ok now that i got the obligatory ratatouille gif out of the way...

first off, big shout out to sharky_97 for a really out of pocket find and igniting perhaps one of my favorite forums. love or hate it, there's no question it corralled the community; sharing books and having fun with it, isn't that what PB is all about?!

on to the book itself - how 🇫🇷 french 🇫🇷 was this? equal parts a sexual fever dream and a surprisingly beautiful foray into purpose and the human condition. was it insane? yeah absolutely. but was it also touching, bittersweet, and heartbreaking with powerful themes of transformation, freedom, longing, and religious parallels? weirdly also yes. it felt complete, and almost like a kafka/romero&juliet love child. i really have no qualms from a storytelling perspective, it cleanly balanced the most ridiculous and serious parts to the point where i was like "lobster orgy? oh yeah sure that makes sense." i think a lot of this will stay with me in some capacity, even if its just the fact that bay leaves will forever be changed in my eyes. i never knew what those mystical cardboard things actually did to a soup. perhaps they are the beholders of lobster's ravenous sexuality and the power to rearrange dicks animorphs style? maybe i should give them some more respect here on out.

all jokes aside, i'm usually not one for more absurd premises, but i can honestly say i enjoyed this - i laughed, i cried, i said wtf. but hey it gripped me more than a lot of books i've read this year so there's certainly something to be said about that.

in closing, bring on the dancing lobsters