The Food of a Younger Land (Mark Kurlansky)
The full title of this work describes the theme: The Food of a Younger Land: A Portrait of American Food--Before the National Highway System, Before Chain Restaurants, and Before Frozen Food, When the Nation's Food Was Seasonal. This portrait of American food before World War II is authored by Mark Kurlansky as taken from the 1930’s New Deal’s Federal Writers’ Project chronicle of the eating habits, traditions and struggles of people across the U.S. were collected by writers like Zora Neale Hurston and Eudora Welty. “America Eats” was abandoned in the 1940s, but Kurlansky has unearthed the literary and historical treasure in this work.
Five Quarters of the Orange (Joanne Harris)
Author Joanne Harris set our second selection in the small-town, postwar French village about which she wrote in Chocolat. Framboise Dartigan, tart despite being named for a raspberry, is the proprietor of a café in her home village but she is reluctant to talk about her past childhood during the German occupation. Food is a metaphor throughout this exploration of siblings who traded on the black market with the Germans – a distraction from a grim home life without a father who’d been killed in the war and a troubled mother.
Edible Stories (Mark Kurlansky)
Kurlansky’s love for and knowledge of food shines through these stories which address the ways bonds can hold people together or tear them apart. Whether it’s vegan foods like a bean curd tofurkey, a hot dog or Alaskan fish soup, a case of characters honor the past and come to forgiveness. The range of foods is complemented by a range of emotions from laughter to sadness to understanding.
Kurlansky’s love for and knowledge of food shines through these stories which address the ways bonds can hold people together or tear them apart. Whether it’s vegan foods like a bean curd tofurkey, a hot dog or Alaskan fish soup, a case of characters honor the past and come to forgiveness. The range of foods is complemented by a range of emotions from laughter to sadness to understanding.
FOOD FRIDAYS! Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes (Maya Angelou)
Maya Angelou’s renown extends beyond writing to her skills as a chef, shared often with a wide circle of friends. We’ll celebrate this memoir each Friday with stories and posted recipes from Radio Readers Book Club members through Food Friday BookBytes! Enjoy reading of Angelou’s life spiced with recipes and connection and then create your own memoir with recipe for posting!
Maya Angelou’s renown extends beyond writing to her skills as a chef, shared often with a wide circle of friends. We’ll celebrate this memoir each Friday with stories and posted recipes from Radio Readers Book Club members through Food Friday BookBytes! Enjoy reading of Angelou’s life spiced with recipes and connection and then create your own memoir with recipe for posting!