sienamystic (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sienamystic) wrote2010-10-22 02:41 pm
sienamystic) wrote2010-10-22 02:41 pm
Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater, by Frank Bruni
A book I've been waiting for a while to read, and very much enjoyed.
Frank Bruni was, up until last year or so, the food critic for the New York Times. This book is a long, personal look at his relationship with food, his growing up in a large, food-focused Italian family, and his journey towards a more peaceful relationship with food.
It's a forthright story, written in an accessible, storytelling style that is intimate, but not overly sentimental. Bruni discusses his childhood, where eating more made Grandma happy, and where he discovered early on to be self-conscious of his extra pounds, without knowing exactly what to do about them. He charts his "scientific" attempts to stay thin, which ranged from bulimia and laxatives, to strange diets, to diet pills bought over the border in Mexico, to fasting. As he gets older, his career as a journalist frequently takes him into situations where food in huge quantities is always available, eaten hastily before the press bus departs on the next stop on the campaign trail, or late at night while sipping cocktails and hoping for a bit of news to spin into the story for the next day.
The idea of a person with all of these so-called food issues becoming a food critic is the throughline of the book. Navigating the rough waters with him, we come out on the other side sharing his happiness in his newfound peace of mind about his eating, and root for him to be able to maintain it in the future.
Frank Bruni was, up until last year or so, the food critic for the New York Times. This book is a long, personal look at his relationship with food, his growing up in a large, food-focused Italian family, and his journey towards a more peaceful relationship with food.
It's a forthright story, written in an accessible, storytelling style that is intimate, but not overly sentimental. Bruni discusses his childhood, where eating more made Grandma happy, and where he discovered early on to be self-conscious of his extra pounds, without knowing exactly what to do about them. He charts his "scientific" attempts to stay thin, which ranged from bulimia and laxatives, to strange diets, to diet pills bought over the border in Mexico, to fasting. As he gets older, his career as a journalist frequently takes him into situations where food in huge quantities is always available, eaten hastily before the press bus departs on the next stop on the campaign trail, or late at night while sipping cocktails and hoping for a bit of news to spin into the story for the next day.
The idea of a person with all of these so-called food issues becoming a food critic is the throughline of the book. Navigating the rough waters with him, we come out on the other side sharing his happiness in his newfound peace of mind about his eating, and root for him to be able to maintain it in the future.