And the answer is:

The Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka. I remember thinking that it was a peculiar little piece of writing, mostly because of the subject. But now? Not so much.

Rosario and sarahf both guessed Kafka, so they both win! Yay! Happy dance! And what is their prize? Well, I was thinking that perhaps an ebook would suit Ro; SarahF has a choice, ebook or paperback.

The choices are: Darlene Marshall's Pirate's Price or Smuggler's Bride (ebooks); Marjorie Liu's The Red Heart of Jade (mmp); or any of Naomi Novik's Temeraire books (ebook or mmp).

Contact me offline, and I'll forward the book of your choice.

Ouch!

Check out this review of Suzanne Brockmann's Into the Storm at AAR. It's a little discouraging, but I still want to borrow it from the library.