Eating Words: A Norton Anthology of Food Writing

by Ruth Reichl (Foreword), Sandra M. Gilbert (Editor), Roger J. Porter (Editor)

A glorious survey of food writing from the classical world to the present. Edited by influential literary critic Sandra M. Gilbert and award-winning restaurant critic and professor of English Roger Porter, Eating Words gathers food writing of literary distinction and vast historical sweep into one groundbreaking volume. Beginning with the taboos of the Old Testament and the tastes of ancient Rome, and including travel essays, polemics, memoirs, and poems, the book is divided into sections such as “Food Writing Through History,” “At the Family Hearth,” “Hunger The Delight and Dread of Eating,” “Kitchen Practices,” and “Food Politics.” Selections from writings by Julia Child, Anthony Bourdain, Bill Buford, Michael Pollan, Molly O’Neill, Calvin Trillin, and Adam Gopnik, along with works by authors not usually associated with gastronomy―Maxine Hong Kingston, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Hemingway, Chekhov, and David Foster Wallace―enliven and enrich this comprehensive anthology. “We are living in the golden age of food writing,” proclaims Ruth Reichl in her preface to this savory banquet of literature, a must-have for any food lover. Eating Words shows how right she is. ---

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, Food Writing, History, Cooking, Culinary, Food and Drink

512 pages, Hardcover

First published October 26, 2015

About the author

Ruth Reichl is the New York Times bestselling author of five memoirs, the novels Delicious! and The Paris Novel, and the cookbook My Kitchen Year. She was editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, and previously served as restaurant critic for The New York Times, as well as food editor and restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times. She has been honored with six James Beard Awards.

Reviews

[Sophie Wieland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this is an anthology, so it's not really a book for sitting down and reading like a novel, but it's filled with delightful writings on nearly every food-related subject you can think of!

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection contains an interesting variety of short writings about food. It provides wide historical and cultural perspectives, covers several genres, and addresses many food issues. Highly recommended for those interested in the subject.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Think of the most delicious meal you’ve ever tasted...or the worst you’ve ever sampled. Think of the company you were in, where you ate it, when you had it, what dish it was, who prepared it, what it tasted like, what it meant to you as a person. Did you ever think of a meal that way?

These writers have. In words witty, coarse, rude, inquiring, judging, experimenting, expounding and inquisitive, the various scribes within these pages say a mouthful about food and what it means to them as people and the world as a whole. The editors are egalitarian and open handed in their selections. You’ll find selections that explain the absolute necessity of vegetarianism, the wonders of meat eating and the firm belief (or disbelief) that mankind is meant to be an omnivore.

The passages range the gamut and you’ll flip through and dog-ear the pages to come back to passages that resonate with you. After all, eating is one of the activities shared around the planet and its nature separates and divides human beings fiercely. No matter where you stand on the food spectrum, there’s bound to be something in this book that’ll ignite the passions.

Like a many-layered cake, “Eating Words” is worth cutting into. Bon appetit!

[Ronn · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always with anthologies, this is a mixed bag. The parts I liked, I REALLY liked, especially the essay called Eating The Kaddish, and I'd happily read anything Anthony Bourdain ever wrote. The parts I didnt like [mainly the essays attacking meat eaters]. I read, but I dont agree with and never will. But one way or another, this is a fascinating overview of gastro-literature, both historic and modern.

[Katie Cat Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nonfiction. Cooking. Anthology.

A 400+ anthology of food writing, from past to present, near and far.

Includes writers from Homer to Michael Pollan.

Most excerpts a few pages each, making this an ideal book to read in small chunks.

I read this over a month, an excerpt or two or three per day and it was the ideal experience. I was introduced to authors and chefs I either didn't know or wanted to read more. A great nonfiction experience .

[Ben Mirick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit of a miss. The largest take away is that lots of people have been writing about food for a long time. Secondarily, that food is powerful. Duh. I thought many of the excerpts were poorly chosen, and felt slightly slipshod. There were some interesting ones, but they were few and far between.

[Cathie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice compilation of food writing. This anthology included excerpts that I will now have to get the novel and read more!

[Rainer Bantau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, detailed, well-written, tasty read.

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good compilation of food writing.

[Amy Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read of food excerpts from history. some are a bit boring while others are worth the time.

[Tamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to read ALL of the books from the excerpts listed in THIS book!

[Aasinathena · Rating 4 out of 5]

An ocean of "food" knowledge !

[Nyx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good for assigned readings.

[Jessica Dudok · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for a class. There were a lot of personal stories in this book related to personal beliefs about food, ethics, and race. Some of the stories are interesting and others aren’t.

[kymberly˚ · .˚ ༘༄;⋆｡˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the few nonfiction books that I've actually enjoyed reading. Even though this was for class, we only read a few selected readings, but I ended up finishing the entire thing because of how good most of the stories were. This is my first exposure to food writing, and I'll definitely be looking into more of these

[Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't now if I'll ever write a book solely on food but this was still a good read and a good grab off of th library shelf. I never thought about food and how it makes a big impact on writing and reading and how it means something in each.

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love! Love! Love! If you love to cook; read it. If you love quality, descriptive writing; read it. If you love reading about food, the culinary world, or recipes passed down through families, read it!