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Food critic Dorothy Daniels loves what she does. Discerning, meticulous, and very, very smart, Dorothy's clear mastery of the culinary arts make it likely that she could, on any given night, whip up a more inspired dish than any one of the chefs she writes about. Dorothy loves sex as much as she loves food, and while she has struggled to find a long-term partner that can keep up with her, she makes the best of her single life, frequently traveling from Manhattan to Italy for a taste of both. But there is something within Dorothy that's different from everyone else, and having suppressed it long enough, she starts to embrace what makes Dorothy uniquely, terrifyingly herself. Recounting her life from a seemingly idyllic farm-to-table childhood, the heights of her career, to the moment she plunges an ice pick into a man's neck on Fire Island, Dorothy Daniels show us what happens when a woman finally embraces her superiority. A satire of early foodieism, a critique of how gender is defined, and a showcase of virtuoso storytelling, Chelsea G. Summers's A Certain Hunger introduces us to the food world's most charming psychopath and an exciting new voice in fiction.… (more)
User reviews
The one thing I wasn't expecting was how funny I found this, while some of the gorier descriptions really did their best to turn my stomach. I very much loved Summers' writing and language, and at no point did I grow tired with the
I think sex then homicide then cannibalism gets boring the third time around, even if the method of execution and setting is different each time. Also, I didn't think it was in her character to freak out at the end. She should've stayed calm.
She also relishes finding new lovers, especially if her research on the person turns up something Dorothy can use as leverage in the future. That she can destroy them is always in the back of her mind. As she matures, Dorothy's pleasure in the forbidden includes murder and cannibalism.
It would be too easy to say that Dorothy is a monster and her story is one of vulgar brutality, but that would ignore the times when she discusses the beauty of Italy and the care that goes into the cuisine, or the magazine trade of the 90s, the art of Ivan Albright, how Kosher meat is processed and how the USDA works. All these asides of a page or two combine to show how intelligent and curious Dorothy is about the world. The brutality is mixed with her version of sensuousness, which can be gross, but Summers is a superb writer who has created a fascinating character.