OP: The Rituals of Dinner
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Grove Weidenfeld, New York, 1991. Hardcover. Fine. Signed second printing.
What are appropriate table manners throughout the world? Where do the rules around cutlery come from? Why are there so many taboos related to food? Margaret Visser (b. 1940) addresses these questions and then some in The Rituals of Dinner, taking a sociological approach to the everyday act of eating.
The idiosyncrasies and customs which we find ourselves performing—and it is a performance—at mealtime often have historical precedent, giving every act layers of meaning. Thoroughly researched and wittily written, Visser engages her audience in rethinking the way we commune, dine, and behave. Beyond matters of cleanliness and sanitation, we see superstition, primal instincts, and power dynamics at play in the most mundane of “polite” behaviors.
Given the breadth of research, the text would benefit from footnotes, simply because it inspires further questions in even the most casual reader.
Ours is a Fine second printing in a Near Fine, price-clipped jacket, signed by Margaret Visser to the title page. Also available in paperback.
