Narrative as a Culinary Experience

October 2024 ‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒ 7 minute read

According to their taste and personal preference, different people enjoy different flavours of narrative. The difficulty then is judging one narrative against another, feat nigh on impossible. Is it really feasible or even fair to compare between thriller, fantasy and mystery? Or between a stand alone, a trilogy and an extended series? Though to some extent one can try and compare common features – plot, characterisation, prose – at some point the comparison inevitably breaks down.

One alternative to this is purely genre based judgement. That is, within the strict classification of a particular agreed upon style, who does the best at achieving it. This is undeniably more useful, at least on the practical, personal exploration front. If you are aware you enjoy a particular genre then it is much easier to compare quality within that specific genre.

For example, the quality of a murder mystery is generally measured according to how tight its plot is. So, within this particular genre, the tighter the plot, the better the mystery. Comparably, a thriller isn't concerned with plot so much as suspense. So in this instance, the greater the suspense, the better the thriller¹By no means is there only source of reference for the quality of a genre, I've simply making the point that such a heuristic can and is used.

Sure, there are still some traces of personal preference, but compared to the alternative there is significantly less. However, as good as this approach is, there are some circumstances in which it completely breaks down. Most notably, any instances which combine, ignore or transcend genre. The reason for this is because genre is solely focused on subject matter as a means of distinction.

Is there an alternative then? Somewhere in-between the hyperbroad expanse of universal sets and the restrictive channels of genre. The answer, as far as I can tell, lies inherent within the idea of taste itself. Because to best excerise taste, you first have to identify three distinct culinary experiences²By culinary experiences I am not referring to cuisine. Cuisine, as in mexican, mediterranean, indian, chinese, thai, japanese, etc. is aligned directly with genre.

Fast food. Fine dining. Home cooked meals.

Each of these culinary experiences are distict as they are identifiable. Fast food is cheap, mass produced and easy to consume. Home cooked meals are hearty, human and lovingly prepared. Fine dining is rich, artistic and nuanced. Though difficult to completely classify these experiences, they are easily recognisable, the kind of thing where you know it when you see it.

Another way to distiguish these catagories is by the appetite they are satiating. The entertainment of fast food for the stomach; the captivation of homecooked meals for the heart; the crafted prose of fine dining for the mind. More on this soon.

In essence, each of these groupings are broad enough to encompass genre, but distinct enough to still focus on an identifiable subset. Importantly, instead of distinguishing content by what is written, culinarity distinguishes content by how it is written. This incorporates more than just subject matter, but prose, atmosphere, plot, character, pacing; every element which works together to create the the narrative as a whole.

Fast food type novels tend to rely on the same few formulaic recipes and clichés, dispensing with any literary trimmings or prosaic flourishes. But while they may have no real nutritional intellectual value, they can still taste delightful. These are what G.K Chesterton, and later George Orwell described as Good Bad Books.

...the kind of book that has no literary pretensions but which remains readable when more serious productions have perished. — George Orwell, Good Bad Books

In other words, the work may be completely unbelievable, ludicrous even, but remain entertaining nevertheless. Narratives such as these will be melodramatic, preposterous and, hopefully, enjoyable. The type of works which I'm referring to here lie squarely in the realm of fictional escapism, pulp entertainment, pop literature.

In terms of examples, Orwell included the works of Sherlock Holmes, Ian Fleming and Raffles, though these are albeit on the higher end of the spectrum in terms of quality. Other more contempory examples I'd add include most of the works of Clive Cussler, John Grisham, James Patterson and Dan Brown. Between Orwells definition and the examples of these author's works, you should have a pretty clear picture of what I'm talking about.

Though they inhabit a place somewhere in between fast food and fine dining, novels as home cooked meals have a unique feel in their own right. While home cooked meals may rely on recipes, there is something comforting in the simplicity of a story well told. The key type of works I'm referring to here lie squarely in the realm of pure storytelling, the kind which conjure up a weary traveller or an aged relative leaning close with a twinkle in their eye and saying let me tell you a story...

Examples include the works of Neil Gaimen. Brandon Sanderson. Stephen King. J.K Rowling. Terry Pratchett. G.K. Chesterton. R.L. Stevenson. P.G. Wodehouse. C.S. Lewis. Charles Dickens. Books like The Alchemist. The Little Prince. Life of Pi.

Fine dining are works to be appreciated, to be savoured. On the macro there is deep exploration of ideas and themes, while on the micro every sentence is thoughtfully and artfully constructed. The focus of novels as fine dining is not entertainment value, but intellectual value. That being said, it is possible to have intricate, crafted prose which say nothing at all.

Generally, novels as fine dining are what one might describe as high literature, literary fiction or The Classics; also generally, these are the type of novels which tend to Pulitzer prizes and other literary awards.

Historical examples include the works of Jane Austen, Ernest Hemingway, Oscar Wilde; more recently, they have come to include Barbara Kingsolver, Donna Tartt and Cormac McCarthy.

Personally, I also place Raymond Chandler, Terry Pratchett and Ray Bradbury among these, because though their prose is somewhat simpler, the sheer turn of phrase and sculpting of written word is enough to directly align with any definition of fine dining.

It is worth noting that many of these authors works do not all fit squarely in any single distinct catagory; most may lie in one, a few in others, some may even cross between two. These classifications are by no means set in stone; think of them as a useful lens through which to consider narratives.

Also, within each culinary experience there still exists the familiar spectrum of quality. Just as no genre is inherently better than any other, neither is any particular culinarity. Home cooked meals, fine dining and fast food can all be terrible, and they can all be outstanding.

Let me explore a little deeper here. For better or for worse, the experience of eating is based on more than just the quality of the food. In additonal to this there is also a subtle psychological element: expectations.

To have a fine dining experience is to be presented with an array of visually stunning meals, of minimalist lavish decadence, and in turn, we tend to expect an equally stunning culinary experience. And yet in spite of this, sometimes fine dining is completely mediocre, if not downright repulsive.

The opposite effect is also at work in fast food. Somewhere along the line we unconsciously connected cheap with cheap and nasty. And while this stereotype does exist for a reason, this is not always necessarily true. While it may not look like much, fast food can sometimes be a triumph of pure tastiness.

All this is to say, you can't judge a book by its cover. All this is to say, fine dining, homecooked meals and fast food can all be as good as the best or as bad as the worst. All this is to say, what is true for culinary experiences is true for narratives as well.

Throughout this essay I've referred primarily to novels; however, narratives exist far beyond the written or spoken word. As both the paradimes of genre apply more broadly to cinema, music and games, so too do the culinary comparisons I've outlined here.

To consider cinema for a moment, fast food would include Mission Impossible, Fast and Furious and just about anything in the MCU; home cooked meals would include many biopics, Pixar movies and most period flicks; fine dining would include your Oscar winners, the new Dune installments and just about anything filmed by Christopher Nolan. Disseminate at your leisure.

Just to clarify, I'm not saying that culinarity should completely replace genre or universal rating.

At worst it's another lens through which to view narratives.

At best it's a useful complement to both genre and universal rating alike.

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