘real story’ is legend and how much was true. Every great legend is based in fact, after all much like every lie has a nugget of truth. Of course, it will be impossible to know for sure.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I kept putting the book down and walking away from it for days at a time, but whenever I did pick it up, I flew through a fair chunk of the text. The middle was quite slow which I think is why it took me longer to get through. I also found that it highlighted a lot of things that I personally find I overlook when it comes to revolutionary periods in a country’s history: how the revolution affected the working classes outside of the cities or how chaotic the years immediately after the end of the revolution would have been for the ordinary person. I appreciated that Blakemore chose to focus on the pressures such revolutionary changes would cause in the general population of a country.

I will admit that this book’s saving grace is not its subject matter, however, but its writing. I loved the way the author described food and scenery in this, it was cinematic in style without the prose becoming overwhelming. There were also sections where the writing represented Tarare’s devolving mental state due to the toll his enormous appetite was taking on him. These sections were my favourites to read, even though they were heavy at times, as they portrayed his despair very well. A stand-out section came toward the end:

“He walks south. He thinks perhaps if he walks far enough, the grass will pale and the trees will die off into scorched carcasses, and he will have a desert, a certain white wasteland, in which to live out his contrition, circled by bald-headed vultures. Tarare’s imagination was always rich. Now it is richer. No stars no roots no glow of rain. It is good to hurt, godly. It is good to be circled by vultures. Let the sandstorms tear the hospital smock from his body. Let his face be slashed by blazing winds.”

See what I mean? The prose, much like Tarare’s imagination, is rich.

I suppose my prevailing thought on reflection is that this book may not have become a favourite of mine, but I certainly enjoyed Blakemore as a writer. I may have to reach for her work again in the future.

I loved The Glutton! I've been obsessed with Tarrare since I first heard about him, so was very keen to read this book and it didn't disappoint. Beautifully created historical fiction that's full of life, with descriptions so vivid you could reach out and touch them.

Absolutely no eating when reading this one. I definitely had to pause my audiobook while preparing food, and I’m not queasy. Since Tarrare was quite the tumblr phenomenon back in the day (Tarrare girlies out there, you know who you are), I was vaguely familiar with the historical figure and only did a quick Wikipedia read before starting into The Glutton.

With that revision in mind and my memories refreshed, I’m afraid the novelization of Tarrare’s life story didn’t add much to the Wikipedia article on the person. While in part beautifully written (and in part a gruesome, ugly account of Tarrare’s worst moments), and successfully giving especially young Tarrare more of a background story and motivation, the later events of his life weren’t exactly reinvented by A.K. Blakemore.

This is not a book to read on a bad day.

And now it's time for me to take a break from literary fiction.

The harrowing and unnerving story of Tarare, a lonely outcast with insatiable hunger which was triggered when he underwent a near-death experience at the hands of his mother’s lover.
As expected, the writing and language from Blakemore is exemplary and the content is occasionally quite grotesque, for this vegetarian’s appetite anyway…
At times I was reminded of Suskind’s Perfume which also features an unpleasant protagonist with questionable proclivities which is high praise indeed. Excellent stuff.

Really great, a hilarious, tragic and disgusting read about a man named Tarare who just cannot stop eating. This is a historical novel set in France and since his traumatic childhood Tarare has always had an insatiable appetite. When he leaves home his hunger forces into various situations around the country and his desires become increasingly dark and taboo.

I loved the writing in this and how it used a sort of framing narrative for a lot of the book. When he was lying in the bed speaking to the nun I was really enjoying these sections. His childhood was also one of the best parts of the book. I found the writing really tongue in cheek and it suited Tarare’s character so well. I felt like it was a great mix between satire and a truly abominable story - dark comedy at its finest.

Well, here’s another absolute banger of a historical fiction novel!

The Glutton by A. K. Blakemore is based on the real life story of Tarare, a man born into poverty but happy with that life. That is until his mother meets the man who changes her life, presumably for the better - and changes Tarare’s life for the worst.

He’s known as the man who ate a golden fork (that eventually kills him), live animals, offal, a baby - but still people want to watch him put away vast amounts of food (and non-food!). And if it means he’s fed, Tarare sees it as a way of satiating the ever-present hunger. The draw of the circus freak is overwhelming for the French public.

