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The Devil You Know
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW is a tradepaperback edition of the sold-out limited edition of Poppy's latest short story collection. In her third short story collection, Poppy Z. Brite finds fresh ways of exploring territory both familiar and strange. Here you ll meet the Devil and his giant cat last seen in the pages of Bulgakov, the gourmand coroner of New Orleans, the mad-genius chef who can t stand to have his cheese list criticized, and an assortment of Crescent City characters who also appear in Brite s novels Liquor and Prime. Poppy Z. Brite has found a way of writing about New Orleans that bypasses the clichés and approaches the city s true the hard-working, hard-partying cooks; the ways in which race, class, and sexual orientation do and don t matter; the love of bottom feeders, be they crustaceans or politicos; the million little juxtapositions of sacred and profane, bizarre and mundane, sublime and ridiculous that make up the everyday life of New Orleans. Some of these stories are set elsewhere, but Brite always returns home in the end.
198 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
15 people are currently reading
718 people want to read
About the author
Poppy Z. Brite
164 books3,615 followersPoppy Z. Brite (born Melissa Ann Brite, now going by Billy Martin) is an American author born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Born a biological female, Brite has written and talked much about his gender dysphoria/gender identity issues. He self-identifies almost completely as a homosexual male rather than female, and as of 2011 has started taking testosterone injections. His male name is Billy Martin.
He lived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Athens, Georgia prior to returning to New Orleans in 1993. He loves UNC basketball and is a sometime season ticket holder for the NBA, but he saves his greatest affection for his hometown football team, the New Orleans Saints.
Brite and husband Chris DeBarr, a chef, run a de facto cat rescue and have, at any given time, between fifteen and twenty cats. Photos of the various felines are available on the "Cats" page of Brite's website. They have been known to have a few dogs and perhaps a snake as well in the menagerie. They are no longer together.
During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Brite at first opted to stay at home, but he eventually abandoned New Orleans and his cats and relocated 80 miles away to his mother's home in Mississippi. He used his blog to update his fans regarding the situation, including the unknown status of his house and many of his pets, and in October 2005 became one of the first 70,000 New Orleanians to begin repopulating the city.
In the following months, Brite has been an outspoken and sometimes harsh critic of those who are leaving New Orleans for good. He was quoted in the New York Times and elsewhere as saying, in reference to those considering leaving, "If you’re ever lucky enough to belong somewhere, if a place takes you in and you take it into yourself, you don't desert it just because it can kill you. There are things more valuable than life."
Born a biological female, Brite has written and talked much about his gender dysphoria/gender identity issues. He self-identifies almost completely as a homosexual male rather than female, and as of 2011 has started taking testosterone injections. His male name is Billy Martin.
He lived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Athens, Georgia prior to returning to New Orleans in 1993. He loves UNC basketball and is a sometime season ticket holder for the NBA, but he saves his greatest affection for his hometown football team, the New Orleans Saints.
Brite and husband Chris DeBarr, a chef, run a de facto cat rescue and have, at any given time, between fifteen and twenty cats. Photos of the various felines are available on the "Cats" page of Brite's website. They have been known to have a few dogs and perhaps a snake as well in the menagerie. They are no longer together.
During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Brite at first opted to stay at home, but he eventually abandoned New Orleans and his cats and relocated 80 miles away to his mother's home in Mississippi. He used his blog to update his fans regarding the situation, including the unknown status of his house and many of his pets, and in October 2005 became one of the first 70,000 New Orleanians to begin repopulating the city.
In the following months, Brite has been an outspoken and sometimes harsh critic of those who are leaving New Orleans for good. He was quoted in the New York Times and elsewhere as saying, in reference to those considering leaving, "If you’re ever lucky enough to belong somewhere, if a place takes you in and you take it into yourself, you don't desert it just because it can kill you. There are things more valuable than life."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
December 21, 2021
This is Brite’s third short story collection, and although the cover art is not particularly appealing, it fits with the title story, and the other stories work very well. There might be spoilers for those who haven’t read his ‘Liquor’ and ‘Prime’ books, but not very much. Three stories are for other fandoms (Bulgakov’s ‘Master & Margarita’, Hellboy, Greek mythology, and Matrix), and some feature author’s ‘other version’, the coroner Dr Brite. The stories are set in New Orleans or nearby.
