Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
I'm not sure how I'd feel if I read this book on paper, but I listened to it on audio during Thanksgiving travels, and......whoa. So good, so disturbing, so compelling. James Hannaham as the narrator was amazeballs.
If I could have recorded my emotions while reading this they would be:
interested
charmed
enthralled
horrified
angry
sickened
gut punched
empathetic
heart broken
suspicious
bored
horrified again
angry
very, very angry
hopeful
I made two mistakes with this book. First, I thought it was a modern day fairy tale and I went into it expecting to be horrified and charmed and saddened with loss. Then, I made mistake number two and read the reviews and found out this is based on real events. The horrified level went up, up, up.
It also elevated the importance of this story in my mind by ten-fold. This is a difficult read, this is a moving read, this is a good read.
The writing is excellent and I will admit there were some parts in which there was some poetic waxing and my reader brain screamed, "Who cares! Get back to the story at the farm!"
Delicious Foods is not a fairy tale, no matter what Scotty might have you think.
interested
charmed
enthralled
horrified
angry
sickened
gut punched
empathetic
heart broken
suspicious
bored
horrified again
angry
very, very angry
hopeful
I made two mistakes with this book. First, I thought it was a modern day fairy tale and I went into it expecting to be horrified and charmed and saddened with loss. Then, I made mistake number two and read the reviews and found out this is based on real events. The horrified level went up, up, up.
It also elevated the importance of this story in my mind by ten-fold. This is a difficult read, this is a moving read, this is a good read.
The writing is excellent and I will admit there were some parts in which there was some poetic waxing and my reader brain screamed, "Who cares! Get back to the story at the farm!"
Delicious Foods is not a fairy tale, no matter what Scotty might have you think.
The tone is such a unique combination of deepest personal tragedy and sometimes light, almost funny narration (i.e., the chapters narrated by crack cocaine). It’s not a beloved book but it’s an experience to read.
I got to page 166, and I decided I didn't want to waste my time with this one anymore. The story is so slow and it is taking to long to grab my interest. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to dnf this one.
I thought this book was fantastic. Its dark--sometimes I wasn't sure if Hannaham was going for dark humor or sorrow, but that didn't bother me. It did jump around a bit, but it was really unique in both story and style (crack cocaine is its own character, for example) and beautifully written. Highly recommended.
This is a dark and disturbing novel about poverty, grief, exploitation, and drug abuse. Hannaham’s characters are heartbreaking and memorable.
Very dark, but overall a good story. I had a hard time getting used to the voice of Scotty (Cocaine/Crack), but I loved the sections in the voices of mother and son.
I'm kind of a dunce when it comes to seeing the deeper meanings that authors place in their story and this one took me some time. Delicious Foods is about the wife of a civil rights activist whose life becomes derailed and ends up working for an agricultural farm where the workers are enslaved. She's cocaine addicted and makes one bad mistake after another before the story resolves.
I think this story is about the civil rights movement and its tortuous route to find equality. Interesting commentary on race and civil rights' issues. 3 stars only because the story dragged some in the middle.
I think this story is about the civil rights movement and its tortuous route to find equality. Interesting commentary on race and civil rights' issues. 3 stars only because the story dragged some in the middle.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Delicious Foods tells the story of Eddie and his mother Darlene, an addict who is swept away by a mysterious company promising shelter, work, and enough of her drug of choice to keep her going as long as she doesn't ask questions. Soon, she and Eddie are both trapped on a large farm under conditions eerily similar to slavery, ready to risk life and limb (literally!) in order to escape.
The book alternates between Eddie, Darlene, and Scotty, the drug Darlene is addicted to. Scotty is the only "character" who narrates in first person in a very distinct voice which ultimately give it more of a voice than any of the actual people in the novel. I'm not sure how I felt about this narration. On the one hand, I think it mimics the way addiction can take over a life. It's the drug more than Darlene making her decisions and guiding her actions. The drug is more important than everything else, including her own child. On the other hand, I wondered if it muddied the waters too much when it comes to who or what is responsible for all of the horrible things that happen.
Even though the plot of the book seems somewhat fabulist, the entire premise of the farm, the people lured there, and how they're kept there is actually plausible. In fact, the only difference between Delicious Foods and prison is that much of the prison system is technically legal, much like slavery once was. The fact that the vulnerable are still exploited by the powerful makes this story depressingly believable but no less horrifying.
Another aspect of the book that makes it timeless is crossover with mythology and Caribbean Obeah. Eddie is somewhat like Orpheus trying to retrieve Euridice from the underworld. Darlene is a version of Persephone who partakes of a forbidden fruit. There are suspicions of characters performing rituals to keep workers on the farm. I actually wanted a little more clarity on this part since there was only one explicit scene, and it wasn't clear if it really happened or was another result of drug use. Then again, maybe that's the point.
There was one other aspect of the story regarding Darlene and her taste in men that I'm still not convinced fit her character, and I think it's because we get so little of her perspective in favor of the drug's. I wish the book had been a bit more even in the alternation of narratives because, even though I understand how a drug can dominate the story, I am still more interested in the human side.
The book alternates between Eddie, Darlene, and Scotty, the drug Darlene is addicted to. Scotty is the only "character" who narrates in first person in a very distinct voice which ultimately give it more of a voice than any of the actual people in the novel. I'm not sure how I felt about this narration. On the one hand, I think it mimics the way addiction can take over a life. It's the drug more than Darlene making her decisions and guiding her actions. The drug is more important than everything else, including her own child. On the other hand, I wondered if it muddied the waters too much when it comes to who or what is responsible for all of the horrible things that happen.
Even though the plot of the book seems somewhat fabulist, the entire premise of the farm, the people lured there, and how they're kept there is actually plausible. In fact, the only difference between Delicious Foods and prison is that much of the prison system is technically legal, much like slavery once was. The fact that the vulnerable are still exploited by the powerful makes this story depressingly believable but no less horrifying.
Another aspect of the book that makes it timeless is crossover with mythology and Caribbean Obeah. Eddie is somewhat like Orpheus trying to retrieve Euridice from the underworld. Darlene is a version of Persephone who partakes of a forbidden fruit. There are suspicions of characters performing rituals to keep workers on the farm. I actually wanted a little more clarity on this part since there was only one explicit scene, and it wasn't clear if it really happened or was another result of drug use. Then again, maybe that's the point.
There was one other aspect of the story regarding Darlene and her taste in men that I'm still not convinced fit her character, and I think it's because we get so little of her perspective in favor of the drug's. I wish the book had been a bit more even in the alternation of narratives because, even though I understand how a drug can dominate the story, I am still more interested in the human side.
This book was not for me. I could never relate to the characters and reading went slow.