One Fell Soup

Book excerpt: A collection of short pieces about everything from genius and God to socks and lentils, from one of America’s most beloved humor writers One Fell Soup brings together the reviews, diatribes, investigations, meditations, and poetry of Roy Blount Jr., a writer as insightful as he is funny. Culled from his many columns and magazine writings, this volume offers an unparalleled look at the varied interests of a writer the New York Times has compared to Mark Twain—albeit with a far greater demonstrated interest in love songs about gravy, ice cream, and mac and cheese. “Chickens” celebrates the vast cultural importance—and criminal neglect—of the most abundant domesticated fowl. “So This Is Male Sexuality” examines the unsettling specter of sex researchers like Masters and Johnson looming over one’s private thoughts. And “Merely Shot in the Head” ponders the absurd willpower of a man who finishes a full marathon after taking a bullet ten miles into the race.