The introduction was written just before hurricane Katrina arrived (which played its parts in ending the author’s fiction-writing career). The stories in this collection were written over 4 years, and show his shift from horror towards food-related stories. He also introduces the stories within the introduction that may spoil, so you might want to read them after.
In general, the quality of the stories is good, some being better than others though, and some might feel a bit confusing without introduction’s explanations. Plots are sometimes quite interesting: what to do when your favorite chef dies? How to protect the swamp near you from mall builders? How to react to a very bad food review? How to exorcise a Korean woman? What if the writer of had not survived to adulthood? How can a job you’re not suitable to do still change your life for the better?
One short story, “Ocean” was also interesting in that it made me think of those frilly girls’-mangas, plus early 1980s Duran Duran. I could also see how “Lantern Marsh” could be an early story, yet its reworking made it quite beautiful. The last story, “A Season In Heck” was also a very nice way to end the collection – slim and quite quick to read through – leaving things on a cheery note.
Yes, the cover art may be really ugly, but the story are (mostly) really good. I’m glad I was in the mood to read this, and would recommend, especially if you like the author's later (food-related) works the most.
The introduction was written just before hurricane Katrina arrived (which played its parts in ending the author’s fiction-writing career). The stories in this collection were written over 4 years, and show his shift from horror towards food-related stories. He also introduces the stories within the introduction that may spoil, so you might want to read them after.
In general, the quality of the stories is good, some being better than others though, and some might feel a bit confusing without introduction’s explanations. Plots are sometimes quite interesting: what to do when your favorite chef dies? How to protect the swamp near you from mall builders? How to react to a very bad food review? How to exorcise a Korean woman? What if the writer of had not survived to adulthood? How can a job you’re not suitable to do still change your life for the better?
One short story, “Ocean” was also interesting in that it made me think of those frilly girls’-mangas, plus early 1980s Duran Duran. I could also see how “Lantern Marsh” could be an early story, yet its reworking made it quite beautiful. The last story, “A Season In Heck” was also a very nice way to end the collection – slim and quite quick to read through – leaving things on a cheery note.
Yes, the cover art may be really ugly, but the story are (mostly) really good. I’m glad I was in the mood to read this, and would recommend, especially if you like the author's later (food-related) works the most.
April 6, 2011
Initially I was disappointed to learn that Poppy Z. Brite had decided to leave her gothic fantasy world of New Orlean’s far behind in exchange for a toned down look at life from the point of view of the regular folks inhabiting New Orleans (mostly gay, hard-working cooks).
I really enjoyed those dark, graphically violent books ~ especially Exquisite Corpse (hmmm, what does that say about me?!). But once I began this book I found myself enjoying her new style which is much less purple in its prose and contains a heavy does of unexpected wit and very little of the supernatural (it’s still there in a few stories but much less the focus). The stories contained within this book concentrate more on the people, none of whom are vampires, and the local color of New Orleans and they’re all very interesting and slightly “odd” in their own way.
I even enjoyed “Nothing of Him That Doth Fade” which appears to be disliked by many readers. Yeah, it’s bleak and horribly sad but that’s the point. It paints a realistic portrait of a lovely love affair gone painfully bad. Love is like that sometimes.
“Pansu” is a favorite of mine. It’s bizarre and an oh-so-very-funny take on possession and exorcism. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories featuring coroner Dr. Brite (the last, about a child, was tough for me to read at times but worth the effort in the end) and I’m anxiously awaiting Poppy’s next novel “Liquor” (many of the stories here feature characters from that upcoming novel). The only story that left me cold was the one set in the Matrix universe “System Freeze”. I’m not a crazed Matrix fan and I’m sure that explains my lack of enthusiasm for this story. It was just an “eh” read for me, the details have already flown completely out of my head. “Burn Baby Burn” set in the “Hellboy” universe worked much better for me.
Make sure you’re not hungry before starting the stories because most contain delectable descriptions of New Orleans cuisine.
