The Great American Tweet
When author Matt Stewart couldn’t land a book deal, he posted his entire dark comedy on Twitter. The stunt led to headlines, new interest from editors, and the first print edition of The French Revolution (Soft Skull Press). Now that the novel’s in book form, it’s easier to get sucked into Stewart’s allegory—a reimagining of the upheaval in 18th-century France as a family epic in modern San Francisco. Standing in for Marie Antoinette is Esmerelda, a morbidly obese ex-pastry chef with a bad cake habit. In the afterglow of a “triple chocolate truffle swirl cheesecake, with Heath bar crumbs and caramel roses on top” binge, Esmerelda has sex with a Market Street coupon distributor (Louis XVI) in a particularly gross scene that involves a public pool and food stuck in teeth. The tryst leads to the birth of rebellious twins, Marat and Robespierre. (The siblings later demand that their mother shape up, much like the revolution did for France.) The story makes plenty of entertaining nods to important historical figures and events. To get in on the joke, there’s a free iPhone app that allows readers to submit a picture of a page and find relevant videos, articles, and recipes inspired by the gluttony and over-the-top food descriptions throughout the book. You know, in case you still want to eat cake.
