Word: larders
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Dates: during 2001-2001
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...Devil’s LardeR by Jim Crace
...began with the couple’s murder. The paradoxical and grammatically awkward title was highly appropriate for its unassuming but innovative take on death. That novel’s precise, almost sensuous sensibility also comes across in Crace’s newest work, The Devil’s Larder, a collection of 64 short pieces about food that also turn out to be about death, sex, starvation and desire...
...which includes drug-laced baked goods; a spontaneous game of “strip fondue” with friends from the office; a mother testing whether she can taste pasta in another person’s mouth—her daughter’s. The Devil’s Larder is a series of creative exercises, a chance for Crace to illuminate these strange but deeply felt moments bit by bit, in simple prose that contrasts starkly with the richness of the world he portrays...
Because these pieces are so brief, The Devil’s Larder lacks the narrative intricacy that made Being Dead so appealing, and some readers might not fully appreciate Crace’s brevity, or the neatness necessary in such short pieces. Taken collectively, the 64 sketches make a convincing argument about food’s surprising significance in human social life, but Crace’s skill is such that this becomes apparent even in the smallest of portions...
...very happy." As night fell, I found myself holding a commander's two-way radio and talking to other leaders in the area, which elicited howls of delight from my hosts. A rug was placed on the floor and we ate dinner with some commanders. The Taliban's larder is far superior to any other in Afghanistan and we gorged ourselves on several different types of mutton curry scooped up with nan. After the lower ranks were fed, we were shown to our room. We had clearly won some trust: the walls were lined with rows...