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Edible Stories
All-new stories about the food we share, love, and fight over from the national bestselling author of Cod and Salt .
In these linked stories, Mark Kurlansky reveals the bond that can hold people together, tear them apart, or make them become food. Through muffins or hot dogs, an indigenous Alaskan fish soup, a bean curd Thanksgiving turkey or potentially toxic crème brulee, a rotating cast of characters learns how to honor the past, how to realize you're not in love with someone any more, and how to forgive. These women and men meet and eat and love, leave and drink and in the end, come together in Seattle as they are as inextricably linked with each other as they are with the food they eat and the wine they drink.
Kurlansky brings a keen eye and unerring sense of humanity to these stories. And throughout, his love and knowledge of food shows just how important a role what we eat plays in our lives.
In these linked stories, Mark Kurlansky reveals the bond that can hold people together, tear them apart, or make them become food. Through muffins or hot dogs, an indigenous Alaskan fish soup, a bean curd Thanksgiving turkey or potentially toxic crème brulee, a rotating cast of characters learns how to honor the past, how to realize you're not in love with someone any more, and how to forgive. These women and men meet and eat and love, leave and drink and in the end, come together in Seattle as they are as inextricably linked with each other as they are with the food they eat and the wine they drink.
Kurlansky brings a keen eye and unerring sense of humanity to these stories. And throughout, his love and knowledge of food shows just how important a role what we eat plays in our lives.
265 pages, Paperback
First published November 2, 2010
24 people are currently reading
649 people want to read
About the author
Mark Kurlansky
68 books1,982 followersMark Kurlansky is an American journalist and author who has written a number of books of fiction and nonfiction. His 1997 book, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World (1997), was an international bestseller and was translated into more than fifteen languages. His book Nonviolence: Twenty-five Lessons From the History of a Dangerous Idea (2006) was the nonfiction winner of the 2007 Dayton Literary Peace Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
November 14, 2017
Not even sure how to categorize this book. Maybe, short stories connected by food? It's an interesting concept. Especially for "foodies", but was too complex for my style of reading and enjoyment.
Halfway through the book I realized the stories were actually connected, but by then I had given up. I was just rushing to finish it in time for a book group discussion.
However, I did have to chuckle at this interesting perspective from a five year old girl.
There were only two left - a sickly looking lemon and a chocolate. This was good. She ran to the tray and grabbed the chocolate. Not that she liked chocolate, but she understood its negotiating power. The girl who had chocolate could always cut a deal. Life was full of possibilities for someone who had chocolate.
:D
Halfway through the book I realized the stories were actually connected, but by then I had given up. I was just rushing to finish it in time for a book group discussion.
However, I did have to chuckle at this interesting perspective from a five year old girl.
There were only two left - a sickly looking lemon and a chocolate. This was good. She ran to the tray and grabbed the chocolate. Not that she liked chocolate, but she understood its negotiating power. The girl who had chocolate could always cut a deal. Life was full of possibilities for someone who had chocolate.
:D
December 16, 2013
Mark Kurlansky is a genius. Who can write a non-fiction book about nothing but cod and see it become a best seller? Or about salt? He did. In a different key, Kurlansky demonstrates the same gift for narrative in a work of fiction. Is it a novel in sixteen chapters? Or a collection of sixteen short stories through which some themes, characters, things and ideas recur? Yes. The first story, "Red Sea Salt," was so disturbing that I almost put the book aside; I am happy that I did not. Humour appears throughout, even in parts dealing with infidelity, cannibalism, mental illness, larceny and food phobias. This author has an encyclopedic mind which makes connections between seemingly unconnected things. This is genius ... and this book is an outstandingly good read.
February 14, 2011
The good: the food writing is passable, and it's a quick read. Unlike Salt, I made it to the end of this one.
The bad: Too much to mention, but here's a sample. Terrible characterizations; personalities change inexplicably between stories. Painfully terrible baseball writing in one chapter. Terrible ethnic stereotypes throughout. Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad drawings. I'm going to stop now before I get mad.
