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Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of Americaby Steve Almond
Powells.com Staff PickHere's a great recipe: Take one often-obsessed-upon food item, one aptly named author, and an enormous amount of writing talent. Mix them all together and you have Candyfreak. A great book that melts in your mind, not in your hand. Danielle, Powells.com Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:A self-professed candyfreak, Steve Almond set out in search of a much-loved candy from his childhood and found himself on a tour of the small candy companies that are persevering in a marketplace where big corporations dominate.
From the Twin Bing to the Idaho Spud, the Valomilk to the Abba-Zaba, and discontinued bars such as the Caravelle, Marathon, and Choco-Lite, Almond uncovers a trove of singular candy bars made by unsung heroes working in old-fashioned factories to produce something they love. And in true candyfreak fashion, Almond lusciously describes the rich tastes that he has loved since childhood and continues to crave today. Steve Almond has written a comic but ultimately bittersweet story of how he grew up on candy — and how, for better and worse, the candy industry has grown up, too. Candyfreak is the delicious story of one man's lifelong obsession with candy and his quest to discover its origins in America. Review:"There are enough anecdotes from Almond's lifelong fixation that readers will feel as if they know him....Almond's awareness of how strange he is...is strangely endearing." Publishers Weekly
Review:"Almond...details with mouthwatering descriptions his visits to the minor league of candy makers who continue to churn out their distinctive products....Sweet, never sickly — and quite informative." Kirkus Reviews
Review:"The decidedly regional nature of American candy production takes Almond to all sorts of destinations where he encounters those tastefully inventive minds who satisfy the country's sweet tooth." Mark Knoblauch, Booklist
Review:"Flavored with the author's amusingly tart sense of humor, Candyfreak is an intriguing chronicle of the passions that candy inspires and the pleasures it offers. Recommended." Library Journal
Review:"I got a real sugar rush and a cluster headache reading this bittersweet book by Steve Almond-joy, the sugar daddy himself. I won't sugar coat it — this book is one sweet treat." Amy Sedaris
Review:"Steve Almond is the Dave Eggers of food writing." John Thorne
Review:"[A] fascinating exploration of the small American candy-making companies that persist in the shadow of such giants as Hershey, Nestlè and Mars and...a bittersweet personal memoir, is likely to make you [a candyfreak], too." Hartford Courant
Review:"One word of caution: Reading this delicious narrative on an empty stomach will lead to a hasty trip to your local candy store to search for the delicacies Almond chronicles. Or at least that's what this sugar-addicted reviewer found herself doing." Minneapolis Star Tribune
Review:"Almond goes at the subject as if he were a giddy 5-year-old, creating an entertaining book full of repeatable tidbits about the candy industry." New York Times Book Review
Review:"[A] book that is part memoir of childhood candy consumption, part paean to small candy makers, and tremendously engaging throughout." Chicago Sun-Times
Review:"As a fellow candy freak, I found Almond's illuminations highly enjoyable and, like Almond himself, I felt a pang of sadness when it was over." The Oregonian (Portland, OR)
Review:"Reading Candyfreak is like following a kid into a candy store. Not only is Almond a glutton for his subject, he's a hilariously uninhibited writer....Candyfreak is like a good candy bar: a piece of delicious, ephemeral fun." San Francisco Chronicle
Review:"Skittish wordplay, comedy and hot-off-the-slab research mark this book as a winner among simple candy lovers, confectionoscenti and the freaks — those who enter a disassociative state when confronted with candy." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Synopsis:Almond embarks on a hilarious, sugar-high tour through America's last remaining independent candy companies. About the AuthorSteve Almond is the author of the acclaimed story collection My Life in Heavy Metal. He is a regular commetator on the NPR affiliate WBUR in Boston, teaches creative writing at Boston College, and has eaten at least one piece of candy every single day of his entire life. Table of ContentsSome Things You Should Know about the Author xv Chapter One The Author Will Now Rationalize 1 Chocolate = Enabler 8 In Which an Unhealthy Pattern of Dependence Is Established 10 An Ill-Advised Discussion of Freak Economics 16 Night of the Living Freak 21 Mistakes Were Made 25 Chapter two Caravelle: An Elegy 29 I ™ Manny 39 Feeding the Beast 45 Chapter Three A Top-Secret Chocolate Situation 51 The Politics of the Rack 56 The Last Man in America with Black Jack Gum 62 Chapter Four The Capo Di Tutti Freak 71 The Love Song of Ray Luthar Broekel 76 Welcome to the Boom 82 Chapter Five There Are Men upon This Earth Who Tread Like Gods 90 Feuilletine, Revealed 97 Freak Fetish 105 Chapter Six The Official Dark Horse Freak of Philadelphia 108 Wee Willie and the Pop-a-Licks Rage 115 Chapter Seven Southern-Fried Freak 123 Chocolate Haiku 130 Freak Retentive 139 Chapter Eight In the Belly of the Freak 142 The Unstoppable Freak Energy of Mr. Marty Palmer 145 Southbound with the Hammers Down 163 Chapter Nine The Candy Bar on Your Chin 168 The Marshmallow Parallax 177 A Depressing but Necessary Digression 189 Chapter Ten Boise: Gateway to . Boise 191 Ladies and Gentlemen, the Idaho Spud 195 Huckleberry, Hounded 206 American Lunch 214 How Will the Spud Survive? 218 Chapter Eleven The Past Is Just Ahead 224 Remember This Name: Banana-Zaba 231 Chapter Twelve A Second Depressing but Necessary Digression 238 A Little Hidden Bomb in My Idaho Spud 240 A Few Final Relevant Facts 244 acknowledgments 253 freak appendix 255 What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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