I really enjoyed those dark, graphically violent books ~ especially Exquisite Corpse (hmmm, what does that say about me?!). But once I began this book I found myself enjoying her new style which is much less purple in its prose and contains a heavy does of unexpected wit and very little of the supernatural (it’s still there in a few stories but much less the focus). The stories contained within this book concentrate more on the people, none of whom are vampires, and the local color of New Orleans and they’re all very interesting and slightly “odd” in their own way.
I even enjoyed “Nothing of Him That Doth Fade” which appears to be disliked by many readers. Yeah, it’s bleak and horribly sad but that’s the point. It paints a realistic portrait of a lovely love affair gone painfully bad. Love is like that sometimes.
“Pansu” is a favorite of mine. It’s bizarre and an oh-so-very-funny take on possession and exorcism. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories featuring coroner Dr. Brite (the last, about a child, was tough for me to read at times but worth the effort in the end) and I’m anxiously awaiting Poppy’s next novel “Liquor” (many of the stories here feature characters from that upcoming novel). The only story that left me cold was the one set in the Matrix universe “System Freeze”. I’m not a crazed Matrix fan and I’m sure that explains my lack of enthusiasm for this story. It was just an “eh” read for me, the details have already flown completely out of my head. “Burn Baby Burn” set in the “Hellboy” universe worked much better for me.
Make sure you’re not hungry before starting the stories because most contain delectable descriptions of New Orleans cuisine.
March 17, 2018
I loved this weird book of stories. There was something particularly haunting about the introduction, as it was written in June of 2005, and Hurricane Katrina would happen only a few months later and everything would change.
1. The Devil You Know was a fine story with a New Orleans flair and some commentary on racism and Mardi Gras.
2. O Death, Where is Thy Spatula was my favorite story in this collection. I love Billy Martin's (Poppy Z. Brite) weird alter-ego Dr. Brite, coroner of New Orleans who loves fine dining and Kyle from Tenacious D. This story passionately describes delicious and mouth-watering cuisine. The Dr.'s favorite chef dies, and everything he eats afterward turns to ashes in his mouth, and so he attempts to do a voodoo ritual to bring the chef back to life. It brings together two of my favorite things, food and witchcraft, and does it with fun and weirdness.
3. Lantern Marsh was fine. I liked the Halloween element, and the ghosts of the marsh. A bit of a revenge element. Didn't resonate with me quite like some of the others.
4. Nothing of Him that Doth Fade was a solid story. One thing about Martin's work that I enjoy is the queer representation that is so lacking in a lot of other stuff I read. I don't know why I don't make more of an effort to seek it out, maybe because I'm concerned about the quality of the stuff that is out there. Either way, this was a very real, interesting story about a relationship between two men, framed in a dire situation off the coast of Australia. I didn't expect the story to have any more surprises but at the very end it did, and to my surprise I enjoyed it.
5. The Ocean was perhaps my least favorite and the one that prompted Martin to lament the lack of education in a lot of his readers that can't tell the difference between vampires and maenads, those dumbasses. Billy Martin has always had a lot of strong opinions. This story is wrapped up in the world of rock and roll, goes on a bit too long on unimportant things, and it just wasn't my favorite. I hope Neil Gaiman liked it, since it was inspired by a conversation with him and dedicated to him.
6. Marisol was another delightful Dr. Brite story. Like the previous one, it combines the morbid with the absurd and is steeped in New Orleans vibe. It amused me greatly, and even though I guessed how it would end, it was still a good story.
7. Poivre seemed like more of a restaurant inside joke than anything else. It was short, had a particularly unlikable protagonist, and was mostly lost on me.
8. Pansu was batshit. It was the exorcist in a Korean restaurant in Los Angeles. There's a little witchcraft, there is humor, and I liked it.
9. Burn, Baby, Burn is kind of like reading fan fiction, albeit well-written fan fiction. It is based on a character from Hellboy, I am pretty unfamiliar with Hellboy and the characters. That being said, it was still an interesting story and it was fine, probably would have enjoyed it more if I was a Hellboy fan.
10. System Freeze is also kind of like fan fiction, as it is based in the Matrix universe. Both this one and the previous one were stories written specifically for anthologies that showcased stories like these. This one I liked a little more because it had a little less to do with the source material and was more of an original and weird work. Most took place on Mt. Everest, so that was interesting.
