The Devil's Picnic

Book excerpt: An investigation into what thrills us, what terrifies us, and what would make us travel ten thousand miles and evade the local authorities, The Devil's Picnic is a delicious and compelling expedition into the heart of vice and desire. Taras Grescoe is the author of two books, one of which, Sacre Blues: An Unsentimental Journey Through Quebec, was shortlisted for the Writers' Trust Award and was a national bestseller in Canada. His work appears in major publications all over the US, the UK and Canada. "Vivid and entertaining."-New York Times "[Grescoe] spends a year in seven countries, seeking out such delicacies as Epoisses cheese, which smells so bad it's said to have been banned from the Paris Metro; the author writes fondly that it makes 'Gorgonzola smell like Velveeta.'...He eats bulls' testicles in Madrid and visits an absinthe distillery in Switzerland. You feel hung over just reading the thing-guilty, implicated and strangely hungry."-Los Angeles Times Also available: HC ISBN: 1-58234-429-9 ISBN-13 978-1-58234-429-4 $24.95