Oranges

[caseylev.livejournal.com]

I know I cannot be the only one who has noticed this, so it is really just a random thought. How many times does Gen mention various kinds of oranges in The Thief? And, now that I think about it, are they a particularly prominent fruit in QoA or KoA? And, now that my brain is going, how many fruits are mentioned in the book? And, this has actually been bothering me, has anyone figured out exactly what kinds of oranges Gen is actually talking about? I think my friend asked an orange farmer once, but he just looked at her stupidly.

Oh, and just so you know who I am and not this random kid...I joined this community like...a couple(?) months ago, but I have said like three things. Mostly I just lurk around and remember Sundays that there were chats on Saturdays that I never remember anyways. So there you have it. And my computer is being ridiculous and not letting my type apostrophes...lame. :P

Comments

[idiosyncreant.livejournal.com]

I think oranges are probably (like the ubiquitous olives) just establishing the terrain. Oranges grow in warm places; I don't know if Greece produces oranges particularly: that might be a diversion, so we know it's not Greece.

Olives are, technically, also a fruit. Is there a mention of raisins?

Mostly, it's just that Gen took a whole bunch from that one inn and was using them to get the Magus' back up. *pets the obnoxious Gen*

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

We know they make wine in at least one of the countries (too lazy to look it up) so they must have raisins. Aren't those just dried-out grapes?

Olives are a fruit? I did not know that. *hearts Gen picking at the Magus, too*

[idiosyncreant.livejournal.com]

They have 'em, but does Gen eat 'em?

[rowana.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I figured, like Anachred, that it was similar to the olives thing, they're prominent fruits because they'd be grown in that sort of climate.

Not a fruit, but I remember noticing that coffee was mentioned in the Thief twice, and finding that funny (because of all the Gen on coffee images my mind produces as a result).

If you get this in time, there's a chat today! Not sure what time it is for you - Emerald will have mentioned it on the chat reminder post a little way down. :)

[tiloo.livejournal.com]

coffee was also mentioned in KoA, I know because I have almost memarized chapter four

[idiosyncreant.livejournal.com]

Gen on coffee.

Mercy. I'm happy for a year now.

[idiosyncreant.livejournal.com]

Also, I'm dominating this thread. Oops.

[crazyviolin.livejournal.com]

Hmm, well, maybe he just likes oranges.

Like if I was going on a little trip somewhere I might mention all the bookshops I saw. Or chocolate factories.

I've never met an orange farmer. They'd probably freeze to death in Britain anyway. (The oranges, not the farmer).

[idiosyncreant.livejournal.com]

And I did totally think you mean the farmer, too. >,

[agentmaly.livejournal.com]

Me too. :P

[sclerotia.livejournal.com]

Lots of the houses of the very rich had the orangeries attached, with the south facing windows...but no farmers, only gardeners.

[tiloo.livejournal.com]

I LIKE ORANGES!!! But only really good ones!

Maybe... maybe because Sounis is more warmer then Attolia and Eddis but I don't think it would be that much warmer.
I thought there were orange plantations in Greece. I suppose it would depend on what type of oranges were being grown as well, because there are probably some that are more durable then others.
YAY FOR ORANGES!!!

[caseylev.livejournal.com]

Ha, chat yesterday, didn't even look at my computer until today. Jeez, what occupies my Saturdays?

Anyways, the other weird thing I thought of when I was supposed to be paying attention to other things...Gen's like a connesieur (spelling??) of oranges. At one point during The Thief he says something along the lines of, "They (the oranges) were the small lumpy kind that were hard to peel but juicy and sweet inside." Who knows that about oranges? I usually think, "Jeez this is hard to peel...huh, tastes really good, though." Gen has categorized oranges but texture, peeling ease, juice level, and taste. That's amazing. ;p

late answer

[rowana.livejournal.com]

I remember peeling a satsuma just like that once and thinking 'this must have been what he meant when he said oranges'. They were from Greece too.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Sounds like the small, hard-to-peel kind is like a valencia (http://www.hormel.com/templates/knowledge/knowledge.asp?id=968).

[(Anonymous)]

Or like a clementine, which I think is technically a tangerine, but hey. They are lumpy and sweet.

Also, coffee would be another of those "this is not really ancient or even Byzantine Greece" things like pocket watches and fire arms. Coffee, like corn (maize) for that matter, is native to America. I don't have any idea when it became widely known and drunk in the real Europe, but it couldn't have been before the 16th century.

- ELM -

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

...I can't believe I'm the first one to mention the orange trees?

(That's probably because when MWT was writing The Thief she may or may not have known--did we ever determine/ask this?--that Gen did, in fact, watch Attolia dance under the orange trees [oh...biannual reread coming up, I'm excited], so that wouldn't explain why he mentions them so often.)

But in RETROSPECT, it'd be insanely adorable if that was part of the reason behind his liking of the oranges. And I always assumed they were normal oranges, like just about everything in the books is normal. *shrugs*

[idiosyncreant.livejournal.com]

SmartiePants.

Geez, why do I hang with these obsessive/hyperanalytical people?

Oh, yeah. Because THEIR MINDS ARE SO COOL.
Orange trees. Genius. Sheesh.

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

HOMG! duh. Your genius puts us to shame, Jade. WELL DONE!

[estarria.livejournal.com]

Good gravy, how did I forget about the orange trees?
And how cute would that be? :D

[agentmaly.livejournal.com]

That is insanely adorable, and has now entered my personal canon. Thank you. :D

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

You guys are crazy. He was just hungry after being in an orange-less prison for months.

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

I have family who live on the Adriatic, and they have mandarin oranges on their farm, if that helps.

[scottykarrde.livejournal.com]

orange trees! ooh. Good one.
Actually I loved how he described the lumpy, hard to peel = delicious. I mean, it's so true to life, the easy-to-peel oranges are crumbly and bland. MWT just describes my whole Life-Oranges relationship in one sentence. So there.
One thing that was neat, I never realized dried olives were (invented? created? were a popular food?) I've been to the mediterranean loads of times and eaten enough olives to deforest the Sea of Olives, but never a dried one.
Yes, it's late. rambling alert ****

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

eaten enough olives to deforest the Sea of Olives, but never a dried one.


Lol. that's a lot of olives