the last book I ever read (History of Wolves: A Novel by Emily Fridlund, excerpt seven)

from History of Wolves: A Novel by Emily Fridlund:

I watched her sit back down.

Without speaking, she broke off a piece of pancake with her fingers and put it in her mouth. I did the same. I was so hungry, and the pancakes were so warm and soft, still gooey with batter in the middle. You could eat them without chewing much, you could get a lot into your mouth at once, you could nearly drink those pancakes down. I kept breaking off and pushing pieces in my mouth, and just when I thought I’d never get enough, never be filled up, I looked over and saw that Patra had stopped eating. Her lips were partway open, and I could see the half-chewed pancake wedged between her teeth and gums, balanced in a frothy mix on her lower lip. She sat there with her cheeks bulged out for ten seconds, twenty, and then, at last, she deliberately closed her eyes, carefully rotated her jaw, and forced that huge pancake wad down her throat. I saw it go.