Sommelier of Deformity

Sommelier of Deformity is gross. But it’ll grow on you.

The novel follows a few months in Buddy’s shoes. He’s a short, ugly, racist man who lives with his mom. By day, he creates websites for companies; by night, he prowls the internet for sexual conquests equally as hideous as he is.

Buddy has a great relationship with his mother and grandfather, with whom he lives. His grandfather had a cancer that took his limbs and one of his eyes, and he requires a visiting nurse. That’s when Terrence arrives.

Terrence is a talented, compassionate black man who encourages Buddy to broaden his horizons. The two form a semblance of a friendship and hijinks ensue.

Buddy is a thoroughly repulsive character, the type of troll-like creature we suspect lurks in the recesses of the internet, occasionally leaving its cave to say something rude to someone on Twitter. What made me root for Buddy was that the book gives him a unique voice and somewhat of a redemption arc. The story satirizes real-life people who are like him, and I loved that.

This is a book that requires some patience. Buddy’s pretentious tone clashes with the low-brow, slapstick plot. It’s irreverent, compassionate, vulgar, dissonant, and fresh all at once. You’ll want to clutch your pearls at it, but you won’t.