Season to Taste: A Novel
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Season to Taste: A Novel Hardcover – July 15, 2014
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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Since the author tells us this right up front, there’s no harm in revealing it here: Lizzie Prain has murdered her husband. And cut him up into pieces. And eaten the pieces. Set in a quiet rural area of Surrey, England, the story—told almost completely from Lizzie’s point of view—leaves the reader wondering if Lizzie is insane. She has a very practical approach to her situation: Jacob is dead, and Lizzie doesn’t want to get caught, so what’s the best way to dispose of his body? Well, Lizzie’s always liked to cook. This is a very smartly told tale that almost but never quite becomes a comedy. We begin with feelings of horror and revulsion at what Lizzie’s done, but, as the story moves along, and Lizzie makes plans for her future (once she’s finished eating her husband, of course), and she rediscovers the spark of life that 30 years of a bad marriage had all but extinguished, we somehow begin to root for her, becoming almost her accomplices, as she polishes off another bit of Jacob. Clever and twisted and a lot of fun. --David Pitt
Review
"Yes, it really is a novel about a woman who eats her husband, but only as much as, say, Rapunzel is a story about a woman who won't cut her hair. Season to Taste is a modern-day fable about the end of love and moving on. Natalie Young has given us a shockingly, thrillingly original new vantage on a timeless story of a marriage's demise." -Stefan Merrill Block, author of The Storm at the Door
"An enjoyable feast of anger - witty and poised." -Deborah Levy, author of Swimming Home
"A very smartly told tale... clever and twisted and a lot of fun."—Booklist
"Most books about murder focus on the act of homicide (which can be all too instant and easy), so it makes a toothsome change to read one about the disposal of the body... As she slices her husband's carcass into edible portions, one meal at a time, making a numbered series of notes to herself (or to anyone who might want to try this at home), Lizzie also dissects the sad truths of her marriage and her hitherto malnourished existence. Cannibalism is her final act of congress with Jacob, and it's fascinating to witness. Natalie Young's sparse prose captures Lizzie's daze and confusion as she eats, cooks, eats, and may take you to some dark places as you ponder the way your own current relationships sustain you."—Lit Reactor
"An enjoyable feast of anger - witty and poised." -Deborah Levy, author of Swimming Home
"A very smartly told tale... clever and twisted and a lot of fun."—Booklist
"Most books about murder focus on the act of homicide (which can be all too instant and easy), so it makes a toothsome change to read one about the disposal of the body... As she slices her husband's carcass into edible portions, one meal at a time, making a numbered series of notes to herself (or to anyone who might want to try this at home), Lizzie also dissects the sad truths of her marriage and her hitherto malnourished existence. Cannibalism is her final act of congress with Jacob, and it's fascinating to witness. Natalie Young's sparse prose captures Lizzie's daze and confusion as she eats, cooks, eats, and may take you to some dark places as you ponder the way your own current relationships sustain you."—Lit Reactor
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By
Tez Miller
on March 5, 2014
Format: Audible Audio Edition
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Is it, or is it not, a spoiler? It's the subtitle on the UK cover, and clearly the drawcard. Without it, I wouldn't have tried the book. So glad I did, though. Murder! Dismemberment! Cooking! Cannibalism! If you're interested in any of these, you'll be interested in Natalie Young's SEASON TO TASTE, OR HOW TO EAT YOUR HUSBAND. (Rephrase that: If you're interested in READING any of these... Because if you enjoy DOING murder, dismemberment, or cannibalism, you'd best turn yourself into police.)
So is Lizzie Prain a remarkable character, or are there just extreme circumstances? Nothing in particular seems to precede the murder. Jacob wasn't abusive; though it's clear it was a loveless marriage, a relationship out of convenience rather than anything else. Unemployment is a very relevant issue, and the strain it has on relationships is rather testing.
The cannibalism actually makes sense, strange as that sounds. If you don't want to be arrested, you've got to hide the evidence. A secluded location helps, as does a good barbecue, food processor, variety of recipes, and determination.
Yet the most fascinating sequence takes place in Glasgow, with a cooler bag that's struggling to keep cool its contents...
An extraordinary tale, SEASON TO TASTE is one of those novels you never expected to read and now can't imagine going WITHOUT reading it. Seemingly a literary tome, this genre fiction fan was fully engaged with SEASON TO TASTE. The monotony of the bonfire, cooking, and eating makes sense in the context, because it builds suspense for what's to come. I won't forget this book in a hurry.
Tori Amos said it best in "Blood Roses": "Sometimes you're nothing but meat."
Now awaiting the human/soylent green challenge on "Masterchef" and "My Kitchen Rules"...
So is Lizzie Prain a remarkable character, or are there just extreme circumstances? Nothing in particular seems to precede the murder. Jacob wasn't abusive; though it's clear it was a loveless marriage, a relationship out of convenience rather than anything else. Unemployment is a very relevant issue, and the strain it has on relationships is rather testing.
The cannibalism actually makes sense, strange as that sounds. If you don't want to be arrested, you've got to hide the evidence. A secluded location helps, as does a good barbecue, food processor, variety of recipes, and determination.
Yet the most fascinating sequence takes place in Glasgow, with a cooler bag that's struggling to keep cool its contents...
