Liarmouth

Well John Waters' book “Liarmouth” has seemingly done something impossible - it actually makes me want to stop at the James Fenimore Cooper rest stop on the New Jersey turnpike - just so I can stop, match the real place up, and imagine events described in the book as happening there. This is not a book recommend, not without reservation. If you're thinking ‘it's a novel, it can't be as filthy, disgusting, and absurd as his early films, right?' It's gotta be more Hairspray than Pink Flamingos, right? Think again. It is funny, though. Characters eat, do, and say disgusting things, and few are likable, but they're all funny. But I'm not responsible, you have been warned. Waters' affection for his native Baltimore (if you can call it affection) is on full display as well. It was on the New York Public Library's ‘recommended reads of 2022' shelf in midtown, so, go for it.

loved reading sections of this aloud to my horrified friends when they asked me why I was ‘making that face' whilst reading

The first half is an enjoyably raunchy John Waters adventure. However, the second half quickly loses interest in itself.