Devouring Tomorrow by Jess Dupuis and A.G. Pasquella
“You’re not going to have Roast Brad Pitt at the holidays?”
✮ 4 out of 5 stars Thank you to Netgalley and Dundurn Press for the free ARC of this book.
Devouring Tomorrow is an anthology of speculative fiction regarding food in the future. The book contains 16 short stories revolving around differing dystopian futures with a food-insecure focus. The stories differs from extinction, new innovations for the future, cannibalism and how our culture is shaped by food.
Some years back I read Eating to Extinction by Dan Saladino; A non-fiction about some of the dangers our food sources face in our current use of the world. Food has always been an interest of mine; both on a cultural level, but also on a culinary level, so I was very intrigued by Devouring Tomorrow, and what it had to offer.
The thing I really enjoy about short stories is, that it’s a fun way to explore a bigger subject or an interesting take, without dragging it out too much. On the other hand I find a collection of short stories extremely hard to write a review on, because they differ a lot in writing style and plot; Some of the stories are more beloved than others. I did, however, love a lot of stories in this collection, and I found the premises very interesting and unique. One worry while reading an anthology from different authors is that some of the stories will be similar, but while some of these stories might’ve started with the same premise, they’re all executed in a way that makes them fully their own. Most of the stories are well written and well polished for the execution that’s a good story worthy.
I read “Pleased to meet you” by Catherine Bush back in October last year, and while it’s taken me a while to come back to finish up this book, my mind has sometimes wandered back to this story in the meantime. It’s like a friend that’s going to stay with me. The quote in the start of my review is from “Succulent” by Elan Mastai.
Short stories are a double-edged sword, and while I love a lot about the format, I also wanted for some of these stories to be longer. Because all of the short stories are standalones with their own premise, I also wanted more of a red thread that would’ve made it possible for me as a reader to better expect what tone the next story would be. Some of the short stories are kind of light-hearted, while others get very dark and dystopian, but it wasn’t always easy to determine what the next one would be.
If you enjoy stories with food in focus, I would recommend picking up this book for the different premises playing with the future of food. If you like dystopian futures, and just want bite-sized tasters of it, then this book is also worth picking up.
Devouring Tomorrow releases on April 22nd 2025.