11. Bayou de la Mere brings us up to G-man and Ricky territory of the Liquor books, and after reading three books about them and now a couple of stories they have grown on me quite a bit. At first I did not understand where this story was going, but as I got further in I appreciated it more. I like the religious aspects of the story, and the startling dream the G-man has was set up well as we explore more of his inner turmoil between who he is and what his former church want him to be.
12. The Heart of New Orleans was the third Dr. Brite story and this one was the least successful for me. It had less humor and more confusion. I'm not sure why the mother of the dead child decided to visit the coroner, she just comes there and tells them about what a genius her 5 year old was and then invites him to the funeral. I kept expecting there to be a reason she was there. Then we have a mostly unexplained conversation with the kid's ghost, but it's an adult now somehow?. Then ending was satisfying and it had a nice small surprise, but overall not my favorite.
13. A Season in Heck I liked much better. It was the best of the G-Man and Ricky stories, they're at their best in their element, discussing delicious food in their restaurant. Paul was a reminder of my youth, a young gay man unsure about coming out and being part of a larger gay community, but being from New Orleans he's a bit smarter than I was and more interesting. I liked all the discussion regarding absinthe and their disaster of an absinthe-tasting. It's the second time Martin has brought up advocaat in his writing but in this story Ricky talks about not liking it. I'm glad I finally found a bottle so I could try it and I like it a lot. I also like sazeracs, the New Orleans absinthe drink and Ricky hates absinthe too, so I guess who cares what he thinks.
I think I liked this collection better than Wormwood, also I'm kind of missing elements of the south right now and it was nice to return to the south if only through literature. Billy Martin never fails to surprise me and delight me even if I'm not always enjoying what he's written. It makes him interesting as a writer and makes me keep coming back for more.
1. The Devil You Know was a fine story with a New Orleans flair and some commentary on racism and Mardi Gras.
2. O Death, Where is Thy Spatula was my favorite story in this collection. I love Billy Martin's (Poppy Z. Brite) weird alter-ego Dr. Brite, coroner of New Orleans who loves fine dining and Kyle from Tenacious D. This story passionately describes delicious and mouth-watering cuisine. The Dr.'s favorite chef dies, and everything he eats afterward turns to ashes in his mouth, and so he attempts to do a voodoo ritual to bring the chef back to life. It brings together two of my favorite things, food and witchcraft, and does it with fun and weirdness.
3. Lantern Marsh was fine. I liked the Halloween element, and the ghosts of the marsh. A bit of a revenge element. Didn't resonate with me quite like some of the others.
4. Nothing of Him that Doth Fade was a solid story. One thing about Martin's work that I enjoy is the queer representation that is so lacking in a lot of other stuff I read. I don't know why I don't make more of an effort to seek it out, maybe because I'm concerned about the quality of the stuff that is out there. Either way, this was a very real, interesting story about a relationship between two men, framed in a dire situation off the coast of Australia. I didn't expect the story to have any more surprises but at the very end it did, and to my surprise I enjoyed it.
5. The Ocean was perhaps my least favorite and the one that prompted Martin to lament the lack of education in a lot of his readers that can't tell the difference between vampires and maenads, those dumbasses. Billy Martin has always had a lot of strong opinions. This story is wrapped up in the world of rock and roll, goes on a bit too long on unimportant things, and it just wasn't my favorite. I hope Neil Gaiman liked it, since it was inspired by a conversation with him and dedicated to him.
6. Marisol was another delightful Dr. Brite story. Like the previous one, it combines the morbid with the absurd and is steeped in New Orleans vibe. It amused me greatly, and even though I guessed how it would end, it was still a good story.
7. Poivre seemed like more of a restaurant inside joke than anything else. It was short, had a particularly unlikable protagonist, and was mostly lost on me.
8. Pansu was batshit. It was the exorcist in a Korean restaurant in Los Angeles. There's a little witchcraft, there is humor, and I liked it.
9. Burn, Baby, Burn is kind of like reading fan fiction, albeit well-written fan fiction. It is based on a character from Hellboy, I am pretty unfamiliar with Hellboy and the characters. That being said, it was still an interesting story and it was fine, probably would have enjoyed it more if I was a Hellboy fan.
