It is a truism of creative writing classes that hunger of one kind or another is a prerequisite for the protagonist in any drama. AK Blakemore’s second novel, the follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut, The Manningtree Witches, examines this idea of hunger in its most literal and extreme manifestation. As with her previous novel, it is inspired by a historical figure – in this case, the Great Tarare, a French peasant who lived at the end of the 18th century and became a freakshow attraction on account of his prodigious appetite (he is said to have eaten improbable quantities of food as well as household objects, live animals and a toddler).
