Taboo A Legend Retold from the Dirghic of Sævius Nicanor, with Prolegomena, Notes, and a Preliminary Memoir

"Taboo" by James Branch Cabell is a satirical novel that pokes fun at social rules and forbidden topics through a fantastical story. The main character, Horvendile, travels to a land called Philistia, where people are bizarrely forbidden from talking about eating. As Horvendile meets different people, like a garbage man and a lawyer, he realizes how ridiculous these rules are. Even though everyone is supposed to ignore natural acts, life goes on as usual, revealing the silliness of trying control what people say. Cabell uses humor to show how absurd censorship can be, making a sharp point about what it means to be human.