"Funny and moving. After this, nothing will ever taste the same again."—T.C. Boyle Sweetness #9 does for flavor science and its sweetly dangerous concoctions what White Noise did for chemical transportation and airborne toxic events—that is, makes them real enough to produce legitimate anxiety and funny enough to make you fall off the couch."—Keith Lee Morris, author of The Dart League King Sweetness #9 is funny but still human, entertaining but also illuminating, smart but not smug, thought-provoking without lecturing: it's a rare book that does all this at once, and does it so well."—Caitlin Horrocks, author of This Is Not Your City Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Sweetness #9 is so compelling that it made me throw the maraschino cherries in the trash and run out to buy organic greens. That's how sucked in I was by Stephan Eirik Clark's sly, bold version of our modern world, where nature and falseness vie for supremacy, and nothing can taste sweet enough, vivid enough, for children intoxicated by the tang of chemicals. This book offers us something amazing, with the startling ring of truth: the fact that not knowing where our food comes from is inexorably linked to not knowing who we are."—Stacey Richter, author of Twin Study Sweetness #9 is that rare thing: an intelligent page-turner. Read this book for its whip-smart prose, its thoughtful characters, and its sharp observations about the synthetic (and authentic) aspects of modern life."—Karl Iagnemma, author of On the Nature of Human Romantic Interaction Thank You for Smoking ."—Library Journal Publishers Weekly Ken Kalfus, author of Equilateral Laila Lalami, author of Secret Son Bonnie Nadzam, author of Lamb "Sweetness #9 is a Trojan Horse of brilliant, social critique hiding in a sugar packet. A dysfunctional family, a fantastic sense of history and presence, dire cultural portents - with so many addictive hooks... Like Gary Shteyngart, Clark writes with bombastic color and satirical sweetness. It's an exciting time for new American authors; Clark uses vantage points towering and small to create a treasure of complex ideas."Zane Jungman, Austin-American Statesman —The Huffington Post —O, The Oprah Magazine — New York Times — Chicago Tribune SWEETNESS #9 convincingly argues that food may be the last truly mass culture we have....A fast-moving, witty satire."— Minneapolis Star Tribune —St. Paul Pioneer Press SWEETNESS #9 is a Trojan Horse of brilliant, social critique hiding in a sugar packet. A dysfunctional family, a fantastic sense of history and presence, dire cultural portents — with so many addictive hooks "Sweetness #9" refuses to be ignored.... Like Gary Shteyngart, Clark writes with bombastic color and satirical sweetness. It's an exciting time for new American authors; Clark uses vantage points towering and small to create a treasure of complex ideas." —Austin American Statesman —Boston Globe —Boston Herald — Flavorwire San Diego City Beat Sweetness #9 is a surprisingly gentle story about the passage of time, and Clark leads us through the years to a poignant ending that satisfyingly pulls at the heart. For a story about artificial sweeteners, and trying to understand where to draw the line between the confusion of the head and the gut, it's fully rewarding. Bittersweet , even."—Minnesota Monthly Sweetness #9 hits that seriously sweet spot between speculative and literary fiction—the place where writers like Margaret Atwood live. Put this on the must-read list."—Sacramento News and Review
…this funny, provocative novel examines the grievous consequences of living in denial about what we eat. The narrative hurtles toward a loopy ending, with the repentant chemist trying to repair the damage he's done and begin life anew.
The New York Times - Carmela Ciuraru
04/21/2014
An exquisite performance by James Langton brings out the moral themes in this story about contemporary society’s culture of addiction. David, a flavorist-in-training, is testing Sweetness #9 on lab rats. When the rats begin to exhibit odd symptoms and behaviors, David doesn’t follow through with his instincts to blow the whistle on the highly lucrative product. Langton’s deliberately paced narration and inflections highlight David’s introspective nature when, years later, he is living with side effects of the drug—in a society that is obsessed with processed foods and quick-fix-medications. Langton’s diversity of European accents adds to the richness of the characters and the liveliness of the story. His modified falsetto for David’s wife and daughter conveys both humor and heartbreak. M.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
An exquisite performance by James Langton brings out the moral themes in this story about contemporary society’s culture of addiction. David, a flavorist-in-training, is testing Sweetness #9 on lab rats. When the rats begin to exhibit odd symptoms and behaviors, David doesn’t follow through with his instincts to blow the whistle on the highly lucrative product. Langton’s deliberately paced narration and inflections highlight David’s introspective nature when, years later, he is living with side effects of the drug—in a society that is obsessed with processed foods and quick-fix-medications. Langton’s diversity of European accents adds to the richness of the characters and the liveliness of the story. His modified falsetto for David’s wife and daughter conveys both humor and heartbreak. M.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
2014-06-17
