Culinary Fictions

Food in South Asian Diasporic Culture

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Asian, South & Southeast Asian, American
Cover of the book Culinary Fictions by Anita Mannur, Temple University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Anita Mannur ISBN: 9781439900796
Publisher: Temple University Press Publication: November 19, 2009
Imprint: Temple University Press Language: English
Author: Anita Mannur
ISBN: 9781439900796
Publisher: Temple University Press
Publication: November 19, 2009
Imprint: Temple University Press
Language: English

For South Asians, food regularly plays a role in how issues of race, class, gender, ethnicity, and national identity are imagined as well as how notions of belonging are affirmed or resisted. Culinary Fictions provides food for thought as it considers the metaphors literature, film, and TV shows use to describe Indians abroad. When an immigrant mother in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake combines Rice Krispies, Planters peanuts, onions, salt, lemon juice, and green chili peppers to create a dish similar to one found on Calcutta sidewalks, it evokes not only the character’s Americanization, but also her nostalgia for India.

Food, Anita Mannur writes, is a central part of the cultural imagination of diasporic populations, and Culinary Fictions maps how it figures in various expressive forms. Mannur examines the cultural production from the Anglo-American reaches of the South Asian diaspora. Using texts from novels—Chitra Divakaruni’s Mistress of Spices and Shani Mootoo’s Cereus Blooms at Night—and cookbooks such as Madhur Jaffrey’s Invitation to Indian Cooking and Padma Lakshmi’s Easy Exotic, she illustrates how national identities are consolidated in culinary terms.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

For South Asians, food regularly plays a role in how issues of race, class, gender, ethnicity, and national identity are imagined as well as how notions of belonging are affirmed or resisted. Culinary Fictions provides food for thought as it considers the metaphors literature, film, and TV shows use to describe Indians abroad. When an immigrant mother in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake combines Rice Krispies, Planters peanuts, onions, salt, lemon juice, and green chili peppers to create a dish similar to one found on Calcutta sidewalks, it evokes not only the character’s Americanization, but also her nostalgia for India.

Food, Anita Mannur writes, is a central part of the cultural imagination of diasporic populations, and Culinary Fictions maps how it figures in various expressive forms. Mannur examines the cultural production from the Anglo-American reaches of the South Asian diaspora. Using texts from novels—Chitra Divakaruni’s Mistress of Spices and Shani Mootoo’s Cereus Blooms at Night—and cookbooks such as Madhur Jaffrey’s Invitation to Indian Cooking and Padma Lakshmi’s Easy Exotic, she illustrates how national identities are consolidated in culinary terms.

More books from Temple University Press

Cover of the book Lucia by Anita Mannur
Cover of the book The Wars We Inherit by Anita Mannur
Cover of the book The Gender Knot by Anita Mannur
Cover of the book Introduction to Animal Rights by Anita Mannur
Cover of the book Challenging the Chip by Anita Mannur
Cover of the book One Less Car by Anita Mannur
Cover of the book James Naismith by Anita Mannur
Cover of the book Afro-Caribbean Religions by Anita Mannur
Cover of the book Music, Disability, and Society by Anita Mannur
Cover of the book Identifying Consumption by Anita Mannur
Cover of the book The Migrants Table by Anita Mannur
Cover of the book Race and Class Matters at an Elite College by Anita Mannur
Cover of the book Race Appeal by Anita Mannur
Cover of the book Workers of the World, Enjoy! by Anita Mannur
Cover of the book Managing the Infosphere by Anita Mannur
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy