Customer Reviews

Carnivore Diet: A Novel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm not usually a fan of humorous novels, but Slavin is inordinately clever, her skewed take on suburban Washington D.C. full of bind-boggling images and the tensions of today's reality. Wendy Dunleavy's husband, Matt, a former Congressman, is incarcerated; her son Dylan has just lost a lucrative job as the voice of a cartoon character, Harlan, puberty assailing his once high-pitched vocal chords. To add to the drama, the neighborhood is under attack by a mysterious animal, a chagwa, a sometimes-carnivorous mythological hermaphroditic beast.

The only way Wendy can cope with her out-of-control existence is on a diet of sleeping pills and mood enhancers, glued to the local TV station that reports sightings of the monster-at-large. With no husband to protect her, in a land of ubiquitous politicians and random social causes, Wendy is unmoored, beset with fears and insecurities, as fourteen-year old Dylan stands by helplessly. Washington D.C. is not a place for the faint-of-heart, Wendy and Dylan the objects of interest and curiosity in a city that knows virtually everything about everybody. D.C. is literally licking its chops, chasing the fearsome chagwa and dissecting those in the spotlight, where a woman alone is ripe fruit to be picked.

Fantasy abounds, beasts and monsters, not to mention nosy neighbors who feast on someone else's downfall. Wendy and Dylan are dragged into a changing future, kicking and screaming. Wendy has her own metamorphosis, while Dylan holds down the home fort with all of the other "Harlan's" who have played the voice of the cartoon character over the years. Only the chagwa is oblivious, attacking the Dunleavy's house, demanding meat. The citizens mobilize, cooperating in mutual need. Is Slavin's bizarre, dark vision a hallucination or another version of reality? Perhaps the beast is allegorical, usurping reason as families disintegrate. It's all in the eye (or mind) of the beholder: "If we feel more secure on the outside, we can begin to change on the inside." Luan Gaines/2005.

There is no other book to compare Slavin to, no genre to toss Carnivore Diet in. It's a drama, for sure, with elements of fantasy thrown in, along with a healthy dose of political and social commentary. It has the bizarre-ness of a Vonnegut novel, complete with the commentary on modern society, yet her fantasy world seems real, seems believable. It's almost as if one might wake up in 15 years to a world exactly as bizarre as the one Slavin sets her novel in.

Carnivore Diet focuses on the Dunleavy family, torn apart by politics, crime, and drugs. Dad Matt is a former congressman incarcerated on scandalous charges. Mom Wendy is at home coping with some serious drugs that she has to cajole out of her doctors. Teenaged Dylan has lost most of his friends, not told his mom, and is about to lose his lucrative job voicing a character on the most popular cartoon on television. Oh, and by the way, a hermaphroditic carnivorous beast is stalking Washington DC and the Dunleavy house and trying to eat Dylan. America is bizarre, filled with strange politicians, mood altering and life-ruining prescription drugs, and a reality-to-the-max show in which contestants live and die in a Colonial world (no access to any anachronistic medicine or tools).

Slavin has created a surreal yet vividly real snapshot of America, and her book is recommended to anyone who wants a break from the "usual fare."

An itchy, goosepimply, weird, thought provoking kind of read. I think I dug it pretty much, and would recommend it for the sheer audacity and excitment. I would also recommend another author, only because I've been reading alot lately, the first book of a new series entitled "A Monumental Journey" by Richard L Cederberg. Very good, exciting, endearing characters. Excellent content . . . I would recommend both quite highly!

I just finished reviewing 'Lemon' by Lawrence Krauser and I have to say these two books strike me in much the same way. Great imagination by both authors, I admire the originality but once again the writing was a draw-back. I saw a lot in 'Carnivore Diet' that I almost wanted to re-write myself because I felt like it was begging for that. Whereas in 'Lemon' the writing was over-blown poetic babble, the minimalist approach employed here actually hurts the humor. At least that's how I see it. The idea about the chagwa laying waste to Washington was hilarious as was many other parts but I kept getting the feeling that this was a first draft and with a little more description the jokes would be funnier.

I am a fan of strange stories. I read this particular story in just a few days, picking up a signed copy at a used bookstore just this week. I live in Washington, DC so the plot was of immediate appeal...I had no idea of the bizarre story that awaited.

Thoroughly enjoyable... on the verge of being sci-fi (perhaps the word is fantasy?). A monster cripples a town, while a mother loses her mind and her teenage son attempts to cope. Brilliant perspective, written from two narrators (son and mother). A fantastical escape to our pending future, with wild animals and a questionable law.

A quick read, but highly enjoyable.

The story would make a fantastic screenplay. Where's the film?

I have now re-read Julia Slavin's remarkable novel and find it as wonderful the second time around as the first. Highly creative, yet not improbable. A great read.