Although this book has received prizes and many good reviews, I did not enjoy it and felt that I had wasted my time finishing it. The problem is not the story - an agribusiness takes street people to a large property to plant, tend and pick fruit and vegetables in a condition of slavery maintained by providing crack cocaine, so that people are doubly enslaved. However, there were too many inconsistencies and false notes. It is as if Hannaham could not decide what kind of novel he wanted to write.

Great writing, sad and harrowing but also truly funny at times. A compelling and original portrayal of addiction, exploitation, and love.

The gripping story of three unforgettable characters: a mother, her son, and the drug that threatens to destroy them both.

This book tackles several subjects but the overall theme is institutional racism.

This book was a bit of kick in the gut. Sad, sad, sad. But beautifully written and look at this sentence! "A story might help you get through your life, he said, but it doesn't literally keep you alive--if anything, most often people who have power turn their story into a brick wall keeping out somebody else's truth so that they can continue the life they believe themselves to be leading, trying somehow to preserve the idea that they're good people in their small lives, despite their involvement, however indirect, with bigger evils."

Ahh, the crew life, where the worker exists in isolation from the community at large by dint of work routine and demands. It is the same whether it is farm work or product sales. I found much that I recognized in "Delicious Foods", starting with the hierarchical set-up of the supervisors and bosses. Crews that are similar to this one do exist in the United States. Hannaham really doesn't exaggerate that much.

My problem with "Delicious" is its timing. Hannaham leads the reader to believe that the events in Darlene's and James's lives are happening during the early Civil Rights era. Then later in the novel he has Darlene strung out on the urban scourge of the eighties, crack cocaine. It is a glaring inconsistency. He writes his best in this novel when detailing the workers on the farm.

Great book. An excellent page turner.

Good read, serious but very well written, especially the voice of drugs.