Books That Cook: Food & Fiction

By: Jennifer Cognard-Black, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Jennifer Cognard-Black

Like stories, food can connect us to other people and their experiences in remarkable ways. Much of our lives revolve around the meals we eat, and our culinary senses of taste and smell are potent triggers of the past. This strong, sensory connection between eating and evocation can be used in fiction to conjure a host of emotions in the audience.

In the 10 lectures of Books That Cook: Food & Fiction, Professor Jennifer Cognard-Black takes you on a culinary tour of fiction, from Proust’s evocative madeleine and the voracious hunger of fairy tales to the intersection of recipes with storytelling and the emotional consumption of food on film. These lessons look at how food can be so much more than mere set dressing in a great story. Along the way, you will explore fascinating questions, such as:

• How is a recipe like a story?
• What are we really consuming when we read or watch stories about food?
• How does food help us connect with other people - and better understand ourselves?
• What are the political dimensions of food?

With Professor Cognard-Black as your guide, you will sample some tasty tales, sink your teeth into novels featuring cooks and chefs, enjoy food fairy tales, become a culinary tourist, and learn how food can serve up social justice, create visual feasts, and even change how we think.

©2021 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

Food for thought

A lovely take on food and fiction which pushes the listener to think of their own memories linked to food. How much does food mean to society?

I wish it was more succinct

I cannot say there is anything inherently wrong with this set of lectures. It depends on your interests like any other lecture, but I wanted to mention that the lecturer, Jennifer Cognard, talks a lot and takes too long to get to the point. It’s clear she is very enthusiastic about the subject and her language seems to be full of reminisces, memories, and anecdotes. I think I’d rather she get to the point without having to convince me why I should or should not care.

Interesting Perception of Food, Culture, Literatur

This course is not very long, but it packs a wallop by teaching how food has influenced literature. There was less on how literature has affected our food and our food culture.

It explores history, social justice, touches on philosophy lightly, incorporating poetry, movies, books, and more. I listened to it in two sessions only because I was called upon to leave the house and interact with others.

I have looked into purchasing her other books, and I might yet do so. But, first, I need to get down to using what I have. I enjoyed the bit about Jack and the Beanstalk, and the mention of Babbette's Feast.

Food memories are so important- and literature the world over proves it, but there is the challenge of how and why. The non-fiction literature runs the gamut, too, a genre of its own, but, really, do we think about it?

I generally dislike females reading, and it doesn't matter what or why. The image I get is of a nagging, busybody woman who doesn't keep her feet at home. Yet, I didn't find this obnoxious here. It works well, and the author is great at reading, keeping a friendly, upbeat tone and rhythm.

An interesting listen

An interesting listen. The author is an engaging narrator if a bit indulgent in virtue signaling at the end. There’s a good mix of book selections with the glaring absence of genre romance.

My favorite clip says: “Yet I also believe that a culinary tourist doesn’t have to hop in a car or board a train to have epicurean experiences or to arrive at gastronomic insights. For it’s entirely possible to travel from your armchair or, even better, from your kitchen. You see, you don’t have to travel bodily from one shore to another in order to taste and to value food from around the globe.” This is exactly what I’m trying to achieve with my books.

It's ok

I appreciate the author's obvious passion for the subject matter. She sounds like she would be a memorable and entertaining person to take classes from. However, I think this short book itself may chiefly just be of interest to literature majors. It largely just briefly touches on a variety of books or even movies that include food. It's not a bad book. I just don't feel that I got anything out of it.

Amazing

Full of concepts I can relate to as a sociologist, student of psychoanalysis, poetry and literature. I am interested in food science from an anthropological pov, but also, I am a very creative chef based on food memories connecting all possible aspects. As a retired professor myself, I get a real kick out of the thought processes which I can very much relate to. Good food for thought indeed. Good job, Ms. Cognard-Black. As a native German speaker, I just love your expertise of the English language. Thank you for your insights.

Engaging, unusual teaching style

I got this thinking it would be good background noise as I ran errands all day. Big surprise! I was captivated time and again by examples she used to open a new lecture, by how well she tied each lecture together and how she wrapped it all up at the end. It was relevant and points the way for a new relationship with food and its production. Her manner was neutral and allowed me to sort through my own ideas about food.
She is a great narrator as well! Thank you Ms. Cognard-Black and Audible. I will listen to this again!

Surprise

The first part of the book was not interesting to me however it got better and better the more I listened if you cook and like food listen you will have food for thought

So educational and enjoyable

I really enjoyed this audible book and feel that I will look at food writing/food in movies and food in general in a more evolved light. The author brought up so many good points that I could relate to and was so easy to listen to. Highly recommend!

Delicious Lectures!

This was a really fun examination of food in literature! It was a great array of topics ranging from how food reveals a character to the perception of food centric books being low brow because it centers on female experiences. Books and movies in a variety of genres are explored. I have always been fascinated by the depiction of food in books so this was a fun series of lectures! My biggest disappointment is the lack of notes to refer to later. I am a huge fan of Great Courses and most of them have a pdf file with lecture outlines and a bibliography. These kinds of notes are helpful because I usually listen to the lectures while I am doing data entry at work or chores around the house and like to be able to look up sources at the library or amazon to dig deeper into the material. Its fair to say that the lectures were so engaging that it made me hungry for more on the topic!