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Have you ever dreamed of packing up and seeing the world? When I was in college, I did just that. Well, I studied for six weeks in London, spending each weekend trudging around hostels and pub crawls in Dublin, Edinborough, Amsterdam, and Paris. And so it was with much jealousy that I began to read Barolo (At Table) by Matthew Gavin Frank, the the Slow Food West Michigan book club selection for June.

Frank, the lucky dog, spent six MONTHS in Barolo, Italy, where he worked for a vintner picking grapes and such. He was able to taste and eat so many wines and foods that I can only dream of. And then he got to write about it.

I’d like to think it’s not jealousy that made me not like this book at first. The opening chapters struck me as a bit condescending.

He writes, “When I was growing up, food was the thing that emerged from the microwave, steaming and soggy. A rubbery omelet. A desiccated matzo ball in watery broth. A steak going green. A corpse of broccol. But my mother treated our crap with ceremony. It was with bad food that we dealt with tradgedy or comedy or mediocrity. For my birthday; microwaved hamburgers with iceberg lettuce; for my father’s microwaved lamb shanks.”

This is just one example of how he turns up his nose at the mediocrity of food in the United States; yet he does so in a way that is not endearing. The other annoying bit that made it difficult for me to enjoy this book at first was his penchant for using similes and metaphors. Almost every sentence includes one. Examples:

“These words stained my brain like iodine.”

“I pull the Salone del Busto guide from under my pillow the next morning, sheepish as a twelve-year-old boy reaching into his Playboy‘s hiding place.”

“An array of young couples expands like a tornado from my old table to the edges of the patio.”

And so, while I was looking forward to the author’s visit to our book club, as well as the tasting that was also happening that night so that we might sample some Italian wine (including Barolo, of course), I was not looking forward to the reading part. In fact I was afraid that my filter might be loosened by the wine and I might say something a bit impolite.

Surprisingly, as he began to read parts of the book, I suddenly appreciated its lyrical quality. Suddenly I understood that this book was more like a poem, or a play, that  was rich with visual images that before hearing it aloud had seemed like overwritten college writing class homework.

And so I enjoyed the evening. I enjoyed the wine. And I decided that I really did like this book.

The winner of the giveaway was Angela!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Lisa

    I have always wanted to go to Italy. But, until I can scrape up enough money to do so, I content myself by reading about it. If anything, it’ll give me good ideas for when I do go.

  3. Lara

    I would love to win this for a friend who LOVES Barolo…I might have to read through it before passing along =)

  4. Benita

    We are red wine lovers and Barolo sounds like a great summer read. So, I’d certain ly be happy to win this book.

    bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com

  9. noëlle {simmer down!}

    I love reading food/wine/travel books and have written up several on my blog. In fact I just did a book review of “Families of the Vine” by Michael Sanders. If you liked this book you’d probably like that one too. Even if I don’t win the giveaway I will check out this book. Thanks for the recommendation!

  12. Jennifer S.

    While I love wine, I have to admit that I know very little about how it’s made. I’d love to read about his experiences and how they affected his thoughts on food and wine!

  14. Jill

    I’m so glad I ran across your listing at Book Blogs! I am currently reading another Italy slow food book and luv it! This one sounds like another Fantastic Read!

    Thanks for hosting this giveaway 🙂