Gourmet Rhapsody

Author tends toward dense writing with philosophical undertones. At first I had trouble getting my bearings. (Story is told in snippets from various POVs.) In the final analysis, I found the book to be a culinary masterpiece about food and its power. Aproveché

I love good writing, and this is just as delectable as the culinary delights found in the story. Pure pleasure. Hats off to Alison Anderson for her splendid translation from the French into English. The book is marvelous! The writing itself is Haute Cuisine!

GOURMET RHAPSODY is a smart and delightful way to entertain the senses for a few scintillating hours of charmed reading. Like a favorite dessert, I was sorry to have finished it so quickly. I enjoyed it so much. I havn't read Muriel Barbery's previous novel, THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG, which introduces the main character, renowned food critic Pierre Arthens, but I will soon, anticipating the same rich language and clever insight found in GOURMET RHAPSODY. As this is a translation from the original French, I feel I must praise the translator, Alison Anderson, as well. I am sure she has captured the very essence of Ms. Barbery's masterful use of language in expressing the delicate nuance of taste as well as conveying her sensitivity toward the intricacies of human nature. The English version is so artful, I wish I could read the French to appreciate fully Ms. Barbery's exceptional talent. Although I have been a teetotalling vegetarian for over 30 years and do not share any enthusiasm for the subject of the eating of meat, fish or eggs or the enjoyment of alcohol, I could still appreciate Ms. Barbery's fine skill in describing flavors, textures, scents and aromas. Her understanding of the sublime sensation of a freshly picked vine ripened tomato was so exalted, so suggestive, I had to run out to my kitchen and eat three right on the spot! Having said that about gastronomy, it should be remarked that the underlying theme of this story is brilliantly expressed through recollections by different voices, alternating with that of Pierre Arthens as he lay dying. Who the reader will discover in Pierre Arthens is a heartless, self-absorbed, arrogant hedonist who represents selfishness, vulgarity and excess of the "elite". The irony that as he finds himself dying, his final desire is for one more, elusive taste sensation ~ "the only truth to be told" of his life, is a powerful statement, one to truly reflect upon. GOURMET RHAPSODY is an enjoyable and thoughtful piece de resistance and I recommend it highly.