Gluttony: The Seven Deadly Sins

Τα Επτά Θανάσιμα Αμαρτήματα #5

by Francine Prose

In America, notes acclaimed novelist Francine Prose, we are obsessed with food and diet. And what is this obsession with food except a struggle between sin and virtue, overeating and self-control--a struggle with the fierce temptations of gluttony.
In Gluttony , Francine Prose serves up a marvelous banquet of witty and engaging observations on this most delicious of deadly sins. She traces how our notions of gluttony have evolved along with our ideas about salvation and damnation, health and illness, life and death. Offering a lively
smorgasbord that ranges from Augustine's Confessions and Chaucer's Pardoner's Tale , to Petronius's Satyricon and Dante's Inferno , she shows that gluttony was in medieval times a deeply spiritual matter, but today we have transformed gluttony from a sin into an illness--it is the horrors of
cholesterol and the perils of red meat that we demonize. Indeed, the modern take on gluttony is that we overeat out of compulsion, self-destructiveness, or to avoid intimacy and social contact. But gluttony, Prose reminds us, is also an affirmation of pleasure and of passion. She ends the book with
a discussion of M.F.K. Fisher's idiosyncratic defense of one of the great heroes of gluttony, Diamond Jim Brady, whose stomach was six times normal size.
"The broad, shiny face of the glutton," Prose writes, "has been--and continues to be--the mirror in which we see ourselves, our hopes and fears, our darkest dreams and deepest desires." Never have we delved more deeply into this mirror than in this insightful and stimulating book.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, History, Essays, Food, Religion, Theology

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 11, 2003

About the author

Francine Prose is the author of twenty works of fiction. Her novel A Changed Man won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and Blue Angel was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her most recent works of nonfiction include the highly acclaimed Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife, and the New York Times bestseller Reading Like a Writer. The recipient of numerous grants and honors, including a Guggenheim and a Fulbright, a Director's Fellow at the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, Prose is a former president of PEN American Center, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her most recent book is Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932. She lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again and again, I'm drawn to Francine Prose's fascinating ideas; I'm drawn into her clear way of presenting intriguing places and people and ideas. I will likely finish whatever book of her's that I pick up. But I will be somewhat disappointed that each book--at least drawing from what I've encountered so far--flirts with depth without actually diving in.

Take Gluttony, for example, which was part of the New York Public Library's 'Seven Deadly Sins' series. In it, Prose spends most of her time discussing her bewilderment that gluttony would be named a sin, particularly given that its more generalized counterpart--greed--is also one. Why is the specific act of overeating, or eating with gusto, picked out for special notice as a sin? How does it resonate with a contemporary America so obsessed with food and dieting?

These are the brilliant questions that Prose raises. But her response felt underwhelming. In the book's concluding chapter, she spends a great deal of time quoting the wise M.F.K Fisher's defense of gluttony. The chapter's final lines read like so:

"Over the centuries, our notions of gluttony have evolved along with our ideas about food and the body, about society and the individual, about salvation and damnation, health and illness, life and death. However one praises or condemns this problematic and eternally seductive deadly sin, one thing seems clear: the broad, shiny face of the glutton has been--and continues to be--the mirror in which we see ourselves, our hopes and fears, our darkest dreams and deepest desires."

To me, it all seems too generalized to resonate. What came before wasn't enough to infuse these lines with singularity. And granted, this book is a mere 100-page thing; I shouldn't expect it to be all-encompassing. But I wanted more. This brief book could have held more.

I was left with questions that begged asking, questions that Prose seemed to skirt. Could gluttony as a sin be specifically addressing the peculiar shame of eating more than we need in a world where others starve? Could gluttony be a sin, over and beyond greed, because it leads to imbalance in our bodies, or because it reveals a lack of reverence for our physicality and for the earth that grows our food? Is there a real reason why gluttony is not something we would characterize as a Top Seven sin today, something that reveals a notable chance in today's society from the ones that came before us? Prose elides these questions. She rather affirms eating as a joy (and I agree with her) in the face of gluttony as a historic sin, and that's that.

The trouble with Francine Prose is that there's no follow through. She has the most wonderful ideas, she brings together far-reaching and thoughtful literary references, but it just doesn't go much further than "isn't it interesting." And it is interesting. Which is why I very well may read another Francine Prose book, despite what I discuss here. But if I do, I'll likely be nagged by the persistent wish that she'd push harder, that she'd analyze more, that she'd welcome more nuance head-on. I want her books to move not just laterally, but also longitudinally: multi-directional ideas rather than ones that flatline.

Prose is a very prolific woman, and an intelligent one. Maybe it is yet to be.

(Review originally published on Isak (www.isak.typepad.com)

[Farah Mendlesohn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although Prose does talk about the converse of gluttony, the obsession with self deprivation;; and although she does talk about how the historic association of gluttony with obesity at no point does she ever say "but that's not how obesity works". I kept thinking she would because there is lots of sympathy here for the discrimination and hostility gay people experience; but she never takes that final step.

