Consider the Oyster (Paperback)

~ M. F. K. Fisher (Author) "An oyster leads a dreadful but exciting life..." (more)
Key Phrases: New Orleans, New York, Hang Town Fry (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I do not know of any one in the United States who writes better prose." -- W.H. Auden

"M.F.K. Fisher ... brings onstage a peach or a brace of quail and shows us history, cities, fantasies, memories, emotions." -- Patricia Storace, The New York Review of Books

"M.F.K. Fisher is our greatest food writer because she puts food in the mount, the mind and the imagination all at the same time. Beyond the gastronomical bravura, she is a passionate woman; food is her metaphor." -- Shana Alexander

"Poet of the appetites." -- John Updike

"She writes about fleeting tastes and feasts vividly, excitingly, sensuously, exquisitely. There is almost a wicked thrill in following her uninhibited track through the glories of the good life." -- James Beard

"She writes about food as others do about love, but rather better." -- Clifton Fadiman

"Since Lewis Carroll no one had written charmingly about that indecisively sexed bivalve until Mrs. Fisher came along with her Consider the Oyster. Surely this will stand for some time as the most judicious treatment in English."--Clifton Fadiman -- Review

"Since Lewis Carroll no one had written charmingly about that indecisively sexed bivalve until Mrs. Fisher came along with her Consider the Oyster. Surely this will stand for some time as the most judicious treatment in English..." -- Clifton Fadiman

"Since Lewis Carroll no one had written charmingly about that indecisively sexed bivalve until Mrs. Fisher came along with her Consider the Oyster. Surely this will stand for some time as the most judicious treatment in English."--Clifton Fadiman

Product Description

M.F.K. Fisher, whom John Updike has called our "poet of the appetites," here pays tribute to that most delicate and enigmatic of foods---the oyster. As she tells of oysters found in stews, in soups, roasted, baked, fried, prepared à la Rockefeller or au naturel--and of the pearls sometimes found therein--Fisher describes her mother's joy at encountering oyster loaf in a girls' dorm in he 1890's, recalls her own initiation into the "strange cold succulence" of raw oysters as a young woman in Marseille and Dijon, and explores both the bivalve's famed aphrodisiac properties and its equally notorious gut-wrenching powers. Plumbing the "dreadful but exciting" life of the oyster, Fisher invites readers to share in the comforts and delights that this delicate edible evokes, and enchants us along the way with her characteristically wise and witty prose.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: North Point Press (October 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865473358
• ISBN-13: 978-0865473355
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #215,474 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Beautiful, July 30, 2007

By	neilathotep (San Mateo, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This work is a beautiful piece of food writing. Fisher tells delightful tales of the oyster, both from a natural history and culinary history perspective. Integrated in to these stories are a fair mix of recipes and pieces of food advice. Embedded in all of this is a delightful sense of whimsy, which makes the reader think that while oysters are serious food, there is no reason to be completely serious about food.

It had me craving oysters from page one, and it is now a goal of mine to make Oyster stew this year. Some of the other recipes seem a bit silly, but I'll try one of those at least.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Words are like musical notes, December 11, 2007

By	Harry Popsicle "goozman" - See all my reviews

MFK Fisher is like the Bach of authors. I bought this book because I love oysters, but after reading this book I was transported to a time and place to an atmosphere of life that doesn't seem to exist anymore. And I became enamored with the author.

It is hard to describe her work. Every word seems perfectly placed, like a musical note. This book is like a masterpiece in writing. I love oysters even more because of it. I have tried the recipes listed, and they have turned out incredible. The oyster stew was fantastic.

There is a recipe for Ramos' Gin Fizz, a drink I have never heard of. I researched it, and the drink was invented in the early 19th century!! It doesn't give the recipe for the drink which is a shame, but I did find the recipe on line and I did try it. It was very good. There is a sense of food archeology with the book, as if you are Indiana Jones discovering a lost city. You must read it to understand what I'm saying.

Every time I read this book, I feel transported in time to a happier place, where food was better. I feel like I'm tagging along with Fisher discovering hidden treasures of restaurants in remote locals.

Pick up this book if you love oysters, also pick it up if you love great writing by a great author.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Charming, Poetic, Thoughtful Take On a Simple Treasure, June 7, 2009

By	Sussex Pond Pudding (Somewhere in the desert, CA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)

This slim volume was given to me by a friend who knows of my great culinary passion for oysters. I had never heard of Fisher, was surprised that such a book existed, thanked him and then sat down to read it that evening. A couple of hours later I was a devoted M.F.K. Fisher fan. In an age where pleasure seems to be so complicated and few people can or are willing stop and smell the roses as they say, Fisher's analysis of the oyster is incredibly refreshing. It is a short, poetic reflection on the beauty of the oyster: from its remarkable biology and presence on Earth to simple recipes from her childhood. This is a truly joyous book that is essentially about the need for appreciation of the beauty, especially the simple beauty, to be found in life. Amidst the confusion of the modern world and the turmoil of the average man's life this book is a pause, a meditation, a prayer if you will to Nature and God, in whatever form He takes in your life. Needless to say, one need not like oysters to appreciate this book. I would be hard pressed to come up with a better way to spend a few dollars.