Gastronomic Dystopia

The ultra short story 'We Ate the Children Last' by Yann 'Booker' Martel appeared in the March 2004 volume of "Grain Magazine". Read it? It is either a re-issue of one his older short stories or a new story depending on who you listen to. In any case, it will be published yet again in the UK in September 2004 if you want to read it then. This brief morality tale is two and half pages of human clinical trials gone bad. Very bad. Skilfully, Martel's premise of taking the subject of taking animal organs and transplanting them into humans is at first a great clinical success but somehow this success is foisted on the undesireable underclass (read: poor) as a social remedy. Mistake! With a clear French undertone for some reason: "Liberté! Liberté!", the didactic story is a obviously a warning--one of course we do not heed. The ending is typical of such a short story. This edition of Grain Magazine is one of the best volumes to date, even without Martel's contribution. Too bad my subscription runs out with this issue. :-(