Gourmet Rhapsody

A French food critic faces his mortality in an "entertaining and] witty" novel by the New York Times-bestselling author of The Elegance of the Hedgehog (Newsday).

In the heart of Paris, in the same posh building made famous in The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Pierre Arthens, the greatest food critic in the world, is dying. Revered by some and reviled by many, Monsieur Arthens has been lording it over the world's most esteemed chefs for years, passing judgment on their creations, deciding their fates with a stroke of his pen, destroying and building reputations on a whim. But now, during his final hours, his mind has turned to simpler things. He is desperately searching for that singular flavor, that sublime something once sampled, never forgotten, the flavor par excellence. Indeed, this flamboyant and self-absorbed man desires only one thing before he dies: one last taste.Thus begins a charming voyage that traces the career of Monsieur Arthens from childhood to maturity across a celebration of all manner of culinary delights. Alternating with the voice of the supercilious Arthens is a chorus belonging to his acquaintances and familiars--relatives, lovers, a would-be prot g , even a cat. Each will have his or her say about M. Arthens, a man who has inspired only extreme emotions in people. Here, as in The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery's story celebrates life's simple pleasures and sublime moments while condemning the arrogance and vulgarity of power.

"Lush and satisfying prose."--Publishers Weekly

Author: Muriel Barbery
Publisher: Europa Editions
Published: 08/25/2009
Pages: 160
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.30w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9781933372952
Audience: Young Adult


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 06/08/2009 pg. 25
People Weekly 09/14/2009 pg. 67
Library Journal 09/15/2009 pg. 48
New Yorker (The) 09/28/2009 pg. 79

About the Author
Muriel Barbery was born in 1969 in Casablanca. She studied philosophy at the cole Normale Sup'rieure and worked for many years as a philosophy teacher in France. Her New York Times bestselling novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog (Europa Editions, 2008) has been published in over thirty countries. Barbery now lives in Japan and is working on a third novel.