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prose notes that our culture has a mixed relationship with food, simultaneously believing eating to be giving in to sinful indulgence while always being on the lookout for "the trendiest restaurant and the newest exotic ingredient." And yet, gluttony itself has more to do with desire and appetite than actual consumption, at least according to early church fathers (according to Francine Prose), and so "Precisely because of our inordinate interests, our preoccupation with sampling the trendiest dishes at the costliest new restaurants, and our apparently paradoxical, obsessive horror of obesity, we have become a culture of gluttons." And yet, because gluttony is ostensibly the most outwardly visible of the deadly sins, we stigmatize it greatly: "The damage inflicted by the cruelty and contempt with which the overweight are routinely burlesqued in the media pales in comparison to the harm caused by the discrimination they face in the process of gainign admissions to ollege and finding a job. Employers, it has been shown, not only tend to assume that a fat person will be less reliable, energetic, and efficient, but are reluctant to hire the overweight for positions (receptionists, ect.) in which their size might affect the delicate sensibilities oif potential customers and the general public. Fat people often have difficulty in getting health insurance and in obtaining adequate medical care, for many doctors (as yet more studies have demonstrated) display an unseemly and unprofessional dismissiveness towards their overweight patients." In addition, the obese often find it challenging to carry out the sort of quotidian activities that most of us take for granted: buying clothes, sitting comfortably in theaters, on airplanes, trains, and buses, and even getting through turnstiles designed for the ectomorphic subway rider. Recently Southwest Airlines passed a rule requiring passengers over a certain weight to purchase two seats. In what is perhaps the most disturbing recent development of all, states have now begun to get tough on parents thought to be too lax about their child's diet. A three-year-old girl named Anamarie Martinez-Regino was taken from her home because her parents were unwilling or unable to persuade or force her to lose weight." And yet, even with all of that, try watching TV for a few minutes without being advertised something containing 1,000 calories or more. Prose believes it's a combination of Puritan values of eschewing pleasure and capitalism: "One minute we're bombarded with images of food, advertisements for restaurants or the latest sweet or fatty snack, with recipes and cooking tips. A minute later, we're reminded that eating is tantamount to suicide, that indulgence and enjoyment equals social isolation and self-destruction. And someone is making money from both sides of our ambivalence about, and fascination with, food, diet, gluttony, and starvation." And so, Prose's book deals much more with how we view and deal with gluttony as a culture than I think the other books do, but I have yet to finish any of them so maybe that's not the case. She spends a good amount of time describing images of gluttony in literature and art, specifically the torments of the gluttonous in hell. Good times.

[Colleen Wainwright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prose is a lovely writer (which, good thing, considering the name and all) and a good thinker, so there's lots to like in this volume of the NYC Library/Oxford Press series, including the world's greatest story about unintentional gluttony, involving oysters and a dreadful poetry reading and a masterful use of Gregory the Great's summation of gluttony ("Too soon, too delicately, too greedily, too much") as a recurring anchor phrase throughout. She is lively and studious at once (plus did I mention the lovely writing?) and brought what might be one of your fustier sins to some kind of life. Still, this just didn't ring my bell like Joseph Epstein's "Envy", which I read first in the series (because it is the sin which most plagues me), and which remains the one to beat.

UPDATE 2024 read:
I'd likely add a half-star if I could, especially to give context. GLUTTONY is definitely on the higher-quality end of the series spectrum. (And the Oysters anecdote is truly [chef's kiss].)

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quickly skimmed (waiting at dentist's office--a long, double appointment), and glad to have done so, mainly because I really hadn't thought about gluttony in any depth before. Lots of great historical, religiuos, and artistic references to pursue later (particularly the paintings). Loved the citations to MFk Fisher as a counter-voice.

Prose is a marvelous writer; haven't read much by her, but will be on the look out for more.

And funny, I was just yesterday trying to parse out 'gourmand' versus 'gourmet.' The word 'glutton' never crossed my mind. Itvis a fine word.

[Mark Valentine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compilation of literary texts from the Bible and Classic Literature to Augustine and Aquinas and the Church Fathers to Fielding and the 20th Century science as well as interpretations of Fine Art, Prose reports and presents--although she writes well, sadly, she offers few insights into the malady we now call obesity.

[Susie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautifully-written exploration of how gluttony manifests and is discussed in historical/religious and modern societal realms. Forced me to question what modern perception of "the glutton" means for the values that members of society like myself hold.

Several dense excerpts could have been trimmed and better embedded into Prose's writing. I would have liked more discussion about gluttony in the form of drink in Prose's discussion of the compulsive forces at play in gluttony; touching on alcoholism as an addiction and disease would have been interesting.

[Ronald Koltnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fabulous piece of scholarship and discussion. Prose looks at the sin of gluttony in one of the seven short works dedicated to the nature of our proscribed behaviors. Seven authors each take a sin and analyze its history and meaning. Prose looks at gluttony from a theological,point of view, gluttony in art, gluttony to modern eyes ( that us to say, contemporary body image issues), and, finally, gluttony as just plain enjoyment of food. Food for thought indeed.

