A totally new experience - intriguing, dark, hilarious: the slow unfolding of a true monster. And essential kitchen tips as well. ( )

Delicious. There is no better adjective to describe this book. It is simply a delicious, scrumptious, and teasingly delectable read. And the fun part? It's not really about the food. But I won't say anything more to ruin it for you. Know only that Lanchester writes with an acute and cutting wit, a diabolical intelligence, and the darkest of humors I've yet to read in a novel. Whatever you might think of the first person narrator by the end of the book, I'll bet you'll wish you knew him as much as I did. ( )

The Debt to Pleasure is one of my favorite “dark” novels. Ostensibly a narrative cookbook, this novel quickly metamorphoses into a rambling memoir that jumps, seemingly randomly, from one event to another in the unnamed narrator’s life. Bit by bit, piece by piece, the reader begins to realize that something is very wrong here.

I don’t want to give away any more than that and spoil the fun of unraveling this twisted tale. But I will say that the character of the narrator is one of the most fully realized, completely insane characters I’ve ever encountered in fiction, and in reading the novel, we fully inhabit his strange mind. Indeed, because he is telling us his story, and because he is so full of self-delusions, the only way we can get to the truth is through the little hints he drops, the occasional omissions in his tales, the gradual realization that he is deceiving us and the other characters see him very differently than he portrays himself.

This book is both a work of genius and loads of fun – subtle, dark and delicious. And if you’re at all interested in food or cooking – as any civilized person must be – there are many interesting rambles on those subjects, as well. ( )

The narrator of this dark comedy is a supercilious twit with lots to hide. The slow unfolding of the story scattered throughout an overly pretentious cookbook is very funny, and Lanchester handles it brilliantly. ( )

Tried this one but I couldn't get into it. It was a foodie book and normally I enjoy these but I had trouble staying interested. The story of the narrator's life is told through a series of seasonal menus, not just talking about the final dishes but also about the ingredients that go into each dish and the way it is prepared. I gave the book over 50 pages but the story never "caught me". ( )