Eat Him If You Like: Jean Teule

Jean Teule’s latest novella (published two years ago in France) deals with an obscure yet shameful incident in French history. Set during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, the action of Eat Him If You Like takes place in the village of Hautefaye. The popular young Deputy Mayor, Alain de Moneys, rides into town to attend the fair, as a last public appearance before he is due to join his regiment at the front. Unfortunately for de Moneys, drought and bad news from the war have turned the village into a tinderbox, and a misheard comment has horrific consequences. The crowd turn on their hero, and he finds himself at the mercy of the mob.

Teule wastes little time setting the scene; although the opening pages paint a picture of a charmed young man inhabiting a rural idyll, the rug is swiftly pulled from under the reader’s feet. The main body of the short book (111 pages) is concerned with the graphic, brutal treatment de Moneys receives at the hands of his tormentors. Accused of being an enemy spy, despite his strong local links, the Deputy Mayor is pursued throughout the village by the mob, receiving almost unreadably barbaric treatment at every corner. The author presents de Moneys’s suffering with clear parallels to Christ’s passion; the young man is repeatedly denied by those who he has helped, whilst authority figures prevaricate and wash their hands of him.

Teule focuses almost exclusively on the character of de Moneys; however, the reader can gain a clear insight into the madness of the mob, and the horror which can ensue once reason is abandoned and bloodlust embraced. Any sign or comment is taken as a reinforcement of the crowd’s beliefs. Teule also reinforces the power of fate; a series of hideous coincidences and misunderstandings conspire to make de Moneys’s situation ever more dire. There is no black comedy here, though – Teule’s writing is unforgiving and relentless.

Although Eat Him If You Like feels insubstantial in the reader’s hands, it packs considerable emotional punch. Teule takes the reader far beyond their comfort zone, in a way which horror films so often fail to do. There is no need for the clever ‘nods-to-camera’ employed by the likes of Michael Haneke; the act of reading on forms a bond between reader and subject, giving his suffering a visceral effect.

In his previous historical novels, such as Monsieur Montespan, Teule has subtly encouraged readers to re-evaluate historical oddities through a modern sensibility, whilst also demonstrating a Rabelaisian relish for the dirt and disease of pre-twentieth century France. While the narrative focuses solely on the events of that day in 1870, there is a clear and universal message about the dangers of mob rule and the natural urge to search for a scapegoat in difficult times. The willingness of young men to become vicious and stupid under the guise of patriotism is also condemned.

It is difficult to recommend Eat Him If You Can; large sections of the book made me feel physically sick, and played on my mind for days after reading it. On the other hand, it is superbly well-written, economic yet extremely powerful, graphically brutal yet also nuanced. Whilst some passages may appear to ape torture-porn motifs, they also display humanity, a dark awareness of fate, and an understanding of mob behaviours. It is not a book which can be easily turned away from or forgotten.