
- 10+ in stock

The author of Foreskin’s Lament and Hope: A Tragedy returns with an outrageous and wickedly funny novel about the moral – and practical - dilemmas of devouring the corpses of family members.
Signed Edition
A standard edition is available here.
Seventh Seltzer has done everything he can to break from the traditions of the past, but in his overbearing, narcissistic mother's last moments, she whispers in his ear the two words he always knew she would: 'Eat me'.
This is not unusual, as the Seltzers are Cannibal-Americans, a once proud and thriving ethnic group, but for Seventh, it raises some serious questions. Of practical concern, she's six-foot-two and weighs over thirty stone - even divided up between Seventh and his eleven brothers, that's a lot of red meat. Plus, Second keeps kosher, Ninth is vegan and Sixth is dead. To make matters worse, even if he can wrangle his brothers together for a feast, the Can-Am people have assimilated, and the only living Cannibal who knows how to perform the ancient ritual is their Uncle Ishmael, a far from reliable guide.
Beyond the practical, Seventh struggles with the sense of guilt and responsibility he feels - to his mother, to his people and to his unique cultural heritage. His mother always taught him he was a link in a chain, stretching back centuries. But he's getting tired of chains.
Shalom Auslander's Mother for Dinner is an outrageously tasty comedy about identity and inheritance, the things we owe our families and the things we owe ourselves.
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 2928377050924
Number of pages: 272
Dimensions: 216 x 135 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'A virtuoso humorist, and a brave one.' - New York Times Book Review
'Portnoy-era Roth couldn't hold a candle to Shalom Auslander.' - Entertainment Weekly
'Blends tragedy, comedy and satire in the mold of Samuel Beckett and Franz Kafka.' - The Wall Street Journal
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“Eat up!”
When I saw that Shalom Auslander had a new book coming out, I rushed to put it on my wishlist. I absolutely adored his outrageous book 'Hope: A Tragedy', a taboo-smashing offence-giving rollicking tale of a... More
“Recommended”
It's a great satire that made me laugh and think at the same.
I think you must be a genius to write a novel about Cannibal-Americans and their way of living.
Even if it's definitely entertaining it also...
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