They tried holding the whole carcass on a stake over the fire, but the stake burnt more quickly than the pig roasted. In the end they skewered bits of meat on branches and held them in the flames: and even then almost as much boy was roasted as meat. (William Golding, Lord of the Flies) Continue reading “Food and Savagery”
Category: The Novel
Food in Dystopia
So often when food appears in literature, it is designed to appeal to the reader’s senses – to sound delicious, to whet our appetites. Continue reading “Food in Dystopia”
Food and Adultery
The lover had ordered steak and onions, the girl hesitated for a moment to take the onions because her husband didn’t like the smell, the lover was hurt and angry because he realized what was behind her hesitation, which brought to his mind the inevitable embrace on her return home. (Graham Greene, The End of the Affair) Continue reading “Food and Adultery”
New Adventures in Food
The June day spread itself round Maythorpe Hall, endless, amorphous, ominous. It had no shape – not even a dinner hour, for Elsie was baking and had given Midge ham cake and apples to eat whenever she felt like it, and those had disappeared hours and hours ago. (Winifred Holtby, South Riding)
One thing I hadn’t expected when I started this blog was how many new foods and dishes I would come across in my survey of English literature over time. Continue reading “New Adventures in Food”