10. System Freeze is also kind of like fan fiction, as it is based in the Matrix universe. Both this one and the previous one were stories written specifically for anthologies that showcased stories like these. This one I liked a little more because it had a little less to do with the source material and was more of an original and weird work. Most took place on Mt. Everest, so that was interesting.
11. Bayou de la Mere brings us up to G-man and Ricky territory of the Liquor books, and after reading three books about them and now a couple of stories they have grown on me quite a bit. At first I did not understand where this story was going, but as I got further in I appreciated it more. I like the religious aspects of the story, and the startling dream the G-man has was set up well as we explore more of his inner turmoil between who he is and what his former church want him to be.
12. The Heart of New Orleans was the third Dr. Brite story and this one was the least successful for me. It had less humor and more confusion. I'm not sure why the mother of the dead child decided to visit the coroner, she just comes there and tells them about what a genius her 5 year old was and then invites him to the funeral. I kept expecting there to be a reason she was there. Then we have a mostly unexplained conversation with the kid's ghost, but it's an adult now somehow?. Then ending was satisfying and it had a nice small surprise, but overall not my favorite.
13. A Season in Heck I liked much better. It was the best of the G-Man and Ricky stories, they're at their best in their element, discussing delicious food in their restaurant. Paul was a reminder of my youth, a young gay man unsure about coming out and being part of a larger gay community, but being from New Orleans he's a bit smarter than I was and more interesting. I liked all the discussion regarding absinthe and their disaster of an absinthe-tasting. It's the second time Martin has brought up advocaat in his writing but in this story Ricky talks about not liking it. I'm glad I finally found a bottle so I could try it and I like it a lot. I also like sazeracs, the New Orleans absinthe drink and Ricky hates absinthe too, so I guess who cares what he thinks.
I think I liked this collection better than Wormwood, also I'm kind of missing elements of the south right now and it was nice to return to the south if only through literature. Billy Martin never fails to surprise me and delight me even if I'm not always enjoying what he's written. It makes him interesting as a writer and makes me keep coming back for more.
April 23, 2008
A criminally overlooked collection from the exceptional independent imprint, Subterranean Press, this is Poppy Brite at her finest in my opinion. None of this is easy to categorize, just good story telliing, done with heart and soul and a rare instinct for rooting out the truth beneath the surface of every day things. Contains my very favorite Poppy Brite story, "The Heart of New Orleans. " Highly recommended.
July 28, 2011
Comme souvent dans un recueil de nouvelles, les histoires sont malheureusement de qualité inégale. Celui-ci ne déroge pas à la règle. Ici les seules nouvelles qui soient vraiment dignes d'intérêt sont celles mettant en scène Ricky et G-Man, nos deux cuistots de la Nouvelle-Orléans de ses excellents romans Liquor et Prime, que l'on retrouve ici avec grand plaisirs. Les nouvelles concernant la coroner gastronome Brite ne sont pas totalement désagréables non plus, mais elles ne sont pas non plus d'une originalité transcendante et sont un peu décevantes venant de Poppy Z. Brite. Les autres nouvelles seront quant à elles, vite oubliées. Bref il ne s'agit pas ici de sont meilleur ouvrage ni de sont meilleur recueil, j'ai trouvé Self Made Man supérieur et plus original surtout. Pour conclure on sent que ce recueil sert avant tout d'introduction pour ses romans qui suivront, à savoir sa série amorcée par Liquor, où les thèmes de la Nouvelle-Orléans et de la gastronomie sont centraux.
May 23, 2015
Brite's third short story collection. As he states in the introduction, this collection serves as a bridge between his early gothic horror work and his later New Orleans culinary lit stuff. Surprisingly, everything flows together very well, and some stories even successfully capture a mix of the two styles, such as the Dr. Brite story "the Heart of New Orleans" and the Rickey and G-Man story "Bayou de la Mere". There's also some early Rickey and G-Man stuff, along with some fantastic echoes of his early horror work, like "The Ocean," a creepy Orpheus story about a famous boy band. Another favorite is the eerie, surrealistic title story, about the Devil and his shape shifting cat. This story also features a very surprising but welcome cameo of one of the characters from "Exquisite Corpse". As always, Brite's writing shines with wit, truth, and passion, and the closing novella, "A Season in Heck," is one of the most positively humanistic things he's ever written. Great stuff.