The bad: Too much to mention, but here's a sample. Terrible characterizations; personalities change inexplicably between stories. Painfully terrible baseball writing in one chapter. Terrible ethnic stereotypes throughout. Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad drawings. I'm going to stop now before I get mad.
June 17, 2011
As a foodie, I thought I would love this. Maybe this book would bridge the gap and make me enjoy short stories. It didn't happen. The first one, I just didn't get. A man finds himself with his foot in a hole of water with no memory. ???
September 28, 2011
I think that a rating of “decent” is just about perfect for Edible Stories. I liked it while I was reading it, but it definitely did not leave as much of an impact on me, and I doubt I will ever pick it up to read again. I, like many other reviews, was disappointed overall, but just simply because I feel like this book had so much potential that it simply did not rise to—while the subject material was there, the interesting storyline that it promised me simply was not. Also, I do think the “food” story-line was a bit stretched, as some of the stories did not really introduce food at all, aside from a simple mention now and then (the first and last chapters, for example, focused very little on food).
It was hard for me to get into the book right away, as I did not like the first story (Red Sea Salt) in the slightest, thinking of it as too over-arching, as if it were trying too hard to be deep. It was a strange story, and it will probably stick with me because of that fact, but overall it was not an enjoyable entrance into the novel and more than likely shaped my opinion of the book for the worse. However, once I did get in to the book (the next chapter, Hot Dog, was enough to convince me to give the novel a complete read-through), I was reeled in and entertained. The middle section of the novel was where the stories flourished, and my favorites (including Orangina, Ostra, Cholent) were found in the middle. These few gems redeemed the novel for a variety of reasons. I enjoyed Orangina because of its storyline and imagery, Ostra was great because of its unique subject matter (it is about thugs who start steal caviar), and Cholent was one of the few funny stories interspaced throughout the novel. These three stories alone are the reason I gave this book a 3-star rating rather than a 2.
Another problem I had with this novel was its outrageous number of main characters, which made it ridiculously difficult to keep track of everyone throughout the novel. It would be okay if these chapters were only short stories, but throughout the novel they interact and many relationships develop as the characters become acquainted with each other. There are 16 chapters in this book, and each one introduces at least one new main character. I’m sorry, but I simply cannot keep track of 16 characters and their relationships while reading one novel, especially when it is not known who the book will focus on in later chapters. For example, I didn’t even realize that the main character of Espresso was the same as in a later chapter until I started writing this review. Now that chapter makes more sense, but if I hadn’t written this review, I would still be in the dark.
The last story left much to be desired and was quite anticlimactic. The story also concluded open-endedly, and while that trait is not a bad one and certainly reflects much of this novel’s deeper meaning, it would have been nice to have a few lose ends tied up so that we could rest assured with at least one ending. The last story was one of my least favorites, and I do kind of wish that the novel only included the middle sections and just cut off the first and last chapters.
It was hard for me to get into the book right away, as I did not like the first story (Red Sea Salt) in the slightest, thinking of it as too over-arching, as if it were trying too hard to be deep. It was a strange story, and it will probably stick with me because of that fact, but overall it was not an enjoyable entrance into the novel and more than likely shaped my opinion of the book for the worse. However, once I did get in to the book (the next chapter, Hot Dog, was enough to convince me to give the novel a complete read-through), I was reeled in and entertained. The middle section of the novel was where the stories flourished, and my favorites (including Orangina, Ostra, Cholent) were found in the middle. These few gems redeemed the novel for a variety of reasons. I enjoyed Orangina because of its storyline and imagery, Ostra was great because of its unique subject matter (it is about thugs who start steal caviar), and Cholent was one of the few funny stories interspaced throughout the novel. These three stories alone are the reason I gave this book a 3-star rating rather than a 2.
Another problem I had with this novel was its outrageous number of main characters, which made it ridiculously difficult to keep track of everyone throughout the novel. It would be okay if these chapters were only short stories, but throughout the novel they interact and many relationships develop as the characters become acquainted with each other. There are 16 chapters in this book, and each one introduces at least one new main character. I’m sorry, but I simply cannot keep track of 16 characters and their relationships while reading one novel, especially when it is not known who the book will focus on in later chapters. For example, I didn’t even realize that the main character of Espresso was the same as in a later chapter until I started writing this review. Now that chapter makes more sense, but if I hadn’t written this review, I would still be in the dark.
