We Eat Our Own by Kea Wilson
No script, no money, and soon no escape pretty much sums up the plight of the actors filming “Jungle Bloodbath” in Kea Wilson’s tightly plotted and beautifully written “We Eat Our Own”. Eccentric and possibly insane director Ugo Velluto lures desperate wannabe actor Adrian White (whose real name we don’t learn until the end of the book) to be his unlucky and unlikely leading man after the first actor to be cast in the part flees in terror. To prevent this happening again, once White shows up, Ugo has his passport confiscated and informs him there is no script.
The naive and increasingly desperate White finds himself immersed in a hotbed of international drug dealers, M-19 guerillas, and cannibalism scenes that may or may not be entirely simulated. It doesn’t take long for him to realize he’s in way over his head and that his success as an actor isn’t up for debate so much as his survival.
Wilson is being compared to Cormac McCarthy and with good reason; her prose is taut, her action thrilling, and her characters veer toward extremes – guilt-ridden kidnapers, ruthless Lolitas, a director who thinks setting the jungle on fire is a great way to get action footage of extras fleeing the flames. Movie buffs will find the story especially compelling since Wilson loosely bases it on the controversial 1970’s Italian horror film “Cannibal Holocaust”.
If all this sounds a bit over the top, make no mistake – “We Eat Our Own” is an expertly paced, rivetting novel with characters that may not be likeable, but are often unforgettable. Perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea – there’s graphic violence, White’s character of ‘Richard’ is portrayed entirely in the second person, and dialogue is written without quotation marks, so you have to pay attention to know who is speaking. All of this may take some getting used to, but don’t be deterred. “We Eat Our Own” is a harrowing and mesmerizing novel you won’t want to put down.
The naive and increasingly desperate White finds himself immersed in a hotbed of international drug dealers, M-19 guerillas, and cannibalism scenes that may or may not be entirely simulated. It doesn’t take long for him to realize he’s in way over his head and that his success as an actor isn’t up for debate so much as his survival.
Wilson is being compared to Cormac McCarthy and with good reason; her prose is taut, her action thrilling, and her characters veer toward extremes – guilt-ridden kidnapers, ruthless Lolitas, a director who thinks setting the jungle on fire is a great way to get action footage of extras fleeing the flames. Movie buffs will find the story especially compelling since Wilson loosely bases it on the controversial 1970’s Italian horror film “Cannibal Holocaust”.
If all this sounds a bit over the top, make no mistake – “We Eat Our Own” is an expertly paced, rivetting novel with characters that may not be likeable, but are often unforgettable. Perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea – there’s graphic violence, White’s character of ‘Richard’ is portrayed entirely in the second person, and dialogue is written without quotation marks, so you have to pay attention to know who is speaking. All of this may take some getting used to, but don’t be deterred. “We Eat Our Own” is a harrowing and mesmerizing novel you won’t want to put down.
No comments have been added yet.