July 26, 2018
Its poppy what more can be said billy has yet to miss he will be of the best ever
March 23, 2025
Comme souvent dans un recueil de nouvelles, les histoires sont malheureusement de qualité inégale. Celui-ci ne déroge pas à la règle. Ici les seules nouvelles qui soient vraiment dignes d'intérêt sont celles mettant en scène Ricky et G-Man, nos deux cuistots de la Nouvelle-Orléans de ses excellents romans Liquor et Prime, que l'on retrouve ici avec grand plaisirs. Les nouvelles concernant la coroner gastronome Brite ne sont pas totalement désagréables non plus, mais elles ne sont pas non plus d'une originalité transcendante et sont un peu décevantes venant de Poppy Z. Brite. Les autres nouvelles seront quant à elles, vite oubliées. Bref il ne s'agit pas ici de sont meilleur ouvrage ni de sont meilleur recueil, j'ai trouvé Self Made Man supérieur et plus original surtout. Pour conclure on sent que ce recueil sert avant tout d'introduction pour ses romans qui suivront, à savoir sa série amorcée par Liquor, où les thèmes de la Nouvelle-Orléans et de la gastronomie sont centraux.
March 23, 2018
Excellent collection. A good mix of stories keeps the interest all the way through. Many of the stories focus on restaurants and New Orleans cuisine which meant I was constantly craving food. Damn you Poppy, I gained 10lbs reading your book.
February 19, 2019
Loved the last story, loved some bits and pieces of the foodie bits, it was alright overall. Not so much the ugly horror of Poppy's earlier works, but with all its lush brilliance. Necessary to be written, not much so to be read.
September 13, 2017
These are some of Poppy's short stories which fit in with some of her other novels and characters. This is a great introductory to her writing. It is very dark.
October 9, 2022
if there’s one thing this gay person (me) is going to do, it’s love poppy z brite with my whole heart
January 17, 2023
I loved this book it was amazing but I am a true horror fan and this is definitely true whore
June 7, 2023
Good short story collection.
April 5, 2008
Poppy Brite est une des figures marquantes de la littérature américaine alternative des années 90. Grande star de la littérature gothique, elle met en scène, sexe, drogue et rock and roll dans un Nouvelle Orléans remplie de vampires et de créatures étranges puis blasée par les restrictions que son succès lui impose, Brite, reprend la plume mais dans un genre aux antipodes de son genre habituel. Le résultat: des recueils de nouvelles incises, avec le charme hypnotisant d’un cobra.
Brite continue à mêler les genres mais dans un style plus coulant plus abordable dans ces thèmes. Dans la préface de Petite cuisine du Diable, qu’elle qualifie d’oeuvre charnière entre sa période noire, suicidaire et son présent beaucoup plus calme. La Nouvelle Orléans est toujours au centre de son écriture mais une Nouvelle Orléans moins glauque, plus réelle mais où le bout de queue fouchue du diable dépasse encore un peu.
Brite continue à mêler les genres mais dans un style plus coulant plus abordable dans ces thèmes. Dans la préface de Petite cuisine du Diable, qu’elle qualifie d’oeuvre charnière entre sa période noire, suicidaire et son présent beaucoup plus calme. La Nouvelle Orléans est toujours au centre de son écriture mais une Nouvelle Orléans moins glauque, plus réelle mais où le bout de queue fouchue du diable dépasse encore un peu.
March 26, 2025
Didn’t love this one as much as Wormwood but it’s still a pretty solid collection. Brite has a way with words. He’s an amazing writer.
Highlights include:
The Devil You Know - Fun story of the Devil (and his party crashing cat) infiltrating a New Orleans parade with racist origins.
The Ocean - Eli is a rock god literally devoured by his fans. I fell a little bit in love with him and this was a beautiful, tragic story of downsides of fame.
Marisol - A gourmand medical examiner appears in several of the stories here, but this one was my favorite. Features Tenacious D and the cannibalism of an ignorant food critic.
Nothing of Him that Doth Fade - A couple whose relationship is on the rocks visit Australia in an attempt to salvage it are accidentally abandoned by their scuba diving group in the middle of the ocean. Will this incident fix their problems or exacerbate them? Will they be rescued in time for it to matter? Heartbreaking and beautiful.
