Me and the Devil
I was pretty excited about this book when I read about it in a magazine. The magazine of course sang its praises and talked about how edgy and controversial it was going to be. Even the cover has quotes from various celebrities touting it almost as a crash course in philosophy, with pearls of wisdom that will forever alter one's perception of the world around him or her. I may be exaggerating slightly in terms of the praise, but it definitely preset some high expectations. My first clue should have been that the praise was not coming from book reviews, but from celebrities who were probably friends with the author.
The book was incredibly disappointing. Basically, the narrator, Tosches, doing the whole Bret Easton Ellis a la _Lunar Park_ meta - narrative thing, is dissatisfied with his life. He is aging and living to die. Oh, and he's also cooking really fancy food and wearing really nice clothes while doing it. It is rather mysterious that he has no income, except from writing royalties. Hopefully the novels the narrator wrote were better than this one. Suddenly, and for no logical reason whatsoever, he meets girls at bars who are interested in him. They also like to be bitten in the thighs and allow him to drink their blood. Apparently, all it takes is to quote some obscure Latin philosophy and tell them about it. Once that happens, it's carpe diem baby. If you're single, take note. This is sage dating advice. But be direct. Nothing is more awkward than an unwanted bite in the thigh.
As blood - sucking and manipulating young virgins (in one case) is not exactly healthy behavior, he spends the rest of the novel dealing with the effects of what he has done / is doing. He would also like to tell you how much he has read, how much food he likes to cook, how much he spends on all of this, and how much philosophy he knows.
I found this less a novel than the ramblings of a guy trying to show off his knowledge. I felt that throughout the book he was trying to get me into bed and drink my blood, just like the girls. Pagan rituals are an interesting plot device, but they must go somewhere. These went nowhere. So, no, Mr. Tosches, I won't follow you back to your apartment, no matter how delicious your food is.
2/5
