Aller au contenu principal
Reading Food in Modern Japanese Literature

Reading Food in Modern Japanese Literature

Par Aoyama, Tomoko

Publié par University of Hawaii Press

English 289 pages 2008 ISBN 9780824864071
Temps de lecture estimé : 5 h 18 min
PDF

À propos de ce livre

Literature, like food, is, in Terry Eagleton’s words, "endlessly interpretable," and food, like literature, "looks like an object but is actually a relationship." So how much do we, and should we, read into the way food is represented in literature? Reading Food explores this and other questions in an unusual and fascinating tour of twentieth-century Japanese literature. Tomoko Aoyama analyzes a wide range of diverse writings that focus on food, eating, and cooking and considers how factors such as industrialization, urbanization, nationalism, and gender construction have affected people’s relationships to food, nature, and culture, and to each other. The examples she offers are taken from novels (shosetsu) and other literary texts and include well known writers (such as Tanizaki Jun’ichiro, Hayashi Fumiko, Okamoto Kanoko, Kaiko Takeshi, and Yoshimoto Banana) as well as those who are less widely known (Murai Gensai, Nagatsuka Takashi, Sumii Sue, and Numa Shozo). Food is everywhere in Japanese literature, and early chapters illustrate historical changes and variations in the treatment of food and eating. Examples are drawn from Meiji literary diaries, children’s stories, peasant and proletarian literature, and women’s writing before and after World War II. The author then turns to the theme of cannibalism in serious and popular novels. Key issues include ethical questions about survival, colonization, and cultural identity. The quest for gastronomic gratification is a dominant theme in "gourmet novels." Like cannibalism, the gastronomic journey as a literary theme is deeply implicated with cultural identity. The final chapter deals specifically with contemporary novels by women, some of which celebrate the inclusiveness of eating (and writing), while others grapple with the fear of eating. Such dread or disgust can be seen as a warning against what the complacent "gourmet boom" of the 1980s and 1990s concealed: the dangers of a market economy, environmental destruction, and continuing gender biases. Reading Food in Modern Japanese Literature will tempt any reader with an interest in food, literature, and culture. Moreover, it provides appetizing hints for further savoring, digesting, and incorporating textual food.

Disponibilité

Reading Food in Modern Japanese Literature est disponible en PDF dans 13 librairies en ligne. Parmi les librairies qui le proposent : Association of University Presses - Tienda FILUNI, Bajalibros Argentina, Bajalibros Latam.

Langue
English
Partager

Questions fréquentes

Dans quels formats Reading Food in Modern Japanese Literature est-il disponible ?
Reading Food in Modern Japanese Literature est disponible en PDF dans 13 librairies en ligne.
Où puis-je acheter Reading Food in Modern Japanese Literature ?
Vous pouvez acheter Reading Food in Modern Japanese Literature sur Association of University Presses - Tienda FILUNI, Bajalibros Argentina, Bajalibros Latam. Comparez toutes les options dans la liste de cette page.
Combien de temps faut-il pour lire Reading Food in Modern Japanese Literature ?
À un rythme de lecture moyen, Reading Food in Modern Japanese Literature se lit en environ 5 h 18 min (289 pages).

Notes et avis

Pas encore de note. Soyez le premier à donner votre avis sur ce livre.

Se connecter pour noter ce livre et donner votre avis.

Commentaires

Se connecter pour rejoindre la conversation.

Pas encore de commentaires.