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A review by shantastic
Proust Was a Neuroscientist by Jonah Lehrer
2.0
When I first indicated that I was going to read this book, a wise woman who I will call Mama Shazz because that's her name, told me I should start with something else by Lehrer because she hadn't liked this one. I didn't listen, because the title intrigued me so much. I don't regret having read the book, but she was definitely right about it.
The book discusses eight different artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and how they came to discover things that would later be proven true by scientists. Some of the connections Lehrer makes are interesting. I especially enjoyed the chapters on Escofier, a prominent French chef who discovered the concept of umami, or deliciousness, which is a taste associated with glutamates and is found in a lot of food we eat. I also thought the chapter on Stravinsky was fun, but the rest? Well, it turned out that the book was good for my bedtime reading for a reason. Zzzzz.
I love Lehrer's work on Radio Lab, a podcast I regularly listen to, and I'm told his other books are better, but this one was just way too boring for me. Maybe if I cared about any of the other figures mentioned I'd have liked it more, but all I know after reading this book is that I am not inclined to read Virginia Wolf anytime soon… not that I was all that inclined to in the first place.
The book discusses eight different artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and how they came to discover things that would later be proven true by scientists. Some of the connections Lehrer makes are interesting. I especially enjoyed the chapters on Escofier, a prominent French chef who discovered the concept of umami, or deliciousness, which is a taste associated with glutamates and is found in a lot of food we eat. I also thought the chapter on Stravinsky was fun, but the rest? Well, it turned out that the book was good for my bedtime reading for a reason. Zzzzz.
I love Lehrer's work on Radio Lab, a podcast I regularly listen to, and I'm told his other books are better, but this one was just way too boring for me. Maybe if I cared about any of the other figures mentioned I'd have liked it more, but all I know after reading this book is that I am not inclined to read Virginia Wolf anytime soon… not that I was all that inclined to in the first place.