Tarare is a simple man who is taken advantage of at every turn. I felt so sorry for him. He has the disadvantage of not only being very unusual, but also uneducated and poor. He has to fight to survive, both as a soldier and as a civilian, and he’s seen as a joke by the more well-off.

For such a grotesque subject matter, the writing really is rather beautiful. Descriptions of Tarare’s childhood and the place that he grew up were sensitively done - you could see the love of his local area and the love he felt for his mother. Even in the most disgusting sections of the book, there was a kind of beauty.

A deliciously bizarre, beautifully written book. I loved it.

Retelling the story of Tarare, the seemingly bottom less pit with no limits of how much and what he consumed, Blakemore twists his gluttony in something darker and twisted. It was a bizarre but entrancing read, and the writing itself was done beautifully, despite the subject matter.

AK Blakemore is a genius, frankly. The Glutton is an astonishing piece of historical fiction, featuring a character I really shouldn’t have loved, but I did! Set in 18th century France, the story follows one man’s life from birth to his eventual incarceration for terrible crimes, and on the way we learn how a so called monster is created, and so much more….this is inspired by a real man, which is all the more remarkable. Brilliant work!

I love anything written in foreign countries; especially in Europe; especially in France.

This was extremely unique in its dark history and nature - some scenes were uncomfortable, but the overall message was clear and Tarare was living a consequence of the life he ultimately led.

Thank you to Granta and @netgalley for my proof of this novel, which is out now!

A K Blakemore’s The Manningtree Witches is one of my favourite historical novels, so I was incredibly excited to see another historical take due to be published; this time taking us to Revolutionary-era France and the great Terare.

I didn’t realise that The Glutton is based on a real historical figure until I had actually started the book; the premise of a man with an insatiable appetite sounded too fantastical to be ‘truly’ historical, and throughout Blakemore does a phenomenal job of grounding this deeply weird and strange story in historical fact.

Slight spoilers ahead in this next paragraph, so click away if you’d rather stay spoiler free!

Perhaps this is my own fault for having read a little more on Tarare after realising he was indeed a real person, but I found there was a real gap in where Blakemore chooses to end this story. We hear throughout the novel that Tarare believes he has been made ill by a gold fork that he has eaten, and indeed other characters ask him where he came upon this gold fork. We never get to hear this, however, as Blakemore cuts Tarare’s story off many years before this event. Maybe this is intended as a reference to how little we know about the real figure, but for me it felt frustrating to have such a large gap between where we last hear from Tarare on his own story to where he then ends up.

If you’re a historical fiction fan and you liked the style of Blakemore’s debut novel, I think The Glutton will also be a book for you - although ‘enjoy’ never quite feels like the right word for books like these!

Absolutely loved this.
A great example of that rare genre, ugly beauty.
I've seen comparisons to Perfume (another great book) and whilst I get that, this reminds me more of Voltaire's Candide. Love how all three are set in historical France!

Tarare's odyssey to discover his meaning is constantly hampered by his disadvantageous low birth, but mainly by his incredible appetite and ability to eat even the most grotesque things. The descriptions are absolutely foul and evocative, the author really stretches their vocabulary using inexplicable and unusual words but the prose is so delightful they just trip along beautifully, their meaning clear.

I did want his story to go down an even more outrageous path - as his set up is just so extraordinary - but when I learnt that it was based on the life of an actual historical person his actions made sense, and weirdly felt more outrageous knowing there was truth to it.

There was some point of view discrepencies I felt - after Tarare died and no longer telling his story to the sister his chapters were still reading as if he was alive in the future communicating them but its a tiny point.

But a very clever, detailed, outrageous read and I just loved it, I probably shouldn't have, but I did! :)

This is such a great, unique read. It's rare I come across a book where I think I've really read nothing like it, and this is one of those gems.

Tarare is the Glutton of the title, his hunger cannot be abated, and his hunger leads him into all kinds of trouble and horrors.

The narrative switches between the present day, Tarare on his death bed under the care of the nuns who are keeping guard over him while they await his end; and Tarare's journey through life, as he develops his hunger which keeps him travelling and demonstrating great horrors. Set in the time of the French revolution, the scenery and historical content add to the drama.

This is a great read.

This is one of those literary books I struggle to get on board with. One that delights in its lack of punctuation, in repetition that could be deliberate or might be an editing error, that flips into free indirect discourse for no reason. One that revels in all that is disgusting. It is a dark book with no hope within it.

