Author Topic: Pseudopod 435: Raw Appetite  (Read 5009 times)

Bdoomed

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on: April 25, 2015, 01:00:43 PM
Pseudopod 435: Raw Appetite

by Christa Pagliei

Raw Appetite” first appeared in the August 2014 “Kitchen Sink” issue of Fictionvale. “I suppose that I want people to think about the intersection of honing a craft, and obsession as well as mentorship.”

CHRISTA PAGLIEI lives in Brooklyn, New York where she writes and works in Television as a Producer’s assistant. Her work has appeared in Fictionvale, Strangelet Journal, strong>InstaGatorZine, and more. When she’s not working she enjoys riding her bicycle, listening to Rock N’ Roll, haunting Flea Markets, and anything that’s a little creepy. Her first feature film Now/Here, on which she was was a co-screenwriter and producer, is set to premier at festivals this year. You can follow her on twitter @ChristaPags or her tumblr: ChristaPagliei.

Your reader this week – Brian Rollins – is a voice actor living in Denver, Colorado with his wife, two kids, and a Great Dane that thinks she’s a lap dog. When not narrating audiobooks, he’s on stage or chipping away at that steampunk novel that lives in the back of his brain that won’t go away. He also writes reviews for the Sci-Fi website, Bureau42.com and blogs at TheVoicesInMyHeaD. Magic Moments, Inc. is a non-profit organization, established in 1983, that produces an annual musical and theatrical production in the Denver area. Each production integrates persons with physical and developmental disabilities into the total performing cast of amateurs and professionals. The mix is truly magical for everyone involved – cast, staff, and the audience. You can find out more at Magic Moments.

Jonathan Chaffin (aka Atari)’s CASK OF AMONTILLADO Kickstarter can be found here!



“As a commis I worked under the rest of the Chefs de Partie. The first two months were a slog of relentless hazing and trouble. I never flinched, just kept moving forward. I knew I was the lowest man on the totem pole and I’d simply have to wait out the abuse.

In my sixth month when Chef first asked me to keep his knives sharp I was taken aback. I didn’t even know that he knew my name. He’d certainly never spoken directly to me before. Chef Catalan never let anyone even touch his knives, but to trust some aspect of their care to a mere commise… It was unusual to say the least.

The hazing stopped, but now I was only spoken to in a professional capacity. I became an automaton to them, a tool, no more worth socializing with than a ladle or a whisk. I never let any emotion show as a rule, but I certainly never showed them how much their silence pleased me. The more I could streamline my existence. The more I could eliminate every superfluous thing, person, and interaction, the more I could dedicate myself to my craft. It only took two weeks to get the knives as he wanted, or at least get past the point of a daily critique of my sharpening technique. When dealing with Chef Catalan, two weeks to anything resembling pleasure is a triumph.”



Listen to this week's Pseudopod.

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


Fenrix

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Reply #1 on: April 25, 2015, 02:47:50 PM
Oh how we fetishize food...

The image of the eyeless bird being fattened on millet is...*shudder*

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


bounceswoosh

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Reply #2 on: April 25, 2015, 11:36:05 PM
This story didn't go where I expected it to go. Cool. I thought the protagonist would get butchered for the guest. But it all  pulled together.



Unblinking

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Reply #3 on: April 27, 2015, 01:44:48 PM
Creepy, well done.

I saw the butchering of the guest well ahead of time, one of those rare occasions where I spot the foreshadowing before it fulfills.  I didn't see the twist that he was really a junk food junkie nor the final conclusion of the chef's end, well done.  The one thing I thought strange was that the protagonist didn't save any of the chef-meat at the end for further preparation--cutting off the other leg or just taking the whole body.  I guess it would've put him under suspicion and probably arrested so it would've cut his career short, this way all the evidence pointed to self-inflicted wounds, but I was surprised that he didn't at least express regret at all that wasted gourmet meat that was probably just going to be filled with embalming fluid and then buried in a box in the ground.

Ugh, that image of the eyeless engorged songbird, not easy to listen to, though it set up the rest of the story very concisely.

I think that the reason this guy was chosen as the chef's helper wasn't because of any particular skill, but because his devotion was from the realm of the psychotic, and he wouldn't have trusted the others to not call the police or warn the victim.

I've seen a few episodes of Gordon Ramsey's various shows and although I tend to not be terribly interested in reality shows, I find it kind of fascinating how a busy kitchen at a fancy restaurant seems to take a structure that is sort of military in nature.  On one hand, I can understand it, the kitchen's peak efficiency will be when the staff acts as conduits for the chef's will.  On the other hand, it's kind of strange because of the difference in stakes--if something doesn't go perfectly at a restaurant then someone will be dissatisfied with their meal, perhaps a major event at a fancy expensive restaurant but hard to think of as lifeshaking stakes in most circumstances.



Dwango

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Reply #4 on: April 28, 2015, 06:07:36 PM
At first I was worried this story was heading in the direction I thought it was.  It did, but with a nice twist at the end and some really colorful and disturbing imagery.  The bird definitely was disturbing, but what the victim ate... much worse.  :D



Metalsludge

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Reply #5 on: May 11, 2015, 10:56:12 PM
The problem with writing a horror story about the culinary arts... is that everyone knows right away where it's headed - to cannibalism. Hell, just put chef or something in the title of your story or movie, and people will probably guess where this train is getting off. So, how to keep the idea fresh?

The author wisely doesn't make the killing the punchline of the whole story, as we all know it's coming. The setup is pretty similar to that of the old story Specialty of the House, which likewise broadcasts what it is about from almost the beginning, while still managing to be fun. I don't think this story pulls off the trick quite as well. The story of the bird is creepy, sure, and it reminds me of the story of the fish dish in Gemma Files' Emperor's Old Bones story. But it's not quite as disturbing as that story was, because it doesn't tie as directly into the events of the rest of the story. I was left feeling like I didn't get much new out of this one. But on the bright side, the misguided devotion of the narrator was thought provoking in the ways that Alistair touched on.   



Sgarre1

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Reply #6 on: May 11, 2015, 11:12:43 PM
Quote
The setup is pretty similar to that of the old story Specialty of the House

Yes, I was thinking of Stanley Ellin's story when reading this. FEAR ON FOUR did an excellent audio version years ago.



Metalsludge

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Reply #7 on: May 11, 2015, 11:34:30 PM
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The setup is pretty similar to that of the old story Specialty of the House

Yes, I was thinking of Stanley Ellin's story when reading this. FEAR ON FOUR did an excellent audio version years ago.

Yep, that Fear on Four version was great. I liked it better than the Alfred Hitchcock Presents one.



Sgarre1

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Reply #8 on: May 12, 2015, 01:28:45 AM
Although I guess one could argue that FEAR ON FOUR doing both "Specialty" AND "By the River, Fontainbleau" was presenting the same familiar idea twice over - but they're both excellent.



shanehalbach

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Reply #9 on: May 15, 2015, 08:41:30 PM
Good one. This one's going to stick with me for awhile. Agree with everyone that the bird was an excellent, creepy foreshadowing. Also agree that the extra twist at the end was what made the story.

Actually, I guess I just agree with everybody. As I'm writing this I realize I have nothing to add. :)


Chairman Goodchild

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Reply #10 on: May 17, 2015, 11:49:50 AM
You know what they say- you are what you eat.