Off Season Book

CANNIBALISM: A MORE BALANCED PERSPECTIVE

While I really liked this book, I feel compelled to make a few introductory remarks before I discuss the specific merits of the story. I will give Mr. Ketchum the benefit of the doubt and say that I do not believe it was his intention in writing this book to come across as a snobby, elitist, "anti" cannibal bigot. However, the fact remains that this novel is yet another example of popular media perpetrating the negative stereotype of cannibalism. I feel it's long past time to give a more balanced view of the subject in the hopes of fostering greater understanding of this alternative lifestyle.

As far as the specific plot elements of Ketchum's story, I thought they were fine. I find cannibalism, graphic torture and human dismemberment just as funny and amusing as the next guy and thought that the author did a nice job of providing an authentic and detailed representation of the practices discussed. While I do not currently practice cannibalism, I did experiment with the lifestyle for a time in college. During this time I learned a lot about the "Same Species Sustenance" Community and met a lot of wonderful people, several of whom I still count among my close friends (as long as I am armed). Thus, defending the rights and the dignity of the cannibal community is something about which I have strong feelings.

I believe that cannibalism, practiced in moderation, has the potential to be a very positive influence. For example, it's an excellent way to bring families closer as it provides a wonderful mechanism for siblings to spend "quality time" together. This can help to further strengthen bonds among family members and promote the forming of more "intimate" attachments with one another. This last quality is very important for families living alone in remote rural areas. In fact, statistics confirm that families that practice cannibalism, even if only once a week, are 7 to 10 times more likely to remain together across multiple generations.


In addition to strengthening family bonds, cannibalism is also a very effective way to stay in shape, especially if one makes a conscious effort to do their own stalking, trapping and dismembering. The fact is that obesity among cannibals is less than 1/10th of what it is in the general population. Plus, for those unable to participate in family hunting trips, there are excellent "home workout" vidoes for that can produce very positive results.


Finally, I believe it's critical to recognize that cannibalism is an excellent way to make a positive contribution to the environment. In addition to using very few fossil fuels or other products damaging to the environment, consumers of humans also help prevent ecological damage that can arise in areas with excess population growth. They are one of the most ecologically conscious consumer groups and have long been associated with the "Green" movement.

Plus, once processed through the digestive system, humans make a phenomenal natural fertilizer which provides further benefit to Mother Earth.

I hope the above makes clear that despite the ill-informed, slanted view of cannibals at times portrayed in this book, this community has many positive qualities and deserves to be treated fairly and with respect. I just wish the author would have made the brave choice and not pandered to the more powerful "anti" cannibal segment of the population.

PLOT SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION

Despite my above gripes, let me say again that I really liked this book. While there are some graphic scenes and some very disturbing imagery, the book kept my interest from the very first page and I basically read it straight through in a single sitting. Well written, well paced, high levels of tension and some very memorable scenes (disturbing, yes… but memorable).

The story concerns a close knit family of cannibals living a very "green" existence in a remote area of Maine. The book starts off great with a group of the younger family members out at night and cleverly fooling a passing female motorist to stop for them. This is a very exciting and suspenseful scene as it quickly becomes evident that the children are hungry but you have no idea whether they are going to be able to catch the woman who, thinking only of herself, flees into the forest. Well, I won't give away what happens but I was instantly pulled into the narrative and the plight of this large extended family living a subsistence existence constantly on the border of starvation.

After a great beginning, the central plot gets rolling when the bad guys, 3 couples from Manhattan, arrive to stay at a remote cabin near where the family lives. The family, consisting of several dozen members ranging from an elderly matriarch to children under 5, decides that the 3 couples will provide several weeks worth on meals and go about planning to acquire them. That sums up the basic outline of the plot and it is really in its execution that the novel shows its chops.

I really liked the way the family members worked together while hunting and how they reacted to the many devious and unexpected actions of the scheming Manhattanites. I don't want to give away spoilers here but I do think it is important to advise readers that several of the cannibal family members don't survive the story *sniff* so readers should be prepared. There are some very graphic and detailed descriptions of slaughter and the tension level is often extremely high.

As alluded to above, I did have several issues with the book. First, I thought the portrayal of the life of the cannibal family was rather negative and seemed to me to be evidence of the author's bias against that lifestyle. The family is described as being fairly harsh and brutal towards one another with very little warmth among siblings. That is certainly not consistent with the portaryal depicted in the most reputable cannibal periodicals that I have seen. I can see members of a same species sustenance families taking offense at this portrayal.

I also did not really like the two prominent male family members (no names are given but I would describe one as "Mr Red shirt" and the other as "Mr Large and Bald." Don't get me wrong, they were very effective and were certainly "contributing" members of the family. I just found them personally to be very cold, unapproachable and even a little callous. This made it hard for me to identify with them and so I had a more difficult time caring about the hardships they encountered at the hands of the evil tourists.

I also had a problem with the significant time spent introducing the readers to the 3 couples after their arrival at the cabin. You see, the story takes place around winter time and it was very troubling to read page after page of these 6 self-involved assholes being all warm and cozy inside the cabin eating, drinking and fornicating while just outside the windows members of the family watched, cold and very, very hungry. It just seemed a little much but I guess that is why they call it horror.

Finally, I was somewhat taken aback by the ending which I found to be just over the top in its gratuitous violence. I won't say any more beyond that I can not believe the author would have members of the police force acting with such brutality against local residents. Shocking and a bit of a sad commentary on the nature of our society.

Notwithstanding the above, I did find the book overall to be excellent. It is high octane, dark, brutal, extremely graphic and very effective for what it is. This was my first Jack Ketchum novel and I plan on reading more books by his very soon. I just hope he is a little more even-handed in his portrayals of cannibals in the future.

4.0 stars. Highly Recommended (with reservations).