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Balzac's Omelette

a Delicious Tour of French Food and Culture With Honoré De Balzac
FindingJane
Jan 29, 2016FindingJane rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This book is a gustatory delight, a thorough and rollicking edible romp through the works of one of Europe’s most prolific authors. Touching mainly on Balzac’s sprawling oeuvre “The Human Comedy”, Ms. Muhlstein’s critical eye misses nothing that made Balzac great; she merely sheds a more interesting light on it. Balzac adored writing about food, whipping up dizzying metaphors connecting food to aspects of everyday life. From comparing a young girl’s kiss to being like honey to seeing a cathedral in the shining scales of a fish, he managed to paint unforgettable pictures of all of his characters, their surroundings and their world. Oddly, he doesn’t dwell much on the taste of the food—evidently he felt that was unimportant—but he understood that the consumption or denial of food, wine and sex were intimately intertwined. Ms. Muhlstein’s prose is accessible and deeply seductive. She does what the best literary essayists do—she makes you hungry to peruse the author’s works yourself. I know find myself yearning for Balzac. Even if you yourself don’t rush out to find “Cousin Bette” or “Father Goriot”, you might find yourself craving a heap of oysters.