Poets are Eaten as a Delicacy in Japan

by Tara West

It’s the ‘what ifs?’ that keep thirty-something Tommie Shaw awake at night. Well, mostly it’s her big housemate Blob, a morbidly obese actor and Morrissey impersonator, who keeps her awake as he vogues around their shabby kitchen. But the ‘what ifs?’ are definitely up there.

What if her mother’s sensational and soon-to-be-released memoirs air all of Tommie’s sad and sordid laundry? What if she can’t save her beleaguered colleagues’ jobs when she’s hit with an unwelcome promotion? What if Gluteus Maximus’s wife learns of their affair? What if Blob finds out he didn’t win the role in the TV ad through his ‘enormous’ talent, but through her influence? And what if her depression comes back?

After fifteen years in a walking coma, life comes looking for Tommie Shaw – but as the pressure mounts, can her artistic soul take the heat? Fresh, highly original, and darkly funny, Poets is a subtle, bittersweet account of one woman’s struggle to stop falling apart.

186 pages, ebook

First published July 24, 2012

About the author

Called 'a true original' by writer Glenn Patterson, N. Irish author Tara West had established a career as an advertising copywriter when her first novel, Fodder, was published to widespread critical acclaim.

Her second novel, Poets Are Eaten as a Delicacy in Japan, was described by writer and broadcaster Ian Sansom as 'the funniest book written by a Northern Irish author this century'.

Her memoir, The Upside of Down, is an account of the depression that followed the publication of her first novel and preceded the publication of her second.

Tara's short stories are published in The Glass Shore and Female Lines. She won an RTÉ Storyland commission for her short drama, 'The Good Christian Women's Writing Group', for which she was nominated for the Royal Television Society's Debut Writer Award.

She is an award-winning advertising copywriter and is currently studying for a doctorate at Queen's University Belfast.

Reviews

[Shashi Martynova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Теперь я хочу, чтобы по этой книге сняли кино, где в роли Блоба выступил бы Дилан Морэн (увеличенный во все стороны при помощи толстинок). На главную роль надо брать Зуи Дешанель. Получилась бы великолепная черная комедия в духе "трилогии Корнето". Жаль, Шимэс Хини уже не с нами, он прекрасно сыграл бы самого себя (Рори Макмануса). Ричард Гир в этой роли смотрелся бы отлично.
Ну и далее: Кевин -- Саймон Пегг, Крис -- Сэм Рокуэлл, мамаша -- Кристин Скотт Томас (жаль, что она уже не снимается).
Давно не попадалась мне такая звонкая и бешеная по темпу трагикомедия о невропатах. И давно я не видела коллизии детей и родителей, в которой родитель(ница) с экспозиции и до самой развязки остается отвратительным мерзавцем и гаденышем, примирения не случается, а дети, при всей их невропатичности и раздолбайскости, -- все же люди, с которыми готов был бы дружить в жизни (опасливо, но тем не менее).
Манера подачи -- стэндап, но поточнее и поизящнее, чем у Кэти Летт. Тара Уэст не заигрывается, не пережимает почти нигде, с ее героями сживаешься мгновенно; ситуативно текст потешен через страницу, но без всякой вымученности.
И да: отложить почти невозможно, а на последней странице хочется, чтобы дальше было еще пяток глав.

[Max Nemtsov · Rating 5 out of 5]

В отличие от ожиданий, это не просто балаган с придурками, а мелодраматический балаган, очень прекрасный, звонкий, смешной и ужасно трогательный. Североирландский, что немаловажно и накладывает отпечаток. Хотя главный урок — ничего в этой т.н. современной жизни не стоит принимать всерьез, она превратилась в сплошной медиа-цирк, хоть и с последствиями. Нелепости и бедствия громоздятся одно на другое, пока не ебнет. В общем, отличный развлекательный парад уродцев.

[Gayle Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, I loved it! I laughed a lot and cried a little.

[Paula Mc Cune · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy to read and good pace but story and characters lack depth. Raised a couple of smiles but hilarious- no. Spoiler alert: Bleak at times and a warning that includes references to suicide.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and not only because it was published by Dublin-based Liberties Press, where I work these days. It's a darkly comic novel about a young woman who works for a magazine in Northern Ireland, which made me laugh out loud (ruefully -- this is, after all, dark comedy) several times. It's done in a tight, crafted type of writing that makes me think West started off writing short stories, and still doesn't want to waste a word, still sweats over the shape of each sentence.

[Leif Bodnarchuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it. Tara West writes great characters, and the narrative's momentum is stuck in hyperdrive; blink and you'll miss something. Every scene comes to life with the perfect word.