The Devil's Picnic: Around the World in Pursuit of Forbidden Fruit

About this book

A journey into illicit pleasure the world over. From Norwegian moonshine to the pentobarbital sodium sipped by suicide tourists in Switzerlandand in between baby eels killed by an infusion of tobacco a garlicky Spanish stew of bulls testicles tea laced with cocaine and malodorous French cheeseTaras Grescoe has written a travelogue of forbidden indulgences. As Grescoe crisscrosses the globe in pursuit of his quarry he delves into questions of regional culture and repressive legislationfrom the clandestine absinthe distillation in an obscure Swiss valley to the banning of poppy seed biscuits in Singaporeand launches into a philosophical investigation of whats truly bizarre: how something as fundamental as the plants and foods we consume could be so vilified and demonized. An investigation into what thrills us what terrifies us and what would make us travel ten thousand miles and evade the local authorities The Devils Picnic is a delicious and compelling expedition into the heart of vice and desire.