There was always that element of surprise and awe in travelling with the towering Anthony Bourdain as the legendary celebrity chef & author ventured into unknown places around the nook and corners of the planet savouring unfamiliar gastronomical delights. Indeed some of the episodes were barbarous and revolting but it was Bourdain’s elucidation of the cuisine and the culture that made the show absorbing. Personally, I wasn’t the strictest follower of Bourdain’s sojourns except when ‘The Layover’ debuted on Netflix, which I binged upon, if not for the food the show was an interesting exploration of the places one might visit.
But just like his stunning TV shows where he surprised the audiences with local delicacies I was enthralled to read about a graphic novel, the ‘Hungry Ghosts’, that he co-authored with Joel Rose. It’s a terrifying piece, and if I may add, graphically explicit in its textual content and colour set in mostly Japanese storytelling. Inspired by the Japanese Edo period parlour game of Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, it reimagines the classic stories of yokai, yorei, and obake with, of course, the centrepiece of the narrative being food. According to Wikipedia, a ‘Hungry Ghost’ “is a concept in Chinese Buddhism, Chinese traditional religion, Vietnamese Buddhism and Vietnamese traditional religion representing beings who are driven by intense emotional needs in an animalistic way.”, in Hinduism the term they use is preta, and that is evidently showcased in the graphic novel. Incidentally, I haven’t written about graphic novels since I finished the Watchmen in 2010 but this book somehow inspired me to write once again.
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