The last story left much to be desired and was quite anticlimactic. The story also concluded open-endedly, and while that trait is not a bad one and certainly reflects much of this novel’s deeper meaning, it would have been nice to have a few lose ends tied up so that we could rest assured with at least one ending. The last story was one of my least favorites, and I do kind of wish that the novel only included the middle sections and just cut off the first and last chapters.
August 24, 2010
Library Journal Review:
Best known for his nonfiction works (Cod; Salt), Kurlansky rarely dabbles in pure fiction. His last work of fiction, Boogaloo on 2nd Avenue: A Novel of Pastry, Guilt, and Music, was an ambitious effort focused on the intersections of culture, love, and, of course, food. A similar concept is applied in this work, with a focus on food as the thread that ties humanity together. Though this book is presented as a novel, the main story is hidden within a gumbo of 16 different vignettes: blended versions of characters and ingredients, rearranged into a multitude of subplots. From hot dogs to hot pot, Kurlansky reaffirms the universal importance of food without the history lesson. As with his nonfiction, Kurlansky is an enjoyable author because his enthusiasm for his subject is undeniable. This latest work of fiction allows him to take the reader along on the journey, not just through the facts. VERDICT Kurlansky fans will not be disappointed, and readers who enjoy Joanne Harris (Chocolat) will find much to devour in his latest effort.—Joshua Finnell, Denison Univ. Lib., Granville, OH
Best known for his nonfiction works (Cod; Salt), Kurlansky rarely dabbles in pure fiction. His last work of fiction, Boogaloo on 2nd Avenue: A Novel of Pastry, Guilt, and Music, was an ambitious effort focused on the intersections of culture, love, and, of course, food. A similar concept is applied in this work, with a focus on food as the thread that ties humanity together. Though this book is presented as a novel, the main story is hidden within a gumbo of 16 different vignettes: blended versions of characters and ingredients, rearranged into a multitude of subplots. From hot dogs to hot pot, Kurlansky reaffirms the universal importance of food without the history lesson. As with his nonfiction, Kurlansky is an enjoyable author because his enthusiasm for his subject is undeniable. This latest work of fiction allows him to take the reader along on the journey, not just through the facts. VERDICT Kurlansky fans will not be disappointed, and readers who enjoy Joanne Harris (Chocolat) will find much to devour in his latest effort.—Joshua Finnell, Denison Univ. Lib., Granville, OH
December 23, 2012
Scents and food, for some people, trigger memories, both good and bad. Here are 16 stories where people, their interaction through food and with others, are chronicled. A woman stops eating because she stops trusting those who prepare the foods,believing creme brulee to be toxic, a man finds himself standing with one leg in a hole in the sidewalk, with amnesia, no sense of smell or taste, a woman gradually becomes a vegan and serves tofurkey at Thanksgiving to her family, a man, known for delicious Andouille sausages becomes the target of vicious rumors because he appeared bloody after emerging from the bayou, are among some of the stories shared.
These 16 short stories could stand on their own, but as you read through, you realize that some characters circle back through other stories, and that this could also be read as a novel in 16 parts.
These 16 short stories could stand on their own, but as you read through, you realize that some characters circle back through other stories, and that this could also be read as a novel in 16 parts.
February 26, 2011
I am not a short-story reader, but I was fascinated by this collection of 16 stories that I stumbled across in the library last week. The author carefully crafts 16 entirely unique stories, but each one has a character or prop or location that carries over into each other story. However, you have to pay very close attention to catch some of the connections. The individual stories are beautifully written considering they span such a wide range of topics and settings, and the collection is pieced together perfectly. What a nice surprise!
August 9, 2017
****SPOILER ALERT****
I debated about how many stars to give this book. There were several of the stories I enjoyed: Red Sea Salt, Bean Curd, Osetra, and Cholent. I enjoyed the start of Orangina but then it seemed like it got off track trying to tie-in some of the characters from the other stories. And that's where I think Kurlansky lost me, when he tried tying the characters together making this a novel rather than individual short stories. And it's those stories trying to bring characters together that brought this from a 4/5-star down to a 2-3 star for me.
