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lilyofthevalley_reads's review
It was super dry and really overly written (in a non-interesting and non-engaging academic style).
kairosdreaming's review
4.0
*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley.
So this really was a short history of spaghetti and tomato sauce, and some various things that go along with such a dish. I wouldn't call this "light" reading, despite being short though. In fact, I'd say this was written more to an academic standard (which makes sense, the author is a professor), than for a casual reader.
With that tone in mind, the book delves into various parts and histories of the makeup of a plate of spaghetti and tomato sauce. The shaping of the ingredients; ancient noodle making, cooking methods for those noodles, the advent of dropping it into salted water. It touches on the utensils used to eat the dish (very brief telling of the origin of the fork). And of course the evolution from what used to be put on noodles, to how tomatoes became the ingredient of choice.
It was interesting, albeit brief, and that academic spin did make it a bit more intense to read than some of the other food histories I've read out there. But because of that briefness it was approachable from that regard. Care was given to the histories and the ingredients and my favorite part was learning about lasagna and some of the origins that overlapped there.
If you're deep into the studies of food history, this is one you're not going to want to miss!
Review by M. Reynard 2021
So this really was a short history of spaghetti and tomato sauce, and some various things that go along with such a dish. I wouldn't call this "light" reading, despite being short though. In fact, I'd say this was written more to an academic standard (which makes sense, the author is a professor), than for a casual reader.
With that tone in mind, the book delves into various parts and histories of the makeup of a plate of spaghetti and tomato sauce. The shaping of the ingredients; ancient noodle making, cooking methods for those noodles, the advent of dropping it into salted water. It touches on the utensils used to eat the dish (very brief telling of the origin of the fork). And of course the evolution from what used to be put on noodles, to how tomatoes became the ingredient of choice.
It was interesting, albeit brief, and that academic spin did make it a bit more intense to read than some of the other food histories I've read out there. But because of that briefness it was approachable from that regard. Care was given to the histories and the ingredients and my favorite part was learning about lasagna and some of the origins that overlapped there.
If you're deep into the studies of food history, this is one you're not going to want to miss!
Review by M. Reynard 2021
heatherjones's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
4.0
The writing style was a lot denser and more academic than I expected from the cover. That was fine, it wasn't so difficult, but it was different than I expected.
What the author was trying to do was encourage us to think about how complicated history can be, how even the simplest things come from complex and interrelated factors, how the idea of "origins" itself is incredibly complex, and to do all that by showing just how many different things happened to get Italy eating spaghetti with tomato sauce.
Well worth reading if you want a short, deep think about history.
What the author was trying to do was encourage us to think about how complicated history can be, how even the simplest things come from complex and interrelated factors, how the idea of "origins" itself is incredibly complex, and to do all that by showing just how many different things happened to get Italy eating spaghetti with tomato sauce.
Well worth reading if you want a short, deep think about history.
kitsilverbirch's review
4.0
A Short History of Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce is what it says on the tin. But it also isn't. Montanari traces the origins of the icon dish as an exercise in the interdependence of culture and food. It's a delightful trot through history and, as an audiobook, takes a little under two hours to listen to.
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