J. Manfred Weichsel is back with another disturbingly funny satire, The Calydonian Boar Hunt. Emphasis on the disturbing. Absolutely no one comes out of this looking good, and it is not for the faint-hearted.

Yet, as disquieting as Weichsel’s work is, I argue that he is performing a valuable public service. Weichsel makes foundational myths present to a contemporary reader in a striking and vivid manner, reminding us why these myths continue to be worth understanding thousands of years later.

Part of the reason that a myth like The Calydonian Boar Hunt is still relevant to us is that new and crazy things are sometimes not new at all, although they remain crazy. Weichsel hews closely to the structure of the historical myth, but then works in contemporary issues like COVID lockdowns, male feminists who think with their penises, and irrational misandry. Some of the humor is so on point that it might be incomprehensible in fifty years but more famous authors than Weichsel have indulged in that.

I am grateful that someone is willing to say the Emperor has no clothes, although I understand those who feel uncomfortable at the detailed description of his pasty and pock-marked flesh. That being said, I wouldn’t give this book to children. But I would recommend it to adults who are ready to have their complacency challenged.

More: https://www.benespen.com/2022-7-3-calydonian-boar-hunt-review/ ( )