Sustenance & Desire
A Food Lover’s
Anthology of Sensuality and Humor
By
Bascove (Editor)
For
a book entitled Sustenance
& Desire: A Food Lover’s Anthology of Sensuality
and Humor, it’s a no brainer to
open with a piece by M.F.K. Fisher. While we’re great
fans of Fisher’s counterparts, such as Elizabeth David
and Patience Gray, none had the voluptuousness that set
her apart, which is probably why their writing, although
lovely, is not found in this volume. Fisher described food
the way others describe love and sex—on that note,
we appreciate her included “Why Do You Write About
Food?” essay, but we were disappointed that her “Borderland,”
about saving the "kiss" of a tangerine for her
first husband Al, wasn’t in here.
This isn’t to say we found the book disappointing.
Not in the least. It’s beautiful. Although not a picture
book, it features a series of food-related paintings by
its editor, Bascove. Those readers of Italo Calvino and
Robertson Davies will recognize her signature style, for
along with being exhibited around the globe, she has been
a cover art illustrator for years. Her still lifes—of
eggplants, melon and peaches, and artichokes and leeks—are
evocative. They remind us why in this microwave-friendly
era we are seeing a renaissance of heirloom vegetables and
farmers markets.
Sustenance
& Desire is well compiled, beginning with Bascove’s
choices by Pablo Neruda (“Artichokes”) and Czeslaw
Milosz (“A Confession”). Both men are earthy
poets, and very few can match them when it comes to writing
about common aspects of daily life with such acuity and
unfussy grace. Divided into sections whose titles can just
as easily be related to amour as they can to gastronomy—Nourishment,
Desire, Hunger and Sustenance—the book spans centuries,
cultures and styles. As the subtitle suggests, humor is
represented, but we feel that might simply have been an
excuse to include the brilliant Roy Blount, Jr. and Calvin
Trillin.
On
these pages you will read about U.S Commodities canned food
by our old friend Sherman Alexi, tea (of course) by Matsuo
Basho and Indian take-out by Jhumpa Lahiri. Those who love
name-dropping will adore the table of contents, which is
a who’s who of literary greatness, from Colette to
Allen Ginsberg to Barbara Kingsolver. Because of the universal
scope of the contributions, loving food is not the only
prerequisite for enjoying this book. To really get the most
out of these pages, you must understand that food is life
itself. As Laurie Colwin wrote, "One of the delights
of life is eating with friends; second to that is talking
about eating. And for an unsurpassed double whammy, there
is talking about eating while you are eating with friends."
Reviewed by Kim Fay
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