Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Hugo Whittier - the ultimate anti-hero

"After he barged into my chambers, Dennis parked his flat, entitled rear end on the set of my favorite chair, the armchair facing the windows that look out over the river, and proceeded to explain the end of his marriage to me while I sat on my bed in my pajamas, squinting at him with all the hatred I bear him, which is a heavy force, although he's as ignorant of that as he is of everything else about me, including the fact that in a short while I'll be dead. Dennis can be counted on to be a narcissist in every particular until his own end, whenever that may be slated to take place. My one regret in being terminal is that I will never know this, or other things."
There is very little to like about Hugo Whittier in Kate Christensen's novel The Epicure's Lament - however he certainly holds our interest.

A quote from Sam Lipsyte on the book's jacket: "What a wonderfully monstrous voice Kate Christensen has created in Hugo Whittier, trust-fund misanthrope, chain-smoking foodie, confirmed cad. His narration is as rich and textured as his Lobster Newburg, which I can almost taste. May we all simmer in the dark with such humor and gusto."

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