Customer Reviews

Liquor: A Novel

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Poppy Z. Brite's passion for the restaurant world shines brightly in LIQUOR, but you don't have to be a fan of food writing to appreciate her loving descriptions of gourmet meals and the careful preparation and presentation that goes into them. In fact, as I've observed on more than one occasion, Poppy's descriptions of food can even make meat sound appealing to a vegetarian. (I speak from personal experience.)

Lest I give the wrong impression, I should point out that LIQUOR isn't just about food. It's about people--real people and real relationships. It's also about New Orleans, though not the New Orleans that's so frequently seen through the romanticized veil of Goth. Poppy's not afraid to show her hometown as it truly is, warts and all, but it's also obvious that she's fond of those warts, perhaps even moreso than the more conventionally beautiful parts of the city.

If you've read THE VALUE OF X or any of Poppy's short stories about Rickey and G-man, reading LIQUOR will be like visiting with old friends. If not, it will be like making new ones. Either way, you'll be anxiously awaiting the follow-up novel, PRIME, which is scheduled for a Spring 2005 release.

In many ways, PZB's novels Liquor and The Value of X are analogous to the shift in the sound of the Beatles which occurred at the mid-point of their career. Those who wish to restrict PZB's writing to the more baroque style she debuted with may be a bit surprised or dismayed to learn that she has for the most part moved beyond such ornate writing. This is not a bad thing; PZB has honed her style down into an appropriate tool for relating the stories of Rickey and G-Man, and the contemporary New Orleans they live, love and work in. Liquor as a novel is immediately entrancing and, most wonderfully of all, leaves the reader more than a little impatient for the next novel in the projected trilogy (The Value of X is a prequel of sorts, and does not count as part of the trilogy). The author uses her first or second-hand knowledge of the N.O. restaurant scene and her obvious love for the Crescent City to fashion her most satisfying novel to date. Within the narrative, she manages to intertwine street madness, humor both black and benign, scenes of the day to day life of restauranteurs in New Orleans, and glimpses of the colorful history of the city itself. On a personal level, I must have nothing but pity for those who refuse to read Liquor due to the fact that it isn't a "PZB Horror Novel". Those unfortunates are denying themselves the pure pleasure of an extraordinary author who is writing at the top of her game. If you must take refuse in yet another re-reading of Lost Souls, by all means do so. Just don't leave your head in the sand so long that you fail to be entranced by Liquor and its upcoming counterparts.

I was lucky to score an early copy of Liquor by Poppy z. Brite this past weekend. The novel follows a young couple, John Rickey and Gary "G-Man" Stubbs, from the hot lines at various New Orleans restaurant kitchens to opening their own, a genius spirit infused joint called Liquor, where the alcohol is not only served at the bar but in all of the dishes as well. There aren't a lot of twists and turns, but I think the plot is secondary to her character work, which in my opinion is really well done.

For me the book moved like a steamroller, building momentum slowly, but once it got going it was hard to stop. Though most fans probably know Mrs. Brite for her horror novels, Lost Souls, Drawing Blood, and Exquisite Corpse, it's in Liquor where she truly shines. Liquor feels a lot more personal and involved, through her descriptions of her hometown and her well-drawn characters, than her previous novels.

I think this novel will appeal to those who enjoy Anthony Bourdain's writing or Gregory Mcdonald's Fletch series of novels, as well as anyone who has a love of good food and believable, interesting character work.

Technically, this isn't a brand new direction, since the short novel *The Value of X* and a few stories in her recent collection, *The Devil You Know,* visited this direction before, but those were small press hardcovers (Subterranean Press, in fact), and this is a mass market trade paperback. All I can say is: excellent.

(...) So much food...

The plot in a nutshell, G-Man and Rickey are a couple of 27 year old best friends and lovers, who work the mean kitchens of New Orleans. After dealing with jaggoffs and jerks, Rickey gets mondo inspiration for a one-of-a-kind restaraunt that'd do great in the N'Awlins atmosphere -- Liquor, a place whose gimmick is straightforward: every dish served incorporates alcohol in some form. This novel is about the difficulties in getting said restaraunt going. What's more, it's about the challenges involved in going for your dreams and taking a stand for what you feel in important. What's more it's a novel about fear. Not the traditional 'BOO!' kind of fear, but the all too real world 'what if I'm not as good as I think I am?' terror. I once heard the notion that our fears change as we grow older. This is a novel, which demonstrates that development. Poppy Brite is the only person who could've written this novel.

The characters are exceptionally drawn, the writing is honed (though passive sentences creep in once too often for my taste), and the text's flavor is at once saucy, sweet, salty and sexy.

(...)

This is probably Poppy Brite's best book, thus far.

Frankly, I heard some things about this book that I thought would put me off, but one of the cooks at my restaurant basicly shoved it in my face and said "You HAVE to read this." Well, I wasn't put off by the stuff at all, and I could hardly beleive how acurately the author showed the life and work of chefs, line cooks, even "minor" but important kitchen workers like dishwashers. I know she is married to a chef but it's hard to beleive anybody could get it so right without working in kitchens themself. I liked Liquor even better than Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, which was my bible up to now.

