|
 |
As Meat Loves Salt
This format is currently not available at Lovereading (XXX)
See 'Other Formats' for additional ones including eBooks or try Amazon or our price comparison engine.
Price £6.74
RRP: £8.99
Saving £2.25 (25%)
|
|
Synopsis
As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann
A sensational tale of obsession and murder from a wonderful writer. 'An outstanding novel, fresh and unusual [with] all the dirt, stink, rasp and flavour of the time.' Daily Telegraph 'Early in the English Civil War, a body is dredged from the pond of a Royalist estate. As Meat Loves Salt is the testament of Jacob Cullen -- homicide and fugitive. Obsessed with the graceful Christopher Ferris, he follows him to become a London printer, a Digger and, finally, an emigrant to the New World!An electrifying erotic thriller, rich in secrets and surprises.' Independent
Reviews
'A fat, juicy masterpiece. Jacob, who destroys what he loves with the rapacity of his desire, is as compelling as he is appalling!Most impressively, the writing here is flawless. These pages flow like claret.'
Economist
'A novel teeming with life!a triumphant piece of historical evocation. McCann's unflinching descriptions of battle are matched by the power of her depiction of London in all its fetid splendour. And in the character of Jacob himself, a strong but selfish man weakened by a violent temper and haunted by guilty dreams, McCann shows the imaginative empathy that is the hallmark of a true novelist.'
Vogue
'A true delight, vivid, well written and, best of all, accessible!Maria McCann's characters leap off the page and speak in contemporary voices that entirely convince.'
Daily Express
'An intriguing and disturbing first novel which lingers in the mind!Tense with anguish, intimacy and shame, it imaginatively re-creates the mentality of a society racked by war and intoxicated by radical new ideas of freedom and change.'
TLS
McCann's remarkable debut novel begins in the summer of 1645, as Cromwell's New Model Army rampages across England. The story centres on Jacob Cullen a hot-tempered and violent manservant in a Royalist household infiltrated by spies. Cullen is forced to flee the house on his wedding day after he murders one of the spies, dragging both his brother and his bride with him. Separated from them by another act of violence, he finds himself pressed into duty as a pikeman in Cromwell's New Model Army, where he meets another soldier, Christopher Ferris, a former draper and printer of radical pamphlets. After the bloody siege of Basing House, he and Ferris desert the army and escape to London, where they restore an old printing press, lay plans for founding a New Jerusalem and eventually become lovers. The relationship is a fraught one, not merely because the punishment for homosexuality is burning at the stake, but also because Cullen's violence and jealousy always threatens to alienate the saintly Ferris. Despite these troubles, Ferris manages to lead a small colony of settlers onto a patch of common land outside London, with Cullen joining them against his will. Here they try to live as equals, sharing their possessions and renouncing all violence. Trouble soon arrives, however, when the local landlord serves notice that he will evict them from the common. More disastrously, Cullen's talent for self-destruction begins to wreak havoc as he drives away Ferris in a repeat of how he had earlier estranged his wife. Matters reach a crisis when his wife unexpectedly returns. But when she refuses him the chance to make restitution for his sin against her and, worse still, becomes Ferris's lover, the earthly paradise on Page Common quickly deteriorates into Cullen's private hell. This is a disturbing novel where the violence of civil war serves to reflect the even more insidious violence that lurks in personal relationships. The tragedy in this story of obsessive love is leavened only by McCann's razor-sharp prose and her wonderful eye for detail. The novel includes a riveting portrayal of siege and warfare and - even more harrowing - an account of how teeth were extracted. Not for the faint-hearted, it marks the arrival of an exciting new voice. Review by ROSS KING Editor's note: (Kirkus UK)
About the Author
|
|
Maria McCann’s first novel, As Meat Loves Salt, was published by Flamingo in 2000 to huge acclaim: Andrew Marr praised it as ‘outstanding…with all the dirt, stink, rasp and flavour of the time’ and Lionel Shriver called it ‘riveting’. Maria’s fiction has also been published in various anthologies. Since 1986 Maria has been living and working in Somerset, apart from one year spent teaching in France. She combines teaching and writing with other interests such as voluntary communities and the allotments movement.
More books by this author
Author 'Like for Like' recommendation |
|
|
|
 |
Book Info
Format
Paperback
544 pages
Author
Maria McCann
More books by Maria McCann
Publisher
Flamingo an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Publication
date
4th March 2002
ISBN
9780006552482
|
 |
|
Categories
Loading other formats...
