28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A marvelous feast of writing, June 6, 2002
"Endless Feasts: Sixty Years of Writing from Gourmet" is a fine sampler of essays that appeared in Gourmet Magazine. This magazine, which deals with cuisine and travel, offers some of the best prose outside of literary magazines like the New Yorker or Atlantic Monthly.
I already am a fan of M.F.K. Fisher (who isn't?), Paul Theroux and Laurie Colwin. But there are many other authors here whose work I wasn't as familiar with. I was very very glad to read Mary Cantwell and William Hamilton in particular.
If you love travel and food, this book is sure to appeal to you. But these authors are SO good that really, this book is about how we react to the most basic of activities, eating and drinking and how they are inextricably mixed with our emotions and memories.
The list of authors reads like a literary prize list, not only those authors I previously mentioned, but Anita Loos and E. Annie Proulx as well. The essays may deal with eating and drinking in some way, but each of the authors has a very unique way of dealing with the subject. In particular, I loved the story by William Hamilton. His childhood memory where he was promised a mysteriously alluring treat "jellied consomme" is one that recreates childhood emotions with uncanny accuracy and a lot of wry humor.
I happen to be a fan of the publisher, Modern Library. I love their compact format, and the typeface clear and readable. If you love good writing, this book is a real treat.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delicious tidbits from well-known food writers, July 12, 2004
This collection of essays from food writers of Gourmet magazine brings the reader to different places and times, from the summer of 1939 when M.F.K. Fisher stumbled upon a cozy Swiss inn, to 1970 when Richard Cassin writes about a dinner intivation in Taos, New Mexico.
My favorite essays were "The Garlic War" by E. Annie Proulx (author of The Shipping News), where the author recounts her Uncle Herbert's eventual acceptance of garlic, and "An Indian Reminiscence" where Madhur Jaffrey fondly writes about her experiences with food as a child growing up in North India.
To keep the historical accuracy of the essays, recipes that are included in the book have been kept as they were first printed. This provides us with a peek into what people ate and how they liked their food through the years. This book will definitely be a great addition to a food-lovers' library.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Good Sampler for idle moments., September 17, 2005
This review is from: Endless Feasts: Sixty Years of Writing from Gourmet (Modern Library Food) (Paperback)
`Endless Feasts' is a collection of writings about food, drink, travel, biography, and fiction from the pages of `Gourmet' magazine from the magazine's founding in the late 1930s to the present. The selections were made by the magazine's current editor, Ruth Reichl, who has, in many ways taken over the throne of leading American culinary editor long left vacant after the passing of Craig Claiborne.
My first reaction, as someone who very much likes to read about food, cooking, and culinary personalities, is that this collection shows the ephemeral nature of a lot of magazine writing, especially some pieces written under less talented editors than Ms. Reichl. In a nutshell, I found this book difficult to read from front to back. In this day of the Food Network, the Discovery Channel, and the Travel channel, pieces written about Umbria or Mexico, or Tibet or Shanghai seem just a bit lifeless on the page. When they were written, most pieces were not intended to be memoirs, but the passage of time has turned them from travelogues of today into faded snapshots of a world which is no longer there.
That is not to say there are no good pieces here. There are selections written by M.F.K. Fisher, Madhur Jaffrey, Pat Conroy, Ray Bradbury, Anita Loos, James Villas, Paul Theroux, Elizabeth David, George Plimpton, and James Beard. Part of the problem is that pieces by these writers are in the minority. It is also true that in some cases, as with Madhur Jaffrey, for example, her travel memoir takes her out of her primary area of expertise, so I found her piece on India to be just a bit on the dry side. Many of the pieces by the less well-known writers are good, but maybe not great. Part of the interest of a piece by Elizabeth David is that her great reputation for being a superior culinary writer will mean that when you read her piece, if you encounter a questionable statement, you are wise to question your own judgment on the matter rather than question the author. For most other authors, if you encounter a questionable statement, you may feel a bit up in the air unless you have an unimpeachable authority for your opinion.
While I consider this a forest of trees with a wide variety in their value, one may also raise the issue of the value of the forest. How does an interest in Epicurean pleasures fit into a complete life? Is it possible that `Gourmet' interests by their nature influence a life to wander into a less than productive fields? One piece of evidence is Jim Villas' piece on the life of Lucius Beebe, who was a wealthy epicure who turned himself into a journalist with a disdain for the ordinary which makes H. L. Menchen's poor opinion of the boobiesee (sic) look like a mild tic. Since Beebe embraced a style that required the support of significant wealth, are we of normal means to admire or disdain this sybaritic aesthete. Is not a life made good on average means much more interesting to study?
In a sense, I'm just thinking out loud here. There is definite value in knowing about the lifestyle of Lucius Beebe, just as it is interesting to know of the dinosaurs that took evolution in a direction that could not adapt to a cataclysmic change in their environment. Beebe's preferences for value and competence are commendable. They are also taken in the wrong direction by reliance on great wealth.
One problem with this book for the dedicated reader of culinary writing is that we are likely to have encountered many of these pieces, or many of the same material in other sources. Does one really want to know what James Beard has to say about pasta when we have read everything that Marcella Hazan has written on the subject?
Ultimately, I think this is not the kind of book you read from cover to cover. It is the book you take with you to doctors' waiting rooms when you are between novels or your interest in that latest Rose Levy Beranbaum `bible' is flagging.
Thus, I recommend this book with a caution. A great book to buy at a discount. A not so great book at full list price. For great culinary writing, be sure to complete your reading of M.F.K. Fisher or Elizabeth David or James Villas or even Ruth Reichl herself before spending money here.
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