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The Epicure's Lament
The Epicure's Lament
Author: Kate Christensen
For ten years, Hugo Whittier, upper-class scion, former gigolo, failed belle-lettrist has been living a hermit’s existence at Waverly, his family's crumbling mansion overlooking the Hudson. He passes the time reading Montaigne and M.F.K. Fisher, cooking himself delicious meals, smoking an endless number of cigarettes, and nursing a grudge...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780767910309
ISBN-10: 0767910303
Publication Date: 2/17/2004
Pages: 368
Rating:
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 5

3.6 stars, based on 5 ratings
Publisher: Doubleday
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 1
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Epicure's Lament on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
This book could have been really depressing, but it's not. At least I didn't see it that way. I found Hugo's outlandish behavior to be perfectly acceptable, charming even, coming from him.. That makes no sense, I know, but the book did. Funny, wry, irreverent.. A critic I'm not, but I liked the book
lovegoodbooks avatar reviewed The Epicure's Lament on + 55 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
An extremely well-written book. Wry, humorous, strange, and full of atmosphere and strange half-hidden emotions. It's true that it could have been a very depressing book, given the subject matter, but the main character does not allow us to sink into pity for him, because he declines to do so himself.

Masterfully handled, unusual tale of a curmudgeon who is more beloved - and more caring - than he knows or dares to admit.
caffeinegirl avatar reviewed The Epicure's Lament on + 114 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Although We are set up to disapprove of Hugo, the main character, I would be surprised if any reader really disliked him. He is a self-described hermit who has little patience for other people, even his own family. But really he is charming, impish, subversive, and, most winningly, acutely aware of his own shortcomings. He knows himself, and he is comfortable with who he is and with his quiet life. The book's conflicts and tensions arise when other people in his family join him in his family home and bring their own dramas, chaos, methods, and expectations. But Hugo himself manages to maintain his dignity and his integrity.
Read All 4 Book Reviews of "The Epicures Lament"


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