Pleasures of the Flesh: Translated from the French by Rory Book

This work is set in Figeac, 1768. In the forbidding shadow of the gallows, young Malvina Raynal is forced to watch her parents hang for murder - their crime is the killing and eating of guests staying at their inn. The punishment is death. Tainted by their evil, Malvina's own life follows a black path: her outstanding talent for cuisine is put to good use by a Parisian apothecary in the mysterious development of sinister but effective 'health pastilles', which taste magnificent and cure all ills. But unhealthy obsession drives Malvina into a destructive love affair where she demonstrates affection with the preparation of lavish and sumptuous dishes created from increasingly unwholesome ingredients ...Reminiscent of Patrick Suskind's "Perfume", "Pleasures of the Flesh" is a powerful and compelling gothic novel about food, flesh and frightening depravity.Read More