Description

SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021

‘Outrageous satire . . . extremely funny, weirdly touching’ – Guardian
‘A work of genius’ – Scotsman
‘Close-to-the-knuckle farce with a big beating heart’ – Daily Mail

This is the story of an unusual family. Though they are nothing like yours, you will recognize them. They are the last Cannibal-Americans. And they have a problem.

When their mother dies, twelve children gather to dispose of the body in the traditional manner . . . by eating it. But can they follow the ancient rituals of consumption? Is their unique cultural heritage worth preserving if it’s this gross? And what about dietary requirements – one of them is vegan. Surely it can’t be this hard to do the right thing?

Mother for Dinner is a dark comedy about modern life and its many difficulties.

Publisher Review

Bad taste has a purpose in this outrageous satire . . . grotesque, extremely funny, weirdly touching and acute * Guardian * Daring, provocative and controversial . . . the outrageous nature of the comedy is done perfectly . . . This is a work of genius * Scotsman * I loved [it] . . . I devoured it in one sitting . . . I recommend you dig in * The Times * Laugh-out-loud funny . . Underlying the dark humour, it is, dare I say, a tender tale * Financial Times * A terrifically funny book . . . Close-to-the-knuckle farce with a big beating heart * Daily Mail * A grotesque family comedy . . . Written in fast-moving, deadpan prose * New Stateman * Auslander is an enfant even more terrible than Philip Roth . . . it provides plenty of dark laughs and inspired comic riffs * TLS * A virtuoso humorist, and a brave one * New York Times Book Review * You're unlikely to read anything funnier this year * Big Issue * Auslander's greatest strength is the zip and ping of his dialogue . . . uproariously funny * Literary Review * Brilliantly written, often hilarious but also deeply thoughtful * Jewish Chronicle * Consistently funny, consistently wise and consistently disturbing in ways that probably only Shalom Auslander could arrange. It is a rare and agile narrative . . . Perhaps not a perfect gift for Mother's Day, but then again, it could be just the thing -- A. L. Kennedy, Costa Prize-winning author of Day Portnoy-era Roth couldn't hold a candle to Shalom Auslander * Entertainment Weekly * Blends tragedy, comedy and satire in the mold of Samuel Beckett and Franz Kafka. * The Wall Street Journal * Auslander turns his taboo-shattering satiric gaze to cannibalism in this outrageous, salty take on contemporary culture . . . more effective is the riotous dissection of cultural formation and a community's hunger for meaning * Publishers Weekly * A book that's funny enough not just to make you nod to show you got the joke, but to make you laugh and laugh * The Critic * Dead funny and dead serious. A deliciously appalling satire on the hazards of tribalism, religion and tradition - and eating your relatives -- Rhidian Brook, author of The Killing of Butterfly Joe Irreverent and written with Auslander's incomparable humor, Mother for Dinner is an exploration of legacy, assimilation, the things we owe our families, and the things we owe ourselves * The Jewish Book World *