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Die Eingelegte Apokalypse Der Pfannkucheninsel (2012)

by Cameron Pierce(Favorite Author)

3.98 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

VoodooPress

review 1: It takes a special sort of writer to craft a fairy tale that works for adults. In Pickled Apocalypse of Pancake Island, Pierce has woven a finely crafted fairy tale that works on several different levels at once, making it a delight to read no matter what level of depth you’re looking for.The story revolves around a pickle, Gaston Glew, who comes from a planet where happiness is entirely unknown. There are no birthdays, only “sad days,” and suicides are not only common, but expected. Gaston decides to act, breaking the existential cycle of malaise that binds him by building a rocket and taking off for parts unknown, driven by the motto of his favorite TV character Captain Pickle who advises everyone to “unchain yourself from this briny fate, oh pickled prisoner.”... more In doing so, he ends up on pancake island, a joyous place of constant celebration. It is here when the philosophical underpinnings of Pierce’s story begin to shape the narrative: can something that knows nothing but misery and horror survive in a place where happiness is omnipresent? Can it survive him?The book is incredibly fun to read, and Pierce’s simple prose belies his ability to talk about deep matters. On the surface, this is simply a fun fairy tale, with a romantic subplot straight out of Romeo and Juliet and a lot of fun imagery. If you feel like diving into the meat, however, there’s a lot happening here that’s worth thinking about. Is the Cuddlywumpus symbolic, or is he just awesome? Does Fanny Fod (the most beautiful pancake in the world) lactate maple beer because it’s weird and unsettling, or because she’s an integral part of the world Pierce has created? Sure, Cameron Pierce can shock (he proved that with his previous book Ass Goblins of Auschwitz) but he can also rip open the underbelly of the human condition using very simply and elegant storytelling techniques.The characters are fun, the plot and setting are a joy, and much to my surprise, the ending is quite beautiful in a way, and certainly earned. Occasionally, things enter the plot and almost immediately disappear without much exploration (like the history of the races appearing in the book, for example), but this is a minor quibble. Instead of raising dramatic plot questions, those things become added set pieces, and help the reader see the world that Pierce is trying to create. You don’t have to be interested in food to love this book, and it’s a quick and delightful read. Perfect for those new to the bizarro genre, lovers of adult fairy tales, or anyone just looking for a great commuter book. You won’t regret the sweet, sweet taste of Cameron’s maple syrup.
review 2: While Cameron Pierce’s Pickled Apocalypse of Pancake Island bills itself as a tragedy for people who eat food, I imagine that those living on total parenteral nutrition would still find plenty of things tragic and more than a few things darkly humorous. Throughout the story, it feels like Pierce was until now the only person fully aware of how pickles are among the most depressed of foods from wallowing in murky green brine, as opposed to the happiness of warm and fluffy pancakes and their maple syrup. While this may very well be the case, that former lack of discovery on the part of the reader is definitely rectified by the book’s end.The story sets itself up for two worlds to collide as the maple-beer-lactating Fanny W. Fod of Pancake Island tires of constant happiness, and Gaston Glew of Pickle Planet tires of the constant sadness perpetuated by the Eternal Plight of the Pickle. When Gaston’s parents steal the celebration of his Sad Day by committing suicide, his immediate distancing from sadness allows him to use both of their corpses as fuel for the rocket ship he had been working on. With a big collection of garlic spiders and jars of brine chowder, he blasts off into space and encounters space ghosts (without talk shows, sadly), then finds nothing else in his waking hours. His autopilot, however, eventually sends him crashing into a golden sea of maple syrup watched over by a cheerful, whistling, mustachioed sun whose favorite dirty word happens to be “suicide.” And, the sun forewarns, the sad-born Gaston is not a welcome being in the happy paradise of Pancake Island. After Gaston ignores the sun’s warning – among doing other things – he ends up on the actual island part of Pancake Island, and from there finds that his and Fanny’s star-crossed destiny is going to be more destructive than he ever intended, being unaware of the title. From Gaston’s arrival onward, Pickled Apocalypse feels like an anti-breakfast commercial written to be broadcast by aliens for instilling distrust in pancakes, pickles, and the sun. If Pierce just happens to be one of those aliens then his simple and accessible writing style, his attention to character development, and the occasional food-related violence and/or sex do his propaganda a great deal of good.Before digging out a fork and knife to make some cuts, I'll first say that some of the following criticisms may be out of the picture by the time you pick up a copy because I read an earlier draft by the author. If they have already been resolved, then it only means that Pickled Apocalypse has been polished to a syrupy shine because all good that has been said still stands.(So...) Pierce's propaganda may be tarnished a little by Fanny’s initial, seemingly-moronic acceptance of Gaston’s lies and the later unsubtle warning of “By the way, X, don’t go to Y” which, paraphrased, appears somewhere other than the warning Gaston got from the sun. The fact that it’s yet another plot point does not help the instant reaction of “Now X character will go to Y location and Z big thing is going to happen. I get it.”All in all, however, Pickled Apocalypse is an impressive gallery of grotesque things happening in saccharine locations that fulfills the tragedy angle it was going for as the reader becomes sympathetic to Gaston’s want for just a little bit of happiness and watches it all crumble. Highly recommendable to prepare yourself for Pierce’s eventual conquest of the world via garlic spiders and pickles and otherwise recommendable for being a fun and engaging read. less

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