Delicious Foods

A Novel

De: James Hannaham

Narrado por: James Hannaham

Held captive by her employers -- and by her own demons -- on a mysterious farm, a widow struggles to reunite with her young son in this uniquely American story of freedom, perseverance, and survival.

Darlene, once an exemplary wife and a loving mother to her young son, Eddie, finds herself devastated by the unforeseen death of her husband. Unable to cope with her grief, she turns to drugs, and quickly forms an addiction. One day she disappears without a trace.

Unbeknownst to eleven-year-old Eddie, now left behind in a panic-stricken search for her, Darlene has been lured away with false promises of a good job and a rosy life. A shady company named Delicious Foods shuttles her to a remote farm, where she is held captive, performing hard labor in the fields to pay off the supposed debt for her food, lodging, and the constant stream of drugs the farm provides to her and the other unfortunates imprisoned there.

In Delicious Foods, James Hannaham tells the gripping story of three unforgettable characters: a mother, her son, and the drug that threatens to destroy them. Through Darlene's haunted struggle to reunite with Eddie, through the efforts of both to triumph over those who would enslave them, and through the irreverent and mischievous voice of the drug that narrates Darlene's travails, Hannaham's daring and shape-shifting prose infuses this harrowing experience with grace and humor.

The desperate circumstances that test the unshakeable bond between this mother and son unfold into myth, and Hannaham's treatment of their ordeal spills over with compassion. Along the way we experience a tale at once contemporary and historical that wrestles with timeless questions of love and freedom, forgiveness and redemption, tenacity and the will to survive.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"[A] sensational new novel about the tenacity of racism and its bizarre permutations... bounce[s] off the page with the sharpest, wittiest, most unsettling cultural criticism I've read in years... Hannaham is a propulsive storyteller... the whole story speeds through the dark... never takes its foot off the gas... An archetypal tale of American struggle... Reminiscent of Edward P. Jones's The Known World...[A] fantastically creative performance... [An] insightful and ultimately tender novel... You will devour this book." —Ron Charles, Washington Post

"A writer of major importance... Moments of deft lyricism are Hannaham's greatest strength, and those touches of beauty and intuitive metaphor make the novel's difficult subject matter easier to bear... The novel's finest moments are... in the singular way that Hannaham can make the commonplace spring to life with nothing more than astute observations and precise language."—New York Times Book Review

"Hannaham's prose is gloriously dense and full of elegant observations that might go unmade by a lesser writer. There is a great warmth in this novel that tackles darkness... [Hannaham] creates full-bodied characters. Even the minor figures are drawn with subtle details... Hannaham's decision to give a voice to crack--in the character Scotty--occasions some lively and inventive writing. Scotty has swagger and a sly sense of humor, and when he narrates he holds your attention... The character is complex, both tender and ruthless... A grand, empathetic, and funny novel about addiction, labor exploitation, and love... Delicious Foods should be read for its bold narrative risks, as well as the heart and humor of its author's prose."—Roxane Gay, Bookforum

"Harrowing... Hannaham details a cycle of despair and enslavement in the poverty-ridden South... What emerges is the powerful tale of a place whose past is 'a ditch so deep with bodies it could pass for a starless night.'"
—The New Yorker

"Delicious Foods has plenty of magic in it, and plenty of tragedy... A powerful allegory about modern-day slavery, Delicious Foods explores the ways that even the most extraordinary black men and women are robbed of the right to control their own lives... [Hannaham] is serious about investigating the long-term effects of internalized racism, and the despair that prevents people from helping themselves... A sharp critique of the American belief that you can do anything as long as you work hard."—Entertainment Weekly

Respected but maybe not liked

A book where cocaine was one of the narrators. Confusing and disjointed, but realistic look at the life they led.

Best book I've listened to.

Just amazing. It works well as a story of these characters, but can easily also function as a diagnosis of the failure of the American dream, and the many places it (and people) can break down. Delicious Foods comes into the discussion with Infinite Jest about the title of greatest American novel of the last 25 years.

Amazing Story

a bit off the beaten path but an amazing story worth the listen. would definitely recommend. hopefully this book will bring heightened awareness to issues that happen all over the world even here in the United States.

You need to read this!

This is, simply put, the best book I’ve read in years. Ignore all the reviews- this is a dark, modern, funny fairytale. A pair of lovers anger a witch and she curses them. Their son is aided in his quest by a wandering minstrel. A dead man is transformed into a bird. Above all of this, making sharp funny quips is Crack who becomes something of an Ariel, a magic spirit pointing out the softness in being part of the human race. This was absolutely worth every penny.

Amazing! I love these characters and their story.

I love this book so much. I was initially not engaged with the narrator, it's often a mistake when the author narrates their own work; but, as the story progressed I fell in love with these characters and the author's portrayal became more natural and I understood what he was going for. Tuck and Sirius are so complex and I rooted for both of them. Much of the story is very hard and graphic, yet it didn't feel gratuitous or unrealistic for the situations.
I love this book.