Not to be confused with the concurrently released, International Federation of Competitive Eating-approved EAT THIS BOOK, Jason Fagone’s HORSEMEN OF THE ESOPHAGUS is a more offbeat, almost pleasantly gonzo look at the sport, mostly from the eyes of the outsiders who are not IFOCE-affiliated.
You’ll meet eating champions like David “Coondog” O’Karma – a 50-something house painter who is desperately looking for something to fulfill his life, be it his poetry or competitive eating. Together, he and Fagone travel to Japan to unravel the mystery of Takeru Kobayashi, the competitive eating champion of the world, who, in the end, turns out to be an even bigger enigma. Then there’s Bill “El Wingador” Simmons, a Philly resident/five-time Philly Wing Bowl champion who’s beginning to realize his mortality in the sport, as well as the dirty games the IFOCE plays with those who don’t follow with their program. And finally, you’ll tag along with young, boyish Wall Street trader Tim “Eater X” Janus who, by not being an overweight, middle-aged loon, may be the new poster boy for competitive eating.
Fagone captures each of these champions at their most vulnerable, creating a dented portrait of humanity behind the mouth-stuffing caricatures. Instead of just documenting these people, he tags along with them and becomes part of their story, and part of each one’s legend-in-their-own-minds status. From muckraking the cracked practices of the IFOCE (proving that there’s corruption everywhere) to trying to crack the Japanese-eating code. He doesn’t cast an ironic, deprecating glare on the participants or the competitions and instead, tries to figure out how a necessary life function has instead become a torturous, possibly deadly game.
HORSEMEN will leave you wanting seconds. –Louis Fowler
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