[Emil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very brief account on the Cardinal Sin of Gluttony. Unfortunately, I did not receive much value from the way the author was describing the sin of Gluttony and did not receive proper ways how to transmute it alchemically into the Heavenly Virtue of Temperance. Perhaps this was not the book's aim, perhaps someone else gained more value from it.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining little book. The main thing I learnt was that gluttony historically included drink as well as food - so it wasn't a deadly sin just to eat a bit too much, it was more about drunkenness and debauchery and how that leads to other sins, including violent ones.

[Garry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mostly, a very enjoyable essay, but there's a bit of drab talk about contemporary thoughts about dieting and psychology of eating that might have been trimmed near the end. Lots of interesting historical references about where this "sin" came from.

[C. Varn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Francine Prose's Gluttony looks focuses on how the title sin feels both like particularly idiosyncratic anachronism or incredibly relevant. Prose's primary concern is the tension between the way gluttony is viewed and morphed: half-admired secretly, half seen as the primary gateway to other sins, Prose traces the idea from its medieval incarnation to through the early modern period and the various depictions of glutton hells to our current obsession with weight loss and yet increasing girth. A bit unfocused but there are nice gems of insight in it.

[Jesse Mac Dougall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting context here, learned a lot and still have unanswered questions related to gluttony

[Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good exploration on gluttony that puts several historical and contemporary writings and artworks, case studies and excerpts to the forefront of my studying and considerations.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

After spending much of the book on a chapter about early Christian views on the sin of gluttony, and some art works, she then jumps to modern day weight issues. Obesity is not gluttony, so not sure why spend time on it in this slim volume. Then some quick examples of gluttony and views on gluttony in the 20th C.

Issue with OUP as well - read as an ebook, and the numerous footnotes in the text are not hyperlinked to the citations in the back of the book. Luckily I found after 3 or 4 of them that they weren't worth looking at (citation only, no further information provided in the footnotes), and so not worth the clumsy effort to get back and forth between the text, the footnote and back to the text. The bibliography feels like filler, as does the index, in a 128 pp book. Also included in that are pages of illustrations, most of them not even discussed in the text - do we really need a painting of St Augustine? The Bosch and Bruegel, yes - but not many of the others.

Grab a used copy if you come across one at a reasonable price, you can pretty much read this in one sitting.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a brief account of the cultural history of the sin of gluttony. According to the book there are historically two reasons that gluttony has been considered deadly. First, gluttony can be seen as a form of idolatry in which worship of sensual pleasure replaces worship of God, and second, gluttony weakens our resolve, opening the door to lechery and debauchery. It seems to me that on a deeper level, gluttony may perhaps be “sinful” because of the fraught nature of the relation between the body and the spirit in Christianity. If these two entities are opposed, then that which feeds the flesh starves the spirit and vice versa.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This great little book discusses the history and development of how society views the sin of gluttony. It reads more like an in-depth article than a book, and certainly generates a lot more questions than answers, but I appreciated how Prose casts the acts of overeating and undereating in a historical, rather than merely nutritional, light.

I bought this book solely because one of my favorite authors wrote it, but now I am curious about the rest of the collection. Ugh, just what I don't need in my cramped apartment--six more books!

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at gluttony from the double lens of past Christian church attitudes and current body image concerns. My own take on the seven deadlies (codified in the 4th century CE, according to Wiki) is that they are varieties of self-indulgence or involvement that can undermine the common good and community cohesion. I've read two of this series (gluttony & envy) - might seek out the others.

[Heather Bolwar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in the religion section of the base library; I was actually searching for a book on saints. As I like food I thought I'd check this one out. Rather than saying you're a big fat pig, it actually was a study on what we as a society view as a glutton, what history said about it, and so forth. I like a good steak, but after reading this I feel soooo svelte next to Diamond Jim Brady.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really impressed me. The writing and ideas were both highly intelligent and accessible. Prose covers the concept of gluttony from the theologians of the early church up until modern obsessions with fine dining of one hand and extreme dieting on the other. Incredibly interesting for any looking to learn more about the history of ideas.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, gluttony: another favorite deadly sin. I liked this one better than Wasserstein's Sloth, probably because this was more like what I was expecting from the series: an erudite highlights tour of whichever sin in art and literature.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked most of the book. I thought she went a bit overboard decrying the western cultural perscution related to obesity, and at times didn't acknowledge that there are significant health issues related to extreme gluttony..

[Harvey · Rating 2 out of 5]

- 14 short stories, essays, and excerpts on the subject of gluttony
- so-so
- I bought it at Chapter's "3 Books For A Buck" sale
- includes John Kennedy Toole, Woody Allen, and Fran Lebowitz (I just can't get enough Fran Lebowitz)

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prose does a thoughtful job on the role of gluttony and food concerns today while engaging in caricature with the church fathers and medieval thinkers. It also ends abruptly, out of steam and argument.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and well-written exploration of food, appetite and spirituality. Particularly interesting to me in light of my work with eating disorders.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting look at one of the deadly sins. Unfortunately, I sorta forgot about everything it said after reading it. Not a good sign.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-written and interesting topic. I bought it as a reference for writing fiction and think it'll serve that purpose well.

[Matthew Richey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't satisfy me