I liked Red Sea because it made me think what would happen if I couldn't smell/taste anymore, how would that change a person. Did he have a concussion which also caused his memory loss? I enjoyed that the story didn't give us lots of details.
I liked Bean Curd because it was funny - probably the funniest int the collection. I chuckled about the Tofurkey collapsing at the table. And the parents carrying around/playing with their kids' stuffed animals.
Osetra's was so good because I can imagine robbing stores just to eat the caviar and that lusciousness as it hit your tongue - that's a foodie!
And Cholent was good because it talked about how important a dish can be to a people and yet how that one dish can be made so differently.
I debated about how many stars to give this book. There were several of the stories I enjoyed: Red Sea Salt, Bean Curd, Osetra, and Cholent. I enjoyed the start of Orangina but then it seemed like it got off track trying to tie-in some of the characters from the other stories. And that's where I think Kurlansky lost me, when he tried tying the characters together making this a novel rather than individual short stories. And it's those stories trying to bring characters together that brought this from a 4/5-star down to a 2-3 star for me.
I liked Red Sea because it made me think what would happen if I couldn't smell/taste anymore, how would that change a person. Did he have a concussion which also caused his memory loss? I enjoyed that the story didn't give us lots of details.
I liked Bean Curd because it was funny - probably the funniest int the collection. I chuckled about the Tofurkey collapsing at the table. And the parents carrying around/playing with their kids' stuffed animals.
Osetra's was so good because I can imagine robbing stores just to eat the caviar and that lusciousness as it hit your tongue - that's a foodie!
And Cholent was good because it talked about how important a dish can be to a people and yet how that one dish can be made so differently.
September 12, 2024
‘He had forgotten a lot. Almost everything, it seemed.’
Yes, this is a collection of sixteen short stories. Yes, this is a novel in sixteen parts layers. Each layer builds on the previous layers: a multi-story edifice of eating and food.
As I read through the stories, I kept looking for the links between the stories, for the characters who reappear, for the significance of Hawaiian red sea salt, and for how the various elements would fit together. I admit that the notion of bean curd Thanksgiving turkey made me thankful to be Australian. I wondered a little about the real role of the indigenous Alaskan fish soup in ‘The Soup’.
Reading these stories took me back into my childhood, where my grandmothers made statements of both love and culinary competence with food. One of my grandmothers, a Type I diabetic, cooked the most exquisite cakes (which she could not eat) in her double oven fuel stove. My other grandmother indulged her four eldest grandchildren with all those forbidden foods that parents did not allow. No Hawaiian red sea salt, cholent, caviar or bean curd there, but memories that have lasted over sixty years.
Yes, food is important, as are memories.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Yes, this is a collection of sixteen short stories. Yes, this is a novel in sixteen parts layers. Each layer builds on the previous layers: a multi-story edifice of eating and food.
As I read through the stories, I kept looking for the links between the stories, for the characters who reappear, for the significance of Hawaiian red sea salt, and for how the various elements would fit together. I admit that the notion of bean curd Thanksgiving turkey made me thankful to be Australian. I wondered a little about the real role of the indigenous Alaskan fish soup in ‘The Soup’.
Reading these stories took me back into my childhood, where my grandmothers made statements of both love and culinary competence with food. One of my grandmothers, a Type I diabetic, cooked the most exquisite cakes (which she could not eat) in her double oven fuel stove. My other grandmother indulged her four eldest grandchildren with all those forbidden foods that parents did not allow. No Hawaiian red sea salt, cholent, caviar or bean curd there, but memories that have lasted over sixty years.
