Lobster

by Guillaume Lecasble, Polly McLean (Translator)

Aboard the Titanic, Lobster watches Angelina devour his father, before being plucked out of the aquarium himself. Just as he is put in the boiling pot, the ship hits the iceberg and the pot is thrown to the floor. Lobster survives, with some changes: he finds himself sexually attracted not only to a human, but to the very human who ate his father. He gives her one life-changing orgasm before their tragic separation, following an ugly incident in one of the lifeboats.

Thus begins a love story like no other. But this is not only a surreal concept. Lecasble's rich symbolism — about the shells we build to protect ourselves, the difficulty of communication, and the profound changes engendered by love — is further enhanced by powerfully erotic, vivid prose.

Genres: Fiction, Animals, Literary Fiction, Short Stories, Translated Fiction, France

110 pages, Paperback

First published February 14, 2003

About the author

Guillaume Lecasble was born in 1954. He started painting at the age of nineteen and had a first solo exhibition eleven years later. From his artwork—and particularly the portrait of a chorus of monks—he became inspired to experiment with new approaches to filmmaking. Various short films yielded a pair of characters (bonhomme & bonfemme) who then reincarnated themselves in a series of highly praised books for children. Painting continues to inspire and accompany his written and cinematographic work. Lobster, his first novel, was published to critical acclaim in France in 2003. His second novel, Cut, was published in 2004.

Reviews

[Mel || mel.the.mood.reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know… sometimes words fail. I’m speechless. Easily the weirdest thing I have ever read. I wouldn’t say I necessarily enjoyed the experience but I applaud and can’t help but reward the insanity of it.

What I would give to know if Leos Carax, Julia Ducournau or Gaspar Noé have read this… they’re the only benchmarks I can think of for French audacity that comes even close to matching the level of freak of whatever this was.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella starts out with a literal bang: A sentient lobster and the lady who ate his dad, *ahem* "know each other in the biblical way" onboard the sinking Titanic. Yes, THAT Titanic, though Jack and Rose this is decidedly NOT.

Somehow it only gets weirder and more uncomfortable from there.

A beautifully-written, melancholic, surreal fable that I am pretty sure I.... enjoyed... is the wrong word. This book is an EXPERIENCE. That being said, I am not sure The French™️ should be allowed to write fiction. I will however, be adding this to my Staff Picks at work.

Get this book for the friend who insists they read "everything." Either you'll call their bluff, or you will, to paraphrase a review quote on the back cover, fill the "lobster-shaped hole" in their life.

[Katie Fellows · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not entirely sure I know what I've just read....

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars because it was so ridiculous and in being so brought me joy. How did this get published AND TRANSLATED??? WHAT??

[Aidan Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Step aside Jack and rose, a new (horrifically freakier and inherently more French) bomb-SHELL has entered the villa!!!!

[Zia Sampson · Rating 3 out of 5]

the answer is yes. almost immediately. by far the weirdest book I’ve ever read

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hang it in the Louvre.

[Alexandria Mount · Rating 2 out of 5]

All I can say is “what did I just read”. This book made my v@gin@ clench and not in a good way. This book found me, as all strange books do, and it took my all of 20 minutes to read.
I don’t know if I would seriously recommend this to anyone but would totally give it as a strange gift to a really good friend

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slutty lobster.

[PJ Jacobs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read if you like:
-animals who are sexually attracted to humans
-humans who are sexually attracted to animals
-lobster orgies
-titanic fan fic
-consuming the flesh of someone who affected you emotionally
-dads assuring themselves they don't want to bang their daughters
-genital mutilation
-bay leaves

Don't read if:
-you want a romantic plot
-you dislike body horror
-if surrealism isn't your thing and you'd like a more grounded and straightforward story
-if any of the above list bothers you

[lola · Rating 1 out of 5]

just two creatures that match each other’s freaks (ft a lobster orgy)

p.s i would like to preface that i rated this 1 stars, not because of the strange premise and the ideas explored but rather because i found the writing so unappealing and boring that i almost dnf

[Linde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well that was weird.

[Wessel Mulder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dit was zo ontzettend leuk. Compleet onverwacht heb ‘m in één smak met veel plezier uitgelezen. Een verhaal over onmogelijke liefde, SEKS, herinneringen, geuren, laurierblad & al deze dingen geserveerd met kreeft. oprecht ontzettend mooi en af en toe jaw-dropping lol. elke review “well that was weird” moet even kappen met zo SAAI zijn go eat some grass. 10/10

“Lobster was sinking. Slowly. Unconscious. In a halo of Angelina’s tears.”

[Ashley Merrill · Rating 2 out of 5]

what a lil freaky book

[Elizabeth Tharp · Rating 3 out of 5]

what the helly

[Tori Hillier · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fucking insanity from start to finish lmao whatttt tf

[Riley · Rating 2 out of 5]

What just happened?

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not to be that guy who inflicts deeper meaning onto lobster erotica but what a genuinely interesting way to explore the emotions and urges that make people (and sometimes, slutty lobsters) human

[Polly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sublime






I promise there's a deeper meaning to this

[Jillian Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

bless the person that translated this book so that I could read it 🙏🏻

[Pete Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the dining rooms of the Titanic, Lobster sees his parents getting eaten, then is about to get boiled alive himself at precisely the moment the ship hits the iceberg. Instead he experiences an erotic encounter with a refined but sexually frustrated woman just as the ship sinks, giving him a taste for life as a human without a hard shell to contain his desires, and a desperate need to find his belle Angelina again after they become separated in the lifeboats. I’m no stranger to bizarro fiction and the vaguely repellent feeling one gets from its use of extreme or uncomfortable allegory, but Lobster actually left me behind a quarter of the way through, just to let me catch up again only in the last ten pages. Lecasble’s first novel (he’s an artist and film-maker also) has a theme of unrestrained desire but Lecasble seems undecided about precisely what to do with it: if it’s a paean to the idea (as in the first half) it might just as well be a warning against it (as in the second). Not a winner then in terms of an elegantly communicated concept – and I doubt it’s the translation that’s at fault – but certainly a great success in giving you imagery you’d simply rather not have floating around inside your head.

[Antoin Gorman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise sounds amazing, but the book was dreadful. I have no idea if being able to read it in the original French would change the story, but it just had an awful lot of telling and not showing, along with a plot that just jumped around the place

[Sam Olvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not beating the freaky lit allegations

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 What the helly? I love weird lit and this is….. the weirdest. It’s like Titanic (1997) if Leo was a lobster. It’s like playing an uno reverse card while watching The Lobster (2015). I’m just glad that it’s scientifically accurate that lobsters use chemical signals to communicate. 😂

(Alfred’s relationship with his daughter is absolute cringe and disgust. I could have done without.) 😵‍💫

[Niamh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very french

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

what the fuck.

[souymuilk · Rating 4 out of 5]

i dont know what i just read, but Hell Yeah!

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 really, because at no point did I know what was going to happen next, in the best way.

[Laura]

wtf did I just read

[Carly Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

may never look at a lobster the same again