LITERARY TIDBITS

“The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean; not to affect your reader, but to affect him precisely as you wish.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

I am in the middle of reading a novel by Peter Elbling called “The Foodtaster” and first published in 2002. Peter Elbling is an actor and screenwriter (he is one of the screenwriters of “Honey, I Blew Up the Kid” and has been in many TV shows). The novel is set in Renaissance Italy and is the tale of an Italian peasant, Ugo DiFonte. Supposedly, the book is the author’s translation of the diary of Ugo, which has fortuitously fallen into his hands. A common literary device these last few years…

Ugo is widowed young and finding himself back in his father’s house, with a baby daughter, he tries to make ends meet. By chance, he and his young daughter Miranda are snatched and taken to the estates of Duke Federico Basillione DiVincelli, the Duke of Corsoli. Ugo thinks life can't get any worse, until he is forced to replace the recently de-tongued royal food taster. Though this elevates his position considerably, it also places him in the midst of court intrigues that constantly endanger his life and his position.

An added complication is that Miranda is growing up into beautiful womanhood and needing Ugo’s protection from her suitors and her own desires. Miranda teaches Ugo how to read and write, and Ugo eventually writes his fantastic tale as a memoir. The novel is full of memorable meals, sex, intrigue, action and humour. The style is mostly picaresque and often reminiscent of a fairy tale (as told by Monty Python!), but there are touching moments, scenes that allow the author to lightly philosophise and enough colour and historical detail to keep the reader interested throughout.

Not for the faint-hearted, this novel is often earthy (or even bawdy, and in places reminiscent a little of Gargantua and Pantagruel), and has quite a lot of operatic situational tension. A touch of Rigoletto here and there keeps the readers on their toes. A good, light-hearted read, justifying its best-seller status in several countries.

Lady Day is the day when the church commemorates the feast of the Annunciation. It was on this day that the archangel Gabriel proclaimed to the Virgin that she would conceive and bear a son nine months later. His name would be Emmanuel.
Ave Maria, gratia plena
Dominus tecum:
Benedicta tu in mulieribus.

Hail Mary, full of grace
The Lord is with you:
Blessed are you amongst women.
Luke I:28

This is the fulfilment of the prophet Isaiah’s prophecy:
Ecce, virgo concipiet,
Et pariet filium
Et vocabitur nome ejus Emmanuel.
Butyrum et mel comedet,
Ut sciat reprobare malum,
Et eligere bonum.

Behold, a virgin shall conceive,
And bear a son
And he shall be called Emmanuel.
Fed on butter and honey,
He will grow to the age of refusing what is bad
Choosing what is good.
Isaiah VII:14-15

This day is also the National Day of Greece, commemorating the beginning of the struggle for the liberation of Greece in 1821, from nearly 400 years of Ottoman rule. The day is celebrated with especial brilliance in Greece, as it is a national holiday, as well as a great religious feast day. Although it falls in Lent, the fast is relaxed on this day and traditionally fish is eaten.

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