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Title: The Physiology of Taste, or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, Arthur Machen ISBN: 0-486-42253-4 Publisher: Dover Publications Pub. Date: 01 February, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (6 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Exquisite morsels - but a bland meal
Comment: Full disclosure: I admit I read this book based on juicy rumors from gastronomy sources that it was considered an "underground classic" and summarily treasured by modern (and well-placed) gourmet cooks. And to complete that thought, I'll spare you, dear review-reader, some suspense: this book disappointed me. I even found the notes (glibly called "translator's glosses") by the esteemed M.F.K. Fisher a bit dry. Maybe the late Ms. Fisher got caught in the same trap; her notes refer almost constantly to the author's fame and wit in *other* contexts but they're uneven in the current text.
Still, I stand behind the three stars. Brillat-Savarin is not a brilliant author, but his insights into at least a few well-chosen subjects shine across the nearly two centuries since these "meditations" were penned. Long before the Atkins craze gripped American nutrition, for example, one can find here (in Meditation #21: "On Obesity"): "... the principal cause of any fatty corpulence is always a diet overloaded with starchy and farinaceous elements ..." One wonders how our 20th century nutritional experts missed this--especially since the good author's book has been out nearly two hundred years and very popular across Europe for much of this time.
Other nuggets of wisdom are equally remarkable. His analysis of taste manages to turn the standard teeth-chew-the-food, stomach-takes-the-food scientific tract into a celebration of good flavors. A long meditation "on food in general" gives any reader new perspectives on coffee, chocolate, and especially truffles. But physiology is never far behind; the aforementioned tasting discussion includes a prophetic note about the contributions of smell. Fisher's contributions to--and obvious loving translation of--these bits bring the gastronomical poetry up to date.
Unfortunately, I've given you all the highlights. The remainder of this book is stuffed with essays either having little to do with gastronomy ("On Exhaustion?" Death? Hunting Luncheons?) or rambling on with little factual basis. Brillat-Savarin wrote this as a journal and it shows far too often; it's disorganized, didactic to the point of annoyance, and only occasionally stays true to the scientific promise of its title. And poor Ms. Fisher usually ends up as a bystander.
With these critiques in mind, I'd recommend 'The Physiology of Taste" as selective reading. A few of the essays are timeless and beautifully written. Most are turgid and make little sense to a 21st century food lover. Given Ms. Fisher's pedigree I'd hesitate to blame the translation; the author gets full credit and blame.
Rating: 5
Summary: The standard English edition of a landmark eccentric classic
Comment: The standard edition of this work in the US, and a lively one. Jean-Anthelme de Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826) is known for this book and for pithy maxims like "Adam and Eve sold themselves for an apple. What would they have done for a truffled fowl?" (That of course in the days when the truffles that most people heard of were real ones, not chocolate candies that look like them; and also when the real ones were much more plentiful and less expensive.) Memorable are the wonderful anecdotes of the kindly old priest and his "austere" meatless menu ("The Curé's Omelet," with "theoretical notes" afterwards) and of Brillat's scheme at a country inn to enhance a humble dish. This wide-ranging book established its author as an original and knowledgeable voice in French food writing, to be compared with Carême and Grimod de la Reynière.
Brillat-Savarin, among other roles, was the basis of Marcell Rouff's _The Passionate Epicure,_ a fictional book gently combining food and sex (naturally, as a friend of mine remarked, since it's French), which was widely read in English when the translation appeared in 1962. Marcella Hazan and (I believe) Julia Child cited it in their cookbooks. In his preface to the 1962 Rouff, Lawrence Durrell (himself a fashionable author at that time) explained that many in the Brillat-Savarin family "died at the dinner table, fork in hand" and that Brillat's sister Pierrette, two months before her hundredth birthday, spoke at table what are to food fanatics easily the most famous last words ever: "Vite! Apportez-moi le dessert -- je sens que je vais passer!"
Fisher's translation and notes are a lively part of this edition of Brillat-Savarin (happily reprinted recently). Some booksellers offer newer editions by different English translators; I don't know why. This semi-scholarly translation and editing, executed in France during the post-war period described in her autobiographical _Two Towns in Provence,_ was the work that established Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher among US gastronomic writers. Her later status as Official Food Celebrity encouraged journalists to cite her automatically (whether they had read her work or not), but at least this time, publicity and merit coincide.
Rating: 5
Summary: Provides a timeless discussion of French food
Comment: Physiology Of Taste is an unabridged photomechnical reproduction of a classic 1925 edition and should be on the shelves of any serious and dedicated gourmet cook. Physiology Of Taste provides a timeless discussion of French food and cooking written in 1825 by a master at both culinary insight and writing. Whimsical reflection mixes with serious food insights in a most satisfying manner.
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Title: The Art of Eating by M. F. K. Fisher ISBN: 0020322208 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 09 May, 1990 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Brillat-Savarin: The Judge and His Stomach by Giles MacDonogh ISBN: 1566630282 Publisher: Ivan R. Dee Publisher Pub. Date: 01 September, 1993 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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Title: The Man Who Ate Everything: And Other Gastronomic Feats, Disputes, and Pleasurable Pursuits by Jeffrey Steingarten ISBN: 0375702024 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 01 November, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Gastronomical Me by M.F.K. Fisher ISBN: 0865473927 Publisher: North Point Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 1989 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Elements of Taste by Gray Kunz, Peter Kaminsky ISBN: 0316608742 Publisher: Little, Brown Pub. Date: 24 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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