Gourmet Rhapsody

I loved Muriel Barbery's first novel, The Elegance of the Hedgehog. At least I thought that was her first novel... turns out she wrote this one first, but Hedgehog was the first one translated for an English-speaking audience.

This novel is about the great French food critic Pierre Arthens, who is on his deathbed and searching for that elusive "flavor" that gave his life meaning. Through brief chapters we are taken back through Arthens' memories, as well as the thoughts and memories of family-members and friends. I had difficulty getting into the novel - the story and characters just didn't grab me the way those in Hedgehog did, and I found the back-and-forth between Arthens and others a bit tedious at first. But I stuck with it, and I wound up really enjoying the story.

I think what I liked best was the marvelous descriptions of food, and the way food can be experienced. None of the characters ever wound up grabbing my sympathy - we don't really spend enough time with any of them, except Arthens, and he is a pompous, nasty old man. But the food - and drink - are almost their own characters, and well worth the read.

Gourmet Rhapsody