Recommending MFK Fisher

[Vervain]

If you were to give one MFK Fisher book to someone who had never read her before, which would you choose and why?

[devlin]

If you were to give one MFK Fisher book to someone who had never read her before, which would you choose and why?

←

Consider the Oyster. Why? Well, it's fabulous writing. It's got one of the best opening chapters of any book ever written. And if the person isn't familiar with her, it's short enough to read fairly quickily. It's one of my favorite books.

[MightyD]

"The Measure Of Her Powers". it is a compilation of mfk fisher writings from her various books. sort of like a tasting menu of mfk fisher.

[Arey]

The "Art of Eating" a MacMillan paperback is available at Amazon for $14.27. It contains the following books Serve it Forth, Consider the Oyster, How to cook a Wolf, The Gastronomical Me, and An Alphabet for Gourmands. In my opinion , a little MFK Fisher goes a heck of a long way. The antidote for overdulgence in Fisher is a good dose of Julia Child.

[srhcb]

I'll second "The Art of Eating". It's kind of like an MFKF sampler.

It's not just great food writing, it's great writing.

[maggiethecat]

The "Art of Eating" a MacMillan paperback is available at Amazon for $14.27. It contains the following books Serve it Forth, Consider the Oyster, How to cook a Wolf, The Gastronomical Me, and An Alphabet for Gourmands. In my opinion , a little MFK  Fisher goes a heck of a long way. The antidote for overdulgence in Fisher is a good dose of Julia Child.

←

x

Right on every count. Mary Frances was a great writer, maybe the mother of all modern food writing. But she's better in medium doses, lest her Drama annoy the heck out of you. And yes --get the anthology. It's a treasure.

[H. du Bois]

The Art of Eating. I didn't read it chronologically, just picked off book by book by whim. An Alphabet for Gourmets was the one I started with, and it was a nice way to start.

[Vervain]

I agree with those of you who say she is fabulous but best in smaller doses. So I'm trying to decide on one, individual book. Potentially this is for a literature class in food writing I hope (fingers crossed ) to teach in Winter, so The Art of Eating is just too much to take on. I've used The Gastronomical Me before in another class, and it has problems. It begans incredibly well, but then gets choppy and even confusing.

[zoe b]

In my opinion , a little MFK Fisher goes a heck of a long way. The antidote for overdulgence in Fisher is a good dose of Julia Child.

funny, yet true--can't you picture Julia telling MFK to put a plug in it, in the nicest possible way?

I don't have the Art of Eating here--which book has the famous orange section on the radiator and the cooking of the peas in Switzerland? If they are in one book, pick that one.

[stringcheese]

Right on every count. Mary Frances was a great writer, maybe the mother of all modern food writing. But she's better in medium doses, lest her Drama annoy the heck out of you. And yes --get the anthology. It's a treasure.

←

I am so glad to hear that...I checked The Art of Eating out of the library this summer, and so had a limited time to read it. I started with Serve it Forth, and was just in love with the writing and was enjoying every word. By the time I got through How to Cook A Wolf, I was still impressed with the writing, but I found myself just...tired. I actually didn't come back to it much after that. I really thought that perhaps it was me, that I wasn't "getting it", or something.

I'm going to have to come back to it...and take small bites this time!!

[srhcb]

In my opinion , a little MFK Fisher goes a heck of a long way. The antidote for overdulgence in Fisher is a good dose of Julia Child.

funny, yet true--can't you picture Julia telling MFK to put a plug in it, in the nicest possible way?

Let's say MFK is to food writing what Julia is to food televizing?

I don't have the Art of Eating here--which book has the famous orange section on the radiator and the cooking of the peas in Switzerland?  If they are in one book, pick that one.

←

"P is for Peas" is in "The Alphabet for Gourmets" and is included in The Art of Eating.

SB (can't put the book away now that I've opened it .... again)

[lia]

"To Begin Again," and "Stay Me, Oh Comfort Me."

I enjoy the early year memoirs even though a lot of that life was debunked in her bio.

I always found the later stuff so heartbreaking. She had a wild life, that's for sure.

[srhcb]

Here's a complete list of MFK Fisher's work from Les Dames d'Escoffier International web site, which is pretty interesting in itself.

[Arey]

If it's for a literature class in food writing what about her translation of Brillat-Savarin.

That makes up for all her excesses. How to cook a wolf is dated since it's from the WWII period and a lot of it is about eating well despite rationing and shortages. You

might find Serve it Forth or Consider the Oyster to be good choices.

[LindaK]

Count me among those who can't get enough of MFK Fisher. It's interesting that others here find her writing to be an exercise in excess. I find them to be just the opposite. But then, I enjoy reading Henry James too.

[TarteTatin]

We adore her. Have all her books.

Sometimes, we have reading food parties. (I think I'll start a post about that)

My favorite story of hers to read out loud, is when she is alone in Burgundy, and stumbles upon a restaurant that she walks to; where she is the only customer for lunch. The waitress, the chef, the trout au blue, everything is just amazing to read out loud!

[Vervain]

Sometimes, we have reading food parties. (I think I'll start a post about that)

My favorite story of hers to read out loud, is when she is alone in Burgundy, and stumbles upon a restaurant that she walks to;  where she is the only customer for lunch. The waitress, the chef, the trout au blue, everything is just amazing to read out loud!

←

Please do start a post about your reading food parties. I'd love to hear more.

Which book is that story from?

[maggiethecat]

Sometimes, we have reading food parties. (I think I'll start a post about that)

←

Dear Tarte: Please do! I want to hear more about this. I'm intrigued.

I remember the trout story as clearly now as when I read it for the first time twenty years ago -- that's good writing.