I’m wandering the
lanes and alleys of Tokyo with a man who stops at various places to pick up
food while hunting for a murderer. First, he eats vegetable and shrimp
dumplings out of a paper plate and then later, he stops at a cafe and buys
gum-syrup coffee and rice balls. I watch him with rapt attention wondering what
he is going to eat next.
In case you are
wondering, I’m not on holiday, on a kinky, murder-themed food walk in Japan.
I’m not dreaming either though this would be a really brilliant dream, come to
think of it. I’m merely taking you into the world of the latest book that I’m
reading. A crime fiction novel called Blue Light Yokohama by
Nicolas Obregon based on the unsolved murders of the Miyazawa family in
Setagaya, Japan in 2000. I haven’t reached the end so I have no clue who has
done the deadly deed of wiping out an entire family of four but I have realized
something very important.
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
Books with food in
them turn me on.
Wipe that smirk
off your face at once. It’s not a fetish. Obviously, I don’t mean it literally.
Food inside books like slices of cheese squished in between pages or tomato
sauce smudges is disgusting. Eyuck. What I meant is descriptions of food.
Tantalizing, titillating word pictures of dishes that send me into near
orgasmic rapture.
As C S Lewis had
famously remarked once, eating and reading are two
pleasures that combine admirably. I couldn’t agree more. With several hearty
thumps, of course.
Long before I
discovered there was a word for people like me - foodie not freak - I remember
being drawn to books containing elaborate descriptions of food. It started when
I was a little girl beginning to read. My first Enid Blytons brought
with them the tea parties, the scones with jam and clotted cream. The slabs of
chocolate. I was hooked. I quickly devoured the Famous Fives, the
Five Find-Outers and their farmhouse picnics, potted meat and ham
sandwiches, ice creams with generous lashings of ginger beer.
While there are
many studies about the significance and symbolism of food in popular children’s
literature, the lure of tempting food was the prime motivation for this child
and a book that was able to convey that deliciousness through excellent imagery
became a prized possession. I read somewhere that reading about what others are
eating and feeling is close to being fed. A kind of pleasure that is close to
being voyeuristic. In my case, I’m not sure which came first, the love for
Chinese cuisine or the interest in books about the Chinese food and culture. I
have a hunch it was the latter that fueled that former. Authors such as Amy
Tan, Ha Jin and Adeline Yen Mah helped develop that
interest with the most sumptuous descriptions of Chinese dishes in their books.
“I have been
envisioning my first real Chinese feast for many days already, a big banquet
with one of those soups steaming out of a carved winter melon, chicken wrapped
in clay, Peking duck, the works. I was not too fond of crab, ever since I saw
my birthday crab boiled alive, but I knew I could not refuse. That's the way
Chinese mothers show they love their children, not through hugs and kisses but
with stern offerings of steamed dumplings, duck's gizzards, and crab.”
(Amy Tan, Joy Luck
Club)
Another author I
discovered recently, Vivien Chien, writes food-themed murder mysteries. Chien’s
novels have clever titles - Death by Dumpling, Murder Lo Mein, Wonton Terror
- and are peppered with descriptions of delicious Chinese dishes. Agatha
Christie, the Grand Dame of murder mysteries also wrote about a Delicious
Death cake in A Murder is Announced.
The cake is “rich,
rich, of a melting richness” and the ingredients needed include “chocolate and
much butter, and sugar and raisins.” The cake also has chocolate frosting and “Good
Wishes” written on top. In fact, the cake is the last thing one of the characters
in the story eats. Come to think of it, I wouldn’t mind bidding my last
farewell with a cake like that. It sounds absolutely delicious.
For readers like
me, gustatory imagery makes the entire reading experience all that more
authentic and I wish more authors would weave in word pictures of food into
their writing. On that hopeful note, I will wait for my next delicious read. In
the meantime, I will have to make do with the new book that I bought for my
eight-year-old niece. Jolly Good Food, a children’s cookbook
inspired by the stories of Enid Blyton. There are recipes for all sorts of
scrumptious pies, tarts and scones.
Oh, who am I
kidding. I’m sure you don’t believe this anymore that I do. You must have
guessed who the book is actually for, haven’t you?
Bon Appetit! Or
should I say Bon Reading!
Debeshi Gooptu is
a former journalist-turned-author who lives and works in Gurgaon. Debeshi was
born and brought up in Kolkata, educated at Loreto House (school) and Shri
Shikshayatan College (University of Kolkata). She graduated with a BA Honours
in English Literature. Debeshi’s 26-year-career includes stints in print,
television, new media and higher education. Her book, Gurgaon Diaries: Life,
Work and Play in Drona’s Village, based on her long-running blog of the same
name, was published by Rupa Publications in 2018. Her novels, Dragon Aunty
Returns, Mr Eashwar’s Daughter, The Ghosts of Gurugram and two collections of
short stories have been published by Juggernaut Books. Two of her novels – The Rossogolla Murders and
The Book Club - are independently published. She writes a blog, The Gurgaon
Diaries!, chronicling life in the Millennium City.
Blog :
https://gurgaon-diaries.blogspot.com/
( THIS IS THE 8 th WEEK - 11 TH YEAR of BFL- PART OF GUEST POST SERIES- POST -8)
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