The Table is Laid: The Oxford Anthology of South Asian Food Writing

This anthology of writings on food brings together a wide range of literary and non-literary texts from South Asia. It draws on writing in English from the subcontinent, as well as the Diaspora. The volume covers a broad range of areas: scholarly, narrative, philosophical, literary, anthropological, and cultural. Striking a balance between ‘food writing’ and ‘food cultural studies’, the anthology offers something of interest for everyone. The persuasive and acutely argued introduction blends erudition and readability. The well-conceived sections see food as a trope for, among other things, colonial semantics; caste oppression; female sexual subversion; the anticolonial hunger strike; and the somatic realities of famine. The recent interest in literary representations of food dwells on the idea that not only is eating the most basic of human activities, but also a major marker of social, cultural, and psychic identity. Food is an integral way in which individuals perceive themselves, and are perceived by others, resulting in stereotyping, as well as providing a means of self-determination. The volume’s most important contribution lies in bringing the specificities of South Asian food cultures to bear upon the global field of food cultural studies. It will appeal to all those interested in South Asian culture, gender, literature, anthropology, as well as general readers.