I accidentally fell into rereading a favorite, Nicholson Baker's Anthologist, and finished it just last night. The first time I read it, I was struck with his poetic lines and images and unique little phrasings on every other page. I still love it, but now it's like a well-known road. I know where the twists and curves are, so I'm not surprised by them like I once was. But I still enjoy the view.
What are you all reading this week?
7 comments:
I just finished my fourth Edith Wharton, Summer. It was...interesting, and probably the least satisfying so far. Still, interesting. I'll begin The Age of Innocence shortly. Christine, I think you said you'd read that one? What did you think?
I like both the novel and the film.
I'm still working on the Sorcerer's Apprentices, about the famed restaurant in Roses, Spain, called elBulli. Being an apprentice there sounds like a true grind, but I was entranced reading about the experience of a typical diner. Here's an excerpt that I think sums up the fascination foodies around the world have with this restaurant:
...Seated there amid the faded pillows and tchotchkes, attended by a staff that sincerely seems to have your well-being at heart, it's hard to believe that anyone is going to make you eat anything scary. And then one of the first "tapi-platos" comes out (tapi-platos are how the restaurant refers to its "main" courses--the tapas-sized dishes that come after the snacks and before the pre-desserts), and it's a hideous, shaggy black mass that resembles volcanic rock but has the feel of a damp sponge.
The waiter tells you to eat it in two bites. You look at your dining companion nervously, then look around the room. No one else seems to be suffering. In fact, they seem almost joyfully happy with what they are eating. At the table next to you, a woman is actually laughing between bites. And so you put the ugly, shaggy, squishy thing in your mouth and tentatively chew. It turns out to be delicious: slightly sweet, with the toasty flavor of black sesame and a delightful texture somewhere between layer cake and sea sponge. It reminds you of something, though you can't quite say what.
This then, is what dinner at elBulli is like: a recurring cycle of emotions. Excitement, mystification, delight, nostalgia, and then, with each brief interval between courses, the resurgence of anticipation and a bit of fear.
Christine, am I imagining things or did you have a different cabin for this post earlier in the week?
@Mary: You're right! I went back in to correct spacing problems and deleted my cabin. Couldn't find same, so I replaced it. Good eye.
@Lisa: Thanks for the excerpt. What ARE they eating?
I noticed the same thing about the picture! At first I thought maybe it was linked to an image that just changed periodically. *shrug*
And @Christine: I don't even know what the dish is called--she never says! It's definitely some kind of food alchemy.
@Lisa--
Out of curiosity, I googled el Bulli Retaurant in Spain, and whoever wrote the Wiki entry had the same tone of reverence as the person who wrote your excerpt!
Some neat factoids (not food related):
Bookings for the next year are taken on a single day after the closing of the current season.
It (the restaurant) accommodates only 8,000 diners a season, but gets more than two million requests.
The average cost of a meal is €250 (~$350 USD).
The restaurant itself has operated at a loss since 2000, and is closing on 31st July of this year, which--given the last three statements--makes no sense to me.
Does the book make mention of any famous chefs "graduating" from el Bulli?
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