The first, last, and only time I went to New Orleans I did not meet Poppy Z. Brite. I was DJ'ing at Convergence, a peripatetic goth gathering that meanders aimlessly around North America. When I arrived in that rather splendid city I'm afraid I was rather more tourist than rock star, but then I had been forced to deal with my fear of flying by a medicinal dose of vodka and I could hardly stand up in the humidity. In many ways it is for the best that I didn't manage to track her down because, although I loved her writing, I didn't really get on with that first book of hers. I was in awe of the city though, it's something rather special, and that is not an accolade I give lightly!

Fast forward a few years and I no longer sport a Mohican haircut I no longer look like an emaciated punk mime, and I never appeared as a minor character in one of her stories; the lack of punk hair comes with age, the lack of emaciation comes from the other love of my life ... cooking.

Liquor was the only book I have ever tasted. It's as much a New Orleans book as her earlier novels, and it makes much of the peculiar affinity, no ... love affair, that the city has with food and indeed drink. It's a good story, and the main protagonists are real people. For me the sign of a good book is one where the reader actually cares what happens (as opposed to wanting to take one with an unusual name to one side and slap some sense into him). I wished the heroes well, I believed in their dream. There's plot here and it moves like a good meal from an appetizer, served at the pace of the city itself, then comfortably and inevitably through the heat of the main course towards... deserts.

I've been really hungry since I started reading Liquor and, now I have finished, I'm going to head into the kitchen and cook.

If you enjoy your food, like a tale of adventure, a side order of dressed wit, and a glass or two of thriller with ice and a twist, then here's a book you can devour.

What can I say that has not been said before? Probably nothing. I love this book. I devoured the whole thing in one night. I love how she just gets this city. Not many people can capture it this way. Many have tried and failed. These characters are my favorites. This was my first time meeting them. I like that they are not overly sexual. That's not what the book is about. They are beautifully human. After reading Liquor, I felt like I spent a few hours catching up with two very good friends. I will enjoy reading more about them. If you have not read this yet, what are you waiting for? How was this for a stellar review?

It seems to me that when authors take an abrupt 360 into an entirely different genre (or non-genre as the case may be) they're either desperate for something fresh to inspire them, or they're On To Something.

Poppy Z. Brite is *definitely* on to something with Liquor!

Liquor is an obvious departure from Brite's earlier work. It's not even quite in the same vein as The Value of X, although it continues the story of Rickey and G-man (Liquor lacks the adolescent angst).

Because of that, genre groupies might not appreciate Liquor as a stand-alone novel.

It is, however, an excellent book. Well written with realistic, witty dialogue and charming atmosphere. The characters are lovable and easy to relate to. You find yourself more fascinated by their real-world struggles than you would if there were a psychotic mafia vampire boss causing them problems. ^_~

Oh, and it makes you hungry!

I hope Poppy Z. Brite keeps up the wonderful work and I can't wait until The Big D is published!

I'll admit first off that I'm a fan of Brite's, even if I haven't read a large body of her work. Drawing Blood is a personal favorite, though.
Liquor is a favorite, too. It's only been out for a couple of weeks, and it only took me a couple of days to read it. Since then I've been actively searching for all the stories related to it.
The stand-out feature in Liquor, other than the characters, is her amazing dialogue. She wasn't a poor writer of dialogue before, but every line stood out to me while reading Liquor. The novel is fresh and lighter than most of Brite's work, but all of the characters came out realistically, and I cared as much for them as I have for any character before.
After reading it, I usually found myself aching to cook, and it's not wise to read it on an empty stomach. [Some of the dishes she writes about sound fantastic, despite the fact that I couldn't touch most of them... I'm a vegetarian.]
It is a relatively quick read, and I wish it had been longer, but there is a follow-up to look forward to.
Personally, I can't wait.

-J

I must admit it. I'm in love with Poppy Z Brite. It started with 'Lost Souls' and grew with every word of purple prose that dripped from her pages like visceral gore. When I heard that she was trying her hand at something other than horror, I was a little skeptical, being a writer myself and having the adage "stick to what you're good at" pounded into my skull. But I picked up 'Liquor' that day it hit bookshelves, and finished it by noon the next day.

Not only are the characters stunning and vibrant, as are all of her creations, but she makes New Orleans itself a living entity. Brite creates beautiful interpersonal relationships between her protagonists Rickey and G-man, and the development of their dialogue and characterizations was enough to make me feel by the end of the book as though they were people I'd go have a drink with.

This book, perhaps more than the gruesome lore of her older novels and many short stories, shows fans that there is indeed a Brite future ahead; she is an immensely talented writer and her world is one that I'll be all too happy to dive into again when 'The Big D' comes out in 2005. Until then, adieu--- I'm off to re-read this book.