As They Were [Paperback]

M.F.K. Fisher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 1983

"Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher is a national treasure. For nearly 50 years she has been writing rare, fine prose about so many things that she is nearly impossible to define....In As They Were she has collected a number of essays -- she calls them 'reports' -- into an informal autobiography that wanders from Whittier, California, to the south of France." -- Newsweek

"She deserves the widest possible audience....The restaurants, hotels and markets she visits are aswarm with people and things, all of which she describes in fine detail, making the reader taste and hear and smell and see as few other writers can....Wherever she is, wherever she goes, she is grand company."

-- Chicago Sun-Times

"A breath of poetry wraps us as she relives for us a lifetime....She is the attentive spectator of her own life as well as its narrator." -- Philadelphia Inquirer

"To my mind, As They Were contains some of the best writing M.F.K. Fisher has ever done."

-- James Beard, Boston Globe

"Here are the voluptuous meals recalled by a woman who savored not only the food and wine but every detail of setting and nuance of conversation. Here, too, are meditations on travel by freighter....And here are the vivid evocations of places."

Editorial Reviews

From AudioFile

C.M. Hébert is the perfect ac-companiment to M.F.K. Fisher's delightful recollection of the highs and lows of world travel and French food. Hébert reads these warm, yet sophisticated, descriptions of feasts, forays, and friends with a wistfulness and longing one can imagine Fisher herself feeling as she remembers delights long past. Hébert's perfect French adds a nice touch to Fisher's exquisitely crafted essays, and her cadence captures Fisher's humor and sense of irony at every bend. Whether she's describing the best waiter she ever met, the toil of a difficult sea voyage, or the joys of her California childhood, Hébert delivers a beautiful performance, tempting all of the senses with Fisher's love of life. H.L.S. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 1st Vintage Books ed edition (May 12, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394713486
• ISBN-13: 978-0394713489
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #878,398 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Essays on Living Well, January 27, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: As They Were (Paperback)

Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher writes about the pleasures of cooking and dining. But her stories of memorable meals, great recipes, and out-of-the-way restaurants are always presented in the context of the people and places she associates with them. Fisher's books are always autobiographies as well as travelogues, cook books and any number of other things. They defy categorization. The one thing they have in common is the superb writing of a master stylist. Her attention to detail, her observations and descriptions, are so rich that even a reader who has never had a particular interest in the subject matter of her essays is drawn into her fascinating world.

Oscar Wilde once wrote to the effect that great books cannot be judged by their subject matter or their philosophical bent, only by whether they are well written or not. By this criterion, Ms. Fisher is a great writer who deserves a wider audience.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Enlightening, December 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: As They Were (Paperback)

A particularly special essay in this collection is Fisher's perspective on why she chose to live where she does. As with her choice of food and associates, Fisher demonstrates that where/how/why we call home is a decision which also demands a state of mindfulness and purpose. In the chapter, she also describes the death of neighboring trees due to severe weather. I think about this description frequently, as with many Fisher musings the viewpoint lingers.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A lesson to us all, January 14, 2002

By 

jumpy1 (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: As They Were (Paperback)

What an engaging book of essays! I bought this on a hunch and am finding it simply absorbing. The stories are gently told and the insights hilarious, biting, kind, piercing. They are about people, towns, food, war, beauty, ugliness. I am even starting to understand the cultish following in the food community for MFK although her writings are as much about food as anything else. Her memories make me want to ask my mother and grandmother if it was like that for them, too. She speaks freely as if one is in the room with her thoughts, honored by the invitation.