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rebelkiss's review against another edition
4.0
Reviewing this book isn’t going to be easy for me. Yes, it took me a long time to read and I had to start over.
There is a lot of information packed into this book. The e version I got was delivered in a weird format which made it harder for me to read. That is in no way the fault of the author.
At times I felt incredibly stupid while reading this. But now that I’m done, I want to know more. The impact politics has on food and vice versa was slightly mind boggling. I’m not a complete idiot and knew food was cause for all kinds of fighting. But seeing just how much it is linked to certain things really opened my eyes.
While this book was packed with a bit of information on many items, it only grazed the surface (I assume) or all the intrigue that goes with everything. My one critique is at times I felt like the book jumped around a lot. It gave me a bit of whiplash to try and keep up.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy. All thoughts are my own. I do plan to buy a copy and physically highlight the passages that spoke to me the most
There is a lot of information packed into this book. The e version I got was delivered in a weird format which made it harder for me to read. That is in no way the fault of the author.
At times I felt incredibly stupid while reading this. But now that I’m done, I want to know more. The impact politics has on food and vice versa was slightly mind boggling. I’m not a complete idiot and knew food was cause for all kinds of fighting. But seeing just how much it is linked to certain things really opened my eyes.
While this book was packed with a bit of information on many items, it only grazed the surface (I assume) or all the intrigue that goes with everything. My one critique is at times I felt like the book jumped around a lot. It gave me a bit of whiplash to try and keep up.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy. All thoughts are my own. I do plan to buy a copy and physically highlight the passages that spoke to me the most
kairosdreaming's review against another edition
3.0
*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that you can't have political or socio-economic discussions without talking about food. That's because food ties so closely to culture and everything we do in life. Our traditions, memories, and special occasions are marked with food (often a certain type) and so the concept of Gastronativism is what explores these ties and how food has been used to "other" or politically and socially weaponized.
Parasecoli greatly focuses on the concept of Gastronativism. His definitions, ties to constructs around the world, and examples all emphasize how this concept plays out both in current times (he touches greatly on current conservative political ideologies) and how it has played out in the past to drive change or policy.
This is definitely what I would consider a scholarly work, rather than casual or hobbyist reading. It's dense, charged with nuance, and spends a lot of time assuming the reader has some background on historical and sociological context. Not that the average reader can't pick it up, they'll just be like me (another average reader) doing some outside researching of certain concepts and events that are mentioned in this book. I also will note that food is minimal in this book, it's more how food servers as a catalyst. While there are mentions of specific ways food is used or demonized (the sausage free lasagna mentioned in the description), it is at a minimum compared to the ways Gastronativism shapes human life.
A good book, but I think a targeted audience for this one. While I learned a good deal and have new concepts to think about when reviewing food history, it wasn't quite what I go for when sitting down with a book about food. I think I would have liked more examples and less theory or divination of the concept to make me fully take in what this book was expressing.
Review by M. Reynard 2022
It shouldn't come as a surprise that you can't have political or socio-economic discussions without talking about food. That's because food ties so closely to culture and everything we do in life. Our traditions, memories, and special occasions are marked with food (often a certain type) and so the concept of Gastronativism is what explores these ties and how food has been used to "other" or politically and socially weaponized.
Parasecoli greatly focuses on the concept of Gastronativism. His definitions, ties to constructs around the world, and examples all emphasize how this concept plays out both in current times (he touches greatly on current conservative political ideologies) and how it has played out in the past to drive change or policy.
This is definitely what I would consider a scholarly work, rather than casual or hobbyist reading. It's dense, charged with nuance, and spends a lot of time assuming the reader has some background on historical and sociological context. Not that the average reader can't pick it up, they'll just be like me (another average reader) doing some outside researching of certain concepts and events that are mentioned in this book. I also will note that food is minimal in this book, it's more how food servers as a catalyst. While there are mentions of specific ways food is used or demonized (the sausage free lasagna mentioned in the description), it is at a minimum compared to the ways Gastronativism shapes human life.
A good book, but I think a targeted audience for this one. While I learned a good deal and have new concepts to think about when reviewing food history, it wasn't quite what I go for when sitting down with a book about food. I think I would have liked more examples and less theory or divination of the concept to make me fully take in what this book was expressing.
Review by M. Reynard 2022
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