When Mr. Inkslinger first suggested that I would enjoy reading the renowned American food writer M.F.K. Fisher (1908-1992), I hesitated to jump in and test the waters.  I'm not sure why. I suppose I hadn't, at that point, read any books devoted to eating, food, and the social aspects thereof and wasn't sure it was my kind of reading material.  I wasn't really a foodie by any stretch of the imagination.  After a few years of being (more or less) patiently tutored by Mr. Inkslinger and his more good-food-centred approach to living, I was ready to give Fisher a go.

And he is right. I enjoy her writing immensely.  Having read Margaret Visser first, I inevitably made comparisons while I was reading Serve It Forth by Fisher (even though this is both anachronistic and limiting/misleading as Visser doesn't really concentrate on food/memoir).  There is the same relaxed, conversational approach to subject, with anecdotal asides, and a healthy dash of cleverness.  A little bit of sarcasm can creep in from time to time as well, but it is always tempered by reasonableness (note: the use of sarcasm is quite different from mere snarky observations.  I can't abide snarkiness as it's primarily ignorance and prejudice masquerading as clever asides. Sarcasm, however, is a satirical tool that can show up ignorance and prejudice).


Mostly, Serve It Forth is about food and the human response to food, loosely organized historically, and written in the most readable prose. Yet in it one learns something of the author (I rather liked her) and her experiences. 


What a treat. An easy read for a tired brain suffering from the steady pinch of tedium (I find myself growing ever more weary of the semi-housebound state).