An extraordinary tale, SEASON TO TASTE is one of those novels you never expected to read and now can't imagine going WITHOUT reading it. Seemingly a literary tome, this genre fiction fan was fully engaged with SEASON TO TASTE. The monotony of the bonfire, cooking, and eating makes sense in the context, because it builds suspense for what's to come. I won't forget this book in a hurry.
Tori Amos said it best in "Blood Roses": "Sometimes you're nothing but meat."
Now awaiting the human/soylent green challenge on "Masterchef" and "My Kitchen Rules"...
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By
drtammy1511
on October 10, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
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A catchy title and a very becoming book cover together make up 95% of the appeal of Natalie Young's book, "Season to Taste: A Novel, Or How to a Eat Your Husband." While traveling abroad in the United Kingdom, my daughter and I ran across this novel, which, curiously, is titled only "How to Eat Your Husband." Not having much time to investigate it, we took a picture of it and tracked it down when we returned home.
The story is about a woman who chooses to murder rather than divorce than divorce her loveless husband who frequents whorehouses, and then, in a cool, calculated move, in order to get rid of the body - eats him. The title gives away the plot...no suspense there. And really, the title gives away the plot. There is a poorly developed, thinly attempted subplot where a man asks her to bake a cake for his girlfriend's birthday celebration when he plans to propose to her, she runs away, her brother ends up the protagonist's lover, and he keeps saying the young woman will return but she never does. To top it off, the book was as well written as that sentence!
There were time jumps in this novel that weren't marked at all by any breaks. While other thoughts or ideas were demarcated by pretty little ballet shoes between them, time jumps happened from one paragraph to another. One sentence she's at home in the present eating his heart, the next, she's in town talking about selling her car. It's only pages later that the reader realizes it was a flashback. This made for a very confusing read.
Another problem was with her love interest. Out of the blue, Tom steps into the picture. He a crazy, eccentric, young man she used to babysit, ewwww.Read more ›
The story is about a woman who chooses to murder rather than divorce than divorce her loveless husband who frequents whorehouses, and then, in a cool, calculated move, in order to get rid of the body - eats him. The title gives away the plot...no suspense there. And really, the title gives away the plot. There is a poorly developed, thinly attempted subplot where a man asks her to bake a cake for his girlfriend's birthday celebration when he plans to propose to her, she runs away, her brother ends up the protagonist's lover, and he keeps saying the young woman will return but she never does. To top it off, the book was as well written as that sentence!
There were time jumps in this novel that weren't marked at all by any breaks. While other thoughts or ideas were demarcated by pretty little ballet shoes between them, time jumps happened from one paragraph to another. One sentence she's at home in the present eating his heart, the next, she's in town talking about selling her car. It's only pages later that the reader realizes it was a flashback. This made for a very confusing read.
Another problem was with her love interest. Out of the blue, Tom steps into the picture. He a crazy, eccentric, young man she used to babysit, ewwww.Read more ›
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By
Brave New Bookshelves
on August 5, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
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The original title, apparently, was Season to Taste: Or How to Eat Your Husband. Keeping the alternate title for the US release would have been a good idea, in my opinion -- because I can absolutely see myself picking up this book at a bookstore and adding it to my much-loved shelf of food-related books, right beside Garlic and Sapphires or Like Water for Chocolate.
And if I'd done that, and settled in to read a mouthwatering, cozy novel about cooking, I would have been in for an unpleasant shock: the food that is getting "seasoned to taste" in this book is various human body parts.
Lizzie loses her cool one night and kills her husband. Naturally, she'd prefer not to go to jail for murder, so in a decision both practical and chilling, she decides to dispose of the evidence: she will cook and eat him, piece by piece.
I think it's important to note that this is not easy for her to do. She's not Hannibal Lecter; she doesn't have a craving for it. But even when it disgusts her, she feels obligated to do it. It's more than a way to "get away with it"; it's also some sort of penance, maybe even an apology to him, a promise that she'll literally absorb the consequences of her actions.
When I started the book, I joked to my boyfriend that it was a great diet book. I skipped dinner one night after reading about Lizzie's decision to start by cooking one of her husband's hands. It's a little gory and not for the faint of stomach. But gradually, the book becomes less about the cannibalism and more about Lizzie's efforts to deal with what she's done, to face her actions and make conscious choices to better her situation, to convince herself she's not crazy. It's a more complex and less titillating book than I expected, and that's a good thing.Read more ›
And if I'd done that, and settled in to read a mouthwatering, cozy novel about cooking, I would have been in for an unpleasant shock: the food that is getting "seasoned to taste" in this book is various human body parts.
Lizzie loses her cool one night and kills her husband. Naturally, she'd prefer not to go to jail for murder, so in a decision both practical and chilling, she decides to dispose of the evidence: she will cook and eat him, piece by piece.
I think it's important to note that this is not easy for her to do. She's not Hannibal Lecter; she doesn't have a craving for it. But even when it disgusts her, she feels obligated to do it. It's more than a way to "get away with it"; it's also some sort of penance, maybe even an apology to him, a promise that she'll literally absorb the consequences of her actions.
When I started the book, I joked to my boyfriend that it was a great diet book. I skipped dinner one night after reading about Lizzie's decision to start by cooking one of her husband's hands. It's a little gory and not for the faint of stomach. But gradually, the book becomes less about the cannibalism and more about Lizzie's efforts to deal with what she's done, to face her actions and make conscious choices to better her situation, to convince herself she's not crazy. It's a more complex and less titillating book than I expected, and that's a good thing.Read more ›
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