Sounisian Munchies
May. 12th, 2010 07:44 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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queensthiefThis is sort of a two-course post. First, fantasy food clichés. Then wine.
I've been reading a lot of really traditional sword-and-sorcery stories lately (and also, to combat the inevitable effects, DWJ's Tough Guide to Fantasyland to lighten the mood) and something that strikes me is how often the food of choice is stew. Followed closely by porridge, bread, and some poor rabbit who's been roasted over a campfire and seasoned with a whole lot of nothing. And I noticed how in MWT's books there is such greater variety for her characters to eat.
For instance, in The Thief alone we got oatmeal and bread, true, but also oranges, yogurt, olives, raw garden vegetables, and dried meat. We saw onions by the roadside too. Food didn't feature in the second book very strongly, but did contain olive oil for dipping, and nonspecific kinds of meat and vegetables. In the third book Costis got cheese and olives to go along with his stew, and in the fourth book there's lamb, grapes, more chicken, and iced cake.
Has anyone else noticed how much effort MWT puts into giving her characters a realistic diet that includes all of the major food groups? For me that's one of the things that keeps her books from ever, ever feeling like "standard" fantasy fare. (lol, pun intended.)
And while I have to say I was a bit disappointed by the appearance of a tavern in the fourth book, as opposed to the Greek-feeling and less clichéd "wineshops" she used in the first book, I liked that Gen and Sophos drank wine, not ale/mead/beer.
Which brings me to point two: there's so much wine in QT, has anyone else noticed? I mean, I counted seven different scenes containing wine in some way in ACoK alone. I probably missed some. The other books have a lot, too, except for TT, where it's mentioned but not seen. And then there's this new thing, "remchik." It feels odd to me that there would be so much drinking going on in a kid's book, but not only are these the least kid-friendly kid's books I've ever read, they're also set in pseudo Greece where I guess wine was the beverage of choice for people who could afford it. What are your reactions?
And what other clichés have you noticed Megan neatly sidestepping in writing the QT series? (for example, couples where the man is always older than the woman, or heroes who give stirring speeches and succeed in changing the minds of entire assemblies with nothing more than idealism)
I've been reading a lot of really traditional sword-and-sorcery stories lately (and also, to combat the inevitable effects, DWJ's Tough Guide to Fantasyland to lighten the mood) and something that strikes me is how often the food of choice is stew. Followed closely by porridge, bread, and some poor rabbit who's been roasted over a campfire and seasoned with a whole lot of nothing. And I noticed how in MWT's books there is such greater variety for her characters to eat.
For instance, in The Thief alone we got oatmeal and bread, true, but also oranges, yogurt, olives, raw garden vegetables, and dried meat. We saw onions by the roadside too. Food didn't feature in the second book very strongly, but did contain olive oil for dipping, and nonspecific kinds of meat and vegetables. In the third book Costis got cheese and olives to go along with his stew, and in the fourth book there's lamb, grapes, more chicken, and iced cake.
Has anyone else noticed how much effort MWT puts into giving her characters a realistic diet that includes all of the major food groups? For me that's one of the things that keeps her books from ever, ever feeling like "standard" fantasy fare. (lol, pun intended.)
And while I have to say I was a bit disappointed by the appearance of a tavern in the fourth book, as opposed to the Greek-feeling and less clichéd "wineshops" she used in the first book, I liked that Gen and Sophos drank wine, not ale/mead/beer.
Which brings me to point two: there's so much wine in QT, has anyone else noticed? I mean, I counted seven different scenes containing wine in some way in ACoK alone. I probably missed some. The other books have a lot, too, except for TT, where it's mentioned but not seen. And then there's this new thing, "remchik." It feels odd to me that there would be so much drinking going on in a kid's book, but not only are these the least kid-friendly kid's books I've ever read, they're also set in pseudo Greece where I guess wine was the beverage of choice for people who could afford it. What are your reactions?
And what other clichés have you noticed Megan neatly sidestepping in writing the QT series? (for example, couples where the man is always older than the woman, or heroes who give stirring speeches and succeed in changing the minds of entire assemblies with nothing more than idealism)
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Date: 5/13/10 02:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 5/13/10 09:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 5/15/10 06:06 pm (UTC):) :)