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Fodder
Fodder is the painfully funny but oddly painful story of a diminutive 'sicksteen' year old misfit called Cookie, who lives on luncheon meat in a loyalist housing estate. When Cookie's mother disappears, he sets out to find her, determined too to settle some old scores and wage his own private war against the Proddy powers-that-be.
Along the way we meet Prince, Cookie's acid-swallowing, Buckfast-swilling brother, various members of their mother's punk band from twenty years before, a number of unsettling characters from the loyalist paramilitary ranks, and Cookie's best mate Bonehead, who's determined to join the loyalist hoods.
A couple of punishment beatings, a stolen Maserati and a lot of empty vodka bottles later, it seems that Cookie may have finally bitten off more than even he can chew...
Brilliantly and energetically written, Fodder is a highly original debut novel from a distinctive new voice.
Along the way we meet Prince, Cookie's acid-swallowing, Buckfast-swilling brother, various members of their mother's punk band from twenty years before, a number of unsettling characters from the loyalist paramilitary ranks, and Cookie's best mate Bonehead, who's determined to join the loyalist hoods.
A couple of punishment beatings, a stolen Maserati and a lot of empty vodka bottles later, it seems that Cookie may have finally bitten off more than even he can chew...
Brilliantly and energetically written, Fodder is a highly original debut novel from a distinctive new voice.
287 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
6 people want to read
About the author
Tara West
4 books6 followersCalled '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.
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.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 8, 2017
I regret reading it. It starts off as readable, with some good parts. But it gets worse and more messed up. By the end I couldn't wait to get it over and done with.
Displaying 1 of 1 review