The Summer I Ate the Rich - Review
- TheLittLibrarian
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
*I received an audio copy via Macmillan Audio. All reviews are my own.*
I'm starting to have a one-sided beef with the Moulite sisters. They don't have an extensive catalog, but judging from the two books I have read, it makes me want to fight. They fooled me once with their previous title, One of the Good Ones (the story was good until we got to that ending. I'll never forgive that cookie cutter, wrap it up with a bow, terrible ass ending), and I'm afraid they tried it again with their new title, The Summer I Ate the Rich.
"Brielle Petitfour loves to cook. But with a chronically sick mother and bills to pay, becoming a chef isn’t exactly a realistic career path.
When Brielle’s mom suddenly loses her job, Brielle steps in and uses her culinary skills to earn some extra money. The rich families who love her cooking praise her use of unique flavors and textures, which keep everyone guessing what’s in Brielle’s dishes. The secret ingredient? Human flesh.
Written by the storytelling duo Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite, The Summer I Ate the Rich is a modern-day fable inspired by Haitian zombie lore that scrutinizes the socioeconomic and racial inequity that is the foundation of our society. Just like Brielle’s clients, it will have you asking: What’s for dinner?"
I took this book via audio with a multicast of women narrating, including Ashley De La Rosa, Fedna Jacquet, Khaya Fraites, Melinda Sewak, Mieko Gavia, and Zuri Washington. It took 9 hours and 53 minutes to listen. I loved these voices, though I'm unsure why so many people spoke in this story. Two would have sufficed, but I understood the purpose of each narrator's being there solely to represent. De La Rosa was the star of this narrative, while the others served as the Haitian Hercules version of the singing muses.
Why read their books if you have such animosity for them? Well, I am a sucker for good marketing. I never heard of this book until a few weeks ago, and the posters and carefully crafted wordplay alluding to what the book would be about trapped me. A zombie eating the rich to give to the poor? Sounds like a demented Robinhood story crafted around cannibalism and honor! I decided to look past the fact that it came from the author duo and try the book.
The Summer I Ate the Rich is about Brielle, an aspiring poverty-stricken young chef who hates the inequality between the rich and the poor. In a wave of defiance, she steals money from her mother's employer and donates their money to inner-city organizations, triggering her involuntary recruitment into the world of the rich. Oh, and let's not forget that she's a Zombie. Or Zonbie. All of this sounds great except for the fact of SHE. DID. NOT. EAT. THE. RICH. As a matter of fact, there was no horror asphyxiation in the story whatsoever! What I come to realize about the Moulite sisters is that they will M. Night Shyamalan the fuck out of a story. Premises will sound great, but execution will drive you nuts.
My biggest problem with the story was that I thought I was getting a Zombie horror novel. Nothing was horrifying about it, and Brielle's being a zombie is an afterthought. She mentions it several times, but the star factoid did nothing for the story. Just like in the TV show The Big Bang Theory, when the boys discovered that Indiana Jones had no real purpose in Raiders of the Lost Ark, it was the same for Brielle. There was no purpose. Everything that happened in the story could have been done without it being mentioned that she was half dead. I don't know if adding the Haitian lore of zonbies was to draw the reader in or to try something new, but more could have been done with it. Another waste of time was the introduction to the "Muses," or Brielle's sisters, who all lived in Haiti. They had no real purpose and did nothing to move the story along. Yes, the muses are supposed to be the ones to help navigate a tale, but I think the Moulite sisters just wanted to give a shine on one of their favorite Disney side characters. And lastly, we're not going to talk about the ending… we're just not.
What I liked about the book was the conversations about the disparities between rich and poor, the entitlement of having money, how the healthcare systems and insurance companies work, family separation due to immigration, etc. The Moulites could have focused the book on any of these topics, which would have been fine. The potential of this book to delve into these critical topics is evident, making the missed opportunity all the more disappointing.
Overall, I rated this book 3-stars. The zombie did not do zombie things. The explanation of how she became a zombie was interesting but short. There is no female Hannibal or Robinhood. If you are looking for any of these qualities in this story, you will not find them. It was an interesting idea that got Shyamalaned. What else can you do after that? I want to square up.
The Summer I Ate the Rich debuts April 22, 2025
Comments