As Meat Loves Salt (Paperback)

Sound terrible? Well, it was, but in the best kind of way. I suffered through everything with Jacob Cullen, Maria McCann's fascinating narrator. Jacob is somewhat schizophrenic and completely obsessed with violence, but like most people he has his own (flawed) reasons for what he does. He doesn't hate himself, so in seeing everything from his perspective it becomes difficult to hate him for his actions. One also becomes aware of every possibility he has to improve himself and his life. Christopher Ferris, Jacob's lover, is the kind of person and man or woman could (and does) fall for, passionately. This makes it all the more horrifying to be trapped in Jacob's mind as he watches everything good in his life come to ruin. The ending, as gut-wrenching as it is, seems inevitable given that it's brought on by Jacob and Ferris both being true to who they are. There's no escape.

So much could have gone wrong in the craft of this book. Not only is there the difficulty of narrating from Jacob's point of view (the mystery that is Jacob is dribbled out in the smallest hints, dreams or passing thoughts, never given out too quickly), but also the story stretches from a manor house to London to the common fields, and it's all covered in compelling detail. The language, too, never falters in successfully blending 17th-century and modern. The underlying motif of hellfire/desire could come across as overused, but in the circumstances it's the right metaphor.

When I first finished this novel, it was a year ago. I never thought I could go through reading it again. But a few days ago I picked it up and found myself just as compelled as the first time. This book has it all - full characters, mystery, eroticism, tragedy, detailed history and a sweeping insight into human existence. I couldn't recommend it more highly.

That the author did her homework on the period in history is obvious. It is helpful to keep one of those electronic dictionaries handy to look up unfamiliar (to Americans) words like "lief", "syllabub", "hustling".

Count me in as a fan of the unlikeable Jacob Cullens and an admirer of the first-time author, Maria McCann. She has written a masterpiece.

Excuse me as I go for second helpings of As Meat Loves Salt.

This novel is not an easy read. From beginning to end we are forced to evaluate our own reaction to Jacob, and the ending is among the most upsetting I have ever read. Maria McCann wisely avoids the easy way out, and her conclusion has left me perturbed. I will not easily forget this book, and I am certain that Jacob Cullen will live on in my imagination. As Scarlett O'Hara's evocation of another day leaves us to wonder what may become of her, so Jacob's own nature as Bad Angel speaks of some uncertain future. In both cases, their mistakes can only endear them to us. Ultimately a tale of human frailty and limitation, this is a true tour de force.