''The Epicure's Lament'' is a 2004 novel by

Kate Christensen Kate Christensen (born August 22, 1962) is an American novelist. She won the 2008 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for her fourth novel, '' The Great Man'', about a painter and the three women in his life. Her previous novels are ''In the Drink'' ...

. It is about Hugo, a man living by himself at the family home and his interaction with various characters.

Reception

In a review of ''The Epicure's Lament'', ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

'' wrote "''The Epicure’s Lament'' is the result of an ambition so quixotic that you may get quite a few pages into Kate Christensen’s new novel before you decide to sign on for the duration. .. characters with voices so strong and attitudes so egregious that reading about them becomes a long, tricky balancing act between the reflexive sympathy we feel for whoever tells us a story and our suspicion that we’re dealing with a rather bad man." and concluded "''The Epicure’s Lament'' becomes funnier the more Hugo begins to engage with the people he purports to loathe, and the more it becomes clear he’s not quite ready to leave yet. Why an author would set herself the formidable task of creating such a creature — and then convincing us to like him — is a bit puzzling, but why look a gift horse in the mouth?" and ''

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'' called it "readable, but it's also clever to a fault and often static." ''The Epicure's Lament'' has also been reviewed by ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'', and ''

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''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Epicure's Lament, The 2004 American novels Doubleday (publisher) books