Tenderloin: A Novel by Joy Sorman

(Thank you to Restless Books for providing me with a copy of this book!)

 

about book:

Can killing be an act of love? Hypnotic, gruesome, and exultant, Joy Sorman’s macabre ballet whirls from industrial slaughterhouses to the boutique butcher shops of Paris.

Pim is a delicate youth—stringy, solemn, and prone to bouts of unexplained weeping. When he enrolls in trade school as an apprentice butcher, his mentors have low expectations, but his lanky body conceals a peculiar flame: a passionate devotion to animals. In a business that strives to distance the chopping block from the dinner plate, his ardor might seem like a handicap, but Pim rises through the knife-wielding ranks with a barely-tethered zeal. He scours blood from floor mats and stacks carcasses in the cold room by day. By night he tries to slake his appetites: at the table over boudin sausage and steak tartare, and in bed with women whose flanks, ribs, and haunches he maps with careful fingers.

As Pim’s professional successes mount, his cravings gnaw. Meat crowds his waking thoughts. Even as he carves ripe flesh from exquisite bone, he labors to close the gap between man and beast—to be seen, understood, even loved, by a primordial mind. Will this ravenous obsession yield to madness, or to ecstasy?

With shades of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Joy Sorman’s Tenderloin is an ethical foray, fever dream, and paean to an ageless hunger.

my thoughts:

Wow! What a fascinating, disturbing, and riveting story! I couldn't put it down! I found myself immersed in Pim's life right from the start. It was unusual and strange, which made me want to keep reading. Tenderloin by Joy Sorman is a definite must-read!

1. I love that book cover. Yes, I am a sucker for a great book cover. If I love it, then I'm most likely grabbing a copy of the book. And this one was definitely intriguing. I loved the colors and the simplicity of the look - it had a cool style to it. 

2. The book's title - definitely caught my attention. 

3. The story. A butcher named Pim and his insatiable cravings is pretty much all you need to know. I never knew I wanted to know about a butcher until now. 

4.  The characters are unforgettable. 

5. The writing was top notch! I loved the vivid details - they were so graphic at times - whoa! 

6. Overall, I really enjoyed this short novel and would recommend it to anyone and everyone. 

And now, I'm off to figure out what to read next. I'm veering toward Elizabeth Strout's latest, Tell Me Everything. Hmm...

Thank you to Restless Books for providing me with a copy of this book!