Mother for Dinner

Bad taste has a purpose in this outrageous satire . . . grotesque, extremely funny, weirdly touching and acute * Guardian * Daring, provocative and controversial . . . the outrageous nature of the comedy is done perfectly . . . This is a work of genius. -- Stuart Kelly * Scotsman * Prize for premise of the year . . . a terrifically funny book . . . Close-to-the-knuckle farce with a big beating heart * Daily Mail * I loved [it] . . . I think I devoured it in one sitting . . . riotous . . . I recommend you dig in -- Neil Fisher * The Times * Auslander is an enfant even more terrible than Philip Roth . . . it provides plenty of dark laughs and inspired comic riffs * TLS * Great fun . . . the conceit is inspired . . . retains the propulsion of true farce right to the end . . . surprisingly moving -- Richard Godwin * The Times * Brilliantly written, often hilarious but also deeply thoughtful . . . Mother for Dinner is not a joke by any means (beyond the basic notion) * Jewish Chronicle * A grotesque family comedy . . . Written in fast-moving, deadpan prose * New Statesman * Auslander uses Mother for Dinner to make serious points about everything from the blandness of modern society to religious extremism . . . But he does so with buckets of laughs and some very visceral description. The confidence with which Auslander drags the reader into this world is exemplary, and you’re unlikely to read anything funnier this year -- Doug Johnstone * Big Issue * Mother For Dinner is consistently funny, consistently wise and consistently disturbing in ways that probably only Shalom Auslander could arranger. It is a rare and agile narrative, part deftly-written, Cannibal satire, part moving exploration of identity and party truly concerning recipe book. Perhaps not a perfect gift for Mother’s Day, but then again, it could be just the thing -- A. L. Kennedy, Costa Prize-winning author of <i>Day</i> Auslander turns his taboo-shattering satiric gaze to cannibalism in this outrageous, salty take on contemporary culture . . . more effective is the riotous dissection of cultural formation and a community's hunger for meaning. * Publishers Weekly * Uproariously funny * Literary Review * Dead funny and dead serious. A deliciously appalling satire on the hazards of tribalism, religion and tradition – and eating your relatives. -- Rhidian Brook, author of <i>The Killing of Butterfly Joe</i> Irreverent and written with Auslander's incomparable humor, Mother for Dinner is an exploration of legacy, assimilation, the things we owe our families, and the things we owe ourselves. * The Jewish Book World *