Highlights include:
The Devil You Know - Fun story of the Devil (and his party crashing cat) infiltrating a New Orleans parade with racist origins.
The Ocean - Eli is a rock god literally devoured by his fans. I fell a little bit in love with him and this was a beautiful, tragic story of downsides of fame.
Marisol - A gourmand medical examiner appears in several of the stories here, but this one was my favorite. Features Tenacious D and the cannibalism of an ignorant food critic.
Nothing of Him that Doth Fade - A couple whose relationship is on the rocks visit Australia in an attempt to salvage it are accidentally abandoned by their scuba diving group in the middle of the ocean. Will this incident fix their problems or exacerbate them? Will they be rescued in time for it to matter? Heartbreaking and beautiful.
April 14, 2016
My frame of reference (and love) when it comes to PZB has always been more along the lines of Exquisite Corpse and Are You Loathsome Tonight. The really dark and twisty shit. This collection is so different and wonderful. Less gratuitiously grotesque and more mature.
Characters are so well-developed in the short time we meet them. While the Liquor series has always been on my never-ending list of books, being introduced to G-Man and Rickey in this collection had definitely propelled it to the top of my list.
A phenomenal book of stories for fans of PBZ pre- and post-Liquor fans alike
Characters are so well-developed in the short time we meet them. While the Liquor series has always been on my never-ending list of books, being introduced to G-Man and Rickey in this collection had definitely propelled it to the top of my list.
A phenomenal book of stories for fans of PBZ pre- and post-Liquor fans alike
October 6, 2008
I'm not sure why, but the only collection of Poppy Z. Brite's short stories that I've really liked has been "Wormwood". The rest, well...I think most of the stories originated when Poppy started to get out of her goth-like stories, and moved on to foodie fiction. Nothing wrong with the foodie fiction of course, but they just aren't as appealing to me as her earlier works.
I enjoyed "Burn Baby Burn", mostly because it was about a familiar character. But that was about it.
I enjoyed "Burn Baby Burn", mostly because it was about a familiar character. But that was about it.
September 24, 2010
New Orleans and food: if you love either of these, then chances are you'll get a kick out of this short story collection. Brite meanders from grotesqueries, to comedies, to tragedies. And she does it all with a rather soft-spoken style that gives an ethereal quality to many of the stories. Oddly enough, one of my personal favorites from the collection features a character she didn't even create, but rather a character from the "Hellboy" universe. Good stuff.
November 19, 2014
If you read Ms Brite's introduction, you might come away with the idea that these are second rate stories, unsuitable for any other volume, or collected together only to fulfill a contractual obligation or some this like that. These would be wholly incorrect assumptions. These stories are wonderful! Yes, there is some uneven-ness, but that is to be expected in any short story collection. I found them all to be thoroughly engaging. I am going to seek out more.
January 5, 2013
This collection of short stories is a quick read, and fans of Brite's previous works will appreciate the combination of foodie culture and horror aesthetic in some of the yarns. Some of the stories read more like character sketches or scenes than complete tales, but Brite's writing is as strong as ever, with great descriptions of how things look, smell, and taste.
April 14, 2010
Surprisingly disturbing short stories from New Orleans including cannibalism vs. being a foodie and the Devil being a genteel Mr. William (Bill) Z. Bubb owning an over-sized black cat that he cannot quite control.
August 26, 2010
An excellent collection of short stories by Poppy Z. Brite. Each one held my interest; there wasn't a boring story in the bunch. These stories ran the gamut from horror/supernatural to restaurant culture, and a few actually combined both subjects. Highly recommended!
September 15, 2009
A collection of short stories set in and around New Orleans. These stories made me want to read Poppy Z Brite latest novels, the ones that aren't about vampires.
July 7, 2010
These PZB New Orleans books were perfect while orchestrating a move, amongst all of life's other goings-on.
September 11, 2016
3.5 stars
April 4, 2012
I was interested to read this because New Orleans is so fascinating. But I was disappointed. The last story was the best, with Brite enjoying the characters from her Liquor novels.
January 4, 2015
A little strange, but still a good read.
February 19, 2015
anything for more stories involving ricky & g-man.
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