Mother for Dinner by  Shalom Auslander

Mother for Dinner

Shalom Auslander

To find comedy in cannibalism is something I never would have thought possible until I read this book. Seventh, the seventh child born to his dominant mother, tells the story of his Cam-Am (Cannibal-American) heritage. When their mother dies, the modern-day siblings must honour the customs of their ancestors by eating their own mother for dinner. This stomach-turning black comedy is uniquely compelling.

Extract

Lying there, surrounded by his family, all of them coming together to perform this ancient ritual, Seventh closed his eyes and smiled, enjoying that which he never thought he would: The warm safety, the comfort, like a hug, of the box he had so long been desperate to escape. 

Parallels
  • The Debt to Pleasure by John Lanchester
  • The Cook by Wayne Macauley