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A foodie book that explores the meaning of life

October 15th, 2009 Molly - Central

…and one I might add, that won’t turn your stomach.  Well, probably won’t turn your stomach.  It depends on your tolerance level for dysfunctional families and relationships.

I have been reading WAY too many books lately that shed some blindingly bright light on the way our food is grown, produced, prepared, killing us slowly, whatever.  This is not that kind of book.  It is rather the kind of book that waxes poetic about pulpy purply tomatoes that smell of earth and summertime.

Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery, takes place in the famed Parisian apartment building that The Elegance of the Hedgehog is set in.  Acclaimed food critic Pierre Arthens is dying and everyone close to or estranged from him gets a chance (or chapter) to make their feelings known.  The critic might have been a supreme talent as far as food writing goes, but he was a lousy husband and father.

While on his deathbed, he struggles to identify a particular flavor that has influenced his life more than any other.  This is where the food writing gets good.  Deliciously good.  But while he is consumed by identifying this lost flavor, he neglects his family and friends, just as he had during his healthy days.  So really, what good is the flavor?  And what has truly been lost?

This book will make you think about food, about family and about appreciating life while you have it.

Entry Filed under: Literary Fiction