Yes, food is important, as are memories.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
October 13, 2017
This collection of food-themed short stories is meant to be drawn together to create a novel. Kurlansky does a decent job of this, interlacing both characters and foodstuffs (that bag of red sea salt gets passed around more often than a Christmas fruitcake), and achieves some level of reader empathy with the characters, although it does still tend to feel disjointed. One thing that bugged me a lot — Kurlansky is known for his meticulously-researched non-fiction (Cod, Salt), yet in the story Vegan, he writes about Tofurky, brand-specific, without appearing to have ever eaten or even seen one. His character serves a 20-pound version (does not exist) that splits open to reveal what Kurlansky describes in a way that makes me think of soft, curd-like tofu, instead of the thicker, bouncier, more meat-like product that Tofurky actually is. Research failure always annoys me and I had a hard time getting into the remaining stories after that.
October 7, 2020
This is quite an interesting book. Kurlansky has written 16 tales (short stories) and each one highlights a different food. The stories are quite odd but it kept my attention to see how they end and I loved that all the characters were quite different with their own personalities and quirks! I have read several of Kurlansky's non-fiction books and loved them but I never knew he wrote fiction too.
August 13, 2021
A light, fast-reading collection of short stories connected around the theme of food and a (very) thin, intermittently appearing common thread. I find it odd that the cover refers to this as a "novel in 16 stories" because, despite the occasional repetition of a character's name and a bag of red salt that pops up now and then to let you know that the stories occur in the same fictional universe, the separate parts form no coherent whole.
October 16, 2023
Is the writing good? Not really. A bigger gripe, and the reason for one star: all the women suffer from written-by-a-man syndrome, while all the non-white people suffer from written-by-a-white-person syndrome. Which added together just makes it seem stale, uninteresting... The stories don't add up to a greater whole beyond some recurring characters popping up here and there. And it didn't even make me feel like eating any of the food being written about! Whatever
October 2, 2017
This could have been a great book except for the final chapter. It felt like the author had to finish in a rush and came up with a way to doing so really fast. It's amazing how well he could captured all the amazing ways we are connected by food, but the final part kind of takes away the joy of reading the book.
January 13, 2021
It takes a while for this collection to find its legs, and even after that point it stumbles and loses clear footing. There are moments of strength, and Kurlansky's interest and study of food enriches the book to some extent. But, with the exception of "Boudin", I don't consider this to be a particularly memorable read.
August 16, 2018
Ambitious conceit of an uneven collection of stories that feature food and combine certain characters. I picked it up as a promising hypothesis, and it didn't quite work out, which is not a bad description of the book itself.
December 6, 2022
Not sure how I came across this book, but it was a lot of fun! ***Spoilers*** These stories were vaguely about foods (red Hawaiian sea salt?!?!), but mostly about human interactions. And the fun part: the stories were connected. I felt these stories were weirdly imaginative. A fun, short read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 23, 2025
Borrowed this book from a friend, a fellow food lover and great cook. Found myself reading it during many meal times. A bit cheeky, a bit satirical, with odd characters. Quote enjoyed this quirky and somewhat confusing read. Makes me look at even the simplest foods with greater curiosity.
January 19, 2017
Imaginative and interestingly constructed. Some stories are stronger than others, my favorite being Hot Dog.
January 29, 2019
Stories linked by a bag od red sea salt. Commonly enough, some characters from an earlier story are referenced in a later story. Some stories are entrancing. A couple of stories are tiresome.
February 11, 2019
Loosely, very loosely, connected...I like the character of Chancy.
February 21, 2019
I don’t know what to say besides it’s terrible.
August 25, 2019
An enjoyable, easy read with fun narrative connections across 16 short stories.
November 21, 2019
Bizarre, but entertaining. Reminiscent of Italo Calvino, whom I prefer.
September 29, 2020
Right up there with one of the worst books I've read. The book had a few different themes running through with no real resolutions and definitely not wanting me to read more.
January 3, 2021
I just couldn't into the stories. Boring and didn't make sense
November 25, 2023
I think I like the author's non-fiction better. A novel that's more like many short stories. Some threads we get back to, some we don't. Lost points because of a poor ending.
June 3, 2024
Some stories were funny, others hard to follow. The book isn't quite a bunch of separate stories, nor is it a complete novel. It's a bit odd.
November 6, 2025
Short stories….~1980s-2010s, various locations….short stories threaded through with character and element links, unpredictable and creative.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews