Metafiction – fiction about fiction – sometimes also referred to as ‘self-conscious fiction’, is usually associated with the postmodern movement in literature (c. 1950s onwards). In metafiction the writer takes delight in alluding to the fictional nature of the work the reader is reading and to their own role as writer or compiler of that work. Continue reading “Metafiction and intertextuality”
Tag: To The Lighthouse
The Delights of French Food
‘It is a French recipe of my grandmother’s,’ said Mrs Ramsay, speaking with a ring of great pleasure in her voice. Of course it was French. What passes for cookery in England is an abomination (they agreed). (Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse)
Without a doubt I owe France a huge culinary debt. When I recall my cross-Channel excursions, my memories are more often than not food-related: crispy baguettes, pungent cheeses, flaky buttery croissants, rich earthy cassoulets, gently quivering tarte au citron… I could go on and on.
Not only has the eating of French food caused me great pleasure, but so too has the making of it. I’ve had a great time learning to make baguettes, croissants, pain au chocolat and hollandaise sauce at La Cuisine Paris, a cookery school in the heart of Paris by the river and around the corner from the Hotel de Ville – I really need to pay them another visit! Continue reading “The Delights of French Food”