Crunch Crunch Crunch — The Magic Word

By Jules Rivera

“Everything in this room is eatable, even I’m eatable! But that is called “cannibalism”, my dear children, and is in fact frowned upon in most societies.”

— Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

It’s here! It’s finally here: my blog post about cannibalism. This has been long awaited (mainly by me) and I’m so happy to have the honor of bringing it to you. The first time I read a book with cannibalism in it, I was hooked! Since then I can’t stop reading gross books. Nasty, gory, crunchy little books. Here’s a list of books about cannibalism: they’re all the rage. Ya hungry?

P.S. If you are like me and are obsessed with horror, gore, people eating people, and Carmen Maria Machado, read her take on the rise of cannibalism in media here!

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

Starting off strong! I can’t ever shut up about this book. I’ve already written about it in another blog post, but I’ll say it again: this book is incredible. It’s the perfect mix of fright, suspense, sex, death, and food writing. The way Chelsea is able to tune in so closely to all of your senses (in a good way), while also grossing you out to the max (in a bad way, but also good?) is a dance I can only dream of learning the steps to. I will read it over and over again forever.

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

Times are tough for Marcos. He is dealing with the ethics of his job and trying to make a living, and his dad is battling dementia. A strange virus has o’ertaken the land and “normal” meat is now an absolute no-go: it’s completely poisonous! But these guys gotta eat though, right? In response to this, the government decides to make eating human meat legal and all hell breaks loose. Our guy Marcos is stressed. Remember his job I mentioned? It’s in a processing plant dealing with all of this mess head on! It’s legal, but does that make it right? Marcos is gonna have to find out.

Cannibalism by Bill Schutt

This is a wonderfully hilarious piece of nonfiction analyzing the biological, anthropological, and historical effects of cannibalism. From tadpoles eating other tadpoles, hamsters eating their young, and the Donner Party, Schutt covers it all. Covering the past, present, and hypothesizing the future, you’ll learn so much more about cannibalism than you’d ever thought you could.

Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare

We’re taking it back now, y’all. In this incredibly gory play, Titus Andronicus, a general, returns from war with four prisoners who are absolutely pissed about this and will get him back for it. How? Well, they kill his daughter, for starters, and then have his sons killed/banished from the kingdom. What does Titus do to avenge his children? Well, I don’t want to get too much into it, but there’s a pie involved. This play has it all: lotsa gore, murder, vengeance, mommy issues, and baking! So good.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

This is the story of a father and son in America, but make it scorched and absolutely demolished by the end of the world (essentially). They’re headed towards the coast and have no clue what’s waiting for them when they get there. All they have is a pistol, scraps of food, and each other. What could go wrong?

The Glutton by A.K. Blakemore

First of all, this cover? So good. This is a historical fiction about a guy who lived during the French Revolution named Tarrare. This guy was HUNGRY. Born into poverty and later working as a showman, he ate everything he could get his hands on: dozens of apples all at once, cats and dogs (?), trash (?), eels (?), a golden fork (?). It’s suspected he may have even eaten a baby! The Glutton follows the story of Tarrare on his deathbed, recalling to a young nun the story of his life, and the many weird things he ingested during it. A discussion of class, queerness, showmanship, war, and insatiable hunger, this book comes out on Halloween- how spooky! Catch it quick once it comes out!!