...and then she ate him

by Tom Denbigh

In his debut collection, Tom Denbigh's wickedly beautiful writing holds up a distorted mirror to the world. Deftly weaving the queer experience alongside tales of friends and strangers, Tom toys with myth, devilish humour and absurdity to portray the bizarre and brilliant in the mundane. Imagination is brought to life in this unique collection that is thought-provoking, insightful and startlingly joyous.

Genres: Poetry, LGBT

95 pages, Paperback

Published November 6, 2019

Reviews

[Boo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75.

[Leena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thoughtful and hearty collection full of nuance and humour, loved it.

[Hattie Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not sure how to feel about this collection. My favourite was Please Remember That Stationary Is For Office Use Only which I thought was really beautiful and clever. Same with Inheritance which was really interesting as a perspective I will never know. I did enjoy the clear sections of the book and the shift in perspective

I would be interested to see how he develops as some poems felt a bit unfinished to me. We have chosen to do this book for our book group so interested to hear what everyone else said.

[Wyatt Avon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredibly tender and beautiful, handling difficult and complicated topics in a way that never feels draining. Tom writes with such a lightness, even when talking about something incredibly heavy. My favourite was “my fruitier than average day” which is completely ridiculous, really funny, and quietly devastating all at the same time. It made me feel so understood I was practically running around showing it to everyone I know.

(Also the illustrations are fantastic! I miss when it was standard practice for books to have little illustrations in them, what ever happened to that?)

[Ashley Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have very mixed feelings about this collection. There were a few gems in here I really liked but others I struggled with because it just wasn't quite my cup of tea. "This Charming Man" was definitely a favorite for me. "My Fruiter Than Average Day" and "Touch Me - You Won't Believe What Happens Next...!" was some of the strongest work in this collection that just stuck out as flashes of brillance. I just wasn't into the collection as a whole but the poems that stuck with me were well worth the read.

[Márcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
A good collection with some innovative poems. Especially liked the first one. I have to say, though, that the ones about sex were a bit too much for my taste.
Favourites:
Siren
My Fruitier than Average Day
Touch Me - You Won't Believe What Happens Next...!
This Charming Man
Devil's Dye

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous debut collection covering myth, identity and sexuality (both tender and explicit). The book is structured into specific character archetypes (the witch, the hero etc.) that challenge our preconceptions rather than stick to tradition.

Overall, it's unashamedly gay and joyous in it. Definitely give it a go.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprising poetry collection. It was funny in places, cheeky (and sometimes devilish), and very sincere at times. It was an enjoyable read but isn’t the type of poetry I am ultimately drawn to, so I don’t think it will be memorable for me. I did, however, have a good time reading it. 3.5 stars

[Estela · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved the title, cover page, and themes of the poems in this book. However, I didn’t like the writing itself. I just didn’t think it was good, which I feel bad saying, but it’s the truth :(

[(readingheartbeat) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine

[James Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

who gave this pervert a pen ? A lovly read will take pride of place on my bookshelf.