Strangely the book adopts a framing device in which Tarare is telling a young nun his story then halfway through, this is abandoned. Yet the story continues. There are brief moments of philosophy that look at some beauty in the world. Otherwise, it reads as a straight biography, and arguably not so different from the nineteenth-century sources it was based on. The historicism is well done though. There may be a lack of detail, but the author truly does evoke the feeling of a peasant's life in the eighteenth century.

After loving The Manningtree Witches by the same author, I couldn't wait to read this. I was not disappointed. The Glutton places you so vividly in the poor and depraved streets of revolutionary France, that you are with Tarare every step of his saddening, bizarre and appalling journey. I absolutely loved this book.
The Great Tarare was a very real person, made famous for being able to eat anything - a spectacle of the streets. The story A.K.Blakemore has created around this person is nothing short of incredible, giving a humanity, a history and a genuine sympathy towards this man.
The writing is stunning, the story is riveting and I continue to be amazed by this author's craft. An excellent read.

this prose is foul, foul poetry. Blakemore does a sick (in both senses) job of bringing settings and smells to life, still keeping things human and hopeful. it's ultimately a sad story, but you finish it feeling weirdly light. love it.
4 stars - I felt the last 50 or so pages were less tightly written as the rest of the novel and some of the motifs were spoon-fed a touch, but that's OK, it didn't put me off at any point, just broke emersion a couple times towards the end. Still a must read, thoroughly enjoyed.

Sister Perpetué has been tasked with sitting with the patient who must always be watched. The man, Tarare, is dying after eating a golden fork. It is not the strangest thing he has eaten, but it is turning out to be the deadliest. As he lies in the hospital, he tells his story, from his childhood to his near death, after which he never felt full again. And as he is taken advantage of by those around him, Tarara has gone to extreme lengths to try and sate his hunger.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. I liked the insight into French history but mostly just found Tarare’s story incredibly interesting to listen to. I will be honest, the story lost me a little in the middle where I just didn’t have any clue what was happening for a bit but it got me back pretty quickly. I found it an interesting story but also an unusual concept and beautiful writing that kept me hooked.

I can’t wait to read AK Blakemore’s other book - The Manningtree Witches - and really recommend The Glutton for an interesting and unusual story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

📝Summary📝
The Glutton tells an imagined version of a true story; a boy in 1700s France whose appetite cannot be sated, and who will eat anything to try to stop the constant overwhelming hunger. Born to a poor family in a small village outside of Lyon, Tarare leaves around age 17, and finds himself among a group of other young misfits, and they begin to take advantage of his strange talent for eating…
Simultaneously we hear his story ten years down the line as he recounts it to a Sister at the hospital he is kept.

💭Review 💭
The story behind The Glutton is extremely interesting, and I think one thing Blakemore does really well is show Tarare’s battle with morality as he struggles to keep his hunger at bay. Tarare’s character is very well developed, with his naïveté and attempts to feel belonging, leading into his eventual apathy to people around him. I also found the dual timeline interesting, as we can see Tarare reflecting on his own life.
One issue I had with The Glutton was its overuse of difficult vocabulary - I found myself having to check the meaning of words quite often (you probably could get by without it, but I tend to want to know exact meanings to get a deeper sense of the story), and I didn’t find the elaborate nature necessary. I understand it was done to fit with the time period of the story but it still was a drawback for me. I also felt there was something more abstract missing from the story, I’m not sure what, but it just didn’t quite hit the spot.
Some might also struggle with some of the more grotesque scenes of eating, with food including rats, offal, kittens, puppies and more…

Overall an enjoyable read, but unfortunately not outstanding.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Glutton is an historical novel set in the second half of 18th century France surrounding the Revolution, telling the story of Tara, a young man who can not stop eating.

The story starts off in 1798 when Tara is in a hospital being looked after by nuns, as he wants to die because of his affliction, and he starts telling his life to one of the sisters who is looking after him.

This leads to the novel being told in flashbacks with the odd conversation with Tara and the nun which really allows the reader to get into how his feelings change throughout the development of his condition.

To me one of the interesting features of the story is its historical setting being around the French Revolution emphasises the similarities between Tara and the monarchy regime which was thrown out in 1789.

Added to this the story going on after this date does connect it with the post revolution excess.

As a reader I felt that the Glutton by A.K. Blakemore, although an historical novel, does an interesting job at examining the excess in the present day, making The Glutton a great historical contemporary issues novel.