 | A WRITER'S WIT |  C. Darrow |
MY BOOK WORLD
McPhee, John. The Founding Fish. New York: Farrar, 2002.
This is the first I have read of the more than fifty books McPhee has published in his ninety-four years on earth, and I have to say it has been a revelation. I’m not one who fishes (maybe . . . for compliments, never the icky, slimy things that come out of the water), but I found this a fascinating history of the American shad. Its life cycle as both a saltwater and freshwater fish. Its boundless energy to overcome humanmade obstacles (dams for one). Its ability to rebound after a period of overfishing. Its delight as food (in spite of its many bones):
“When Alexander Wilson named this fish sapidissima in 1811, he was referring almost certainly to the nutty-buttery succulence of the main muscle, but the roe is the tongue of the buffalo, the tip of the asparagus, the cheek of the halibut, the marrow of the osso bucco” (295).
McPhee’s Appendix consists of nothing but recipes, one of which lists these ingredients:
2 pounds shad
1 pair roe
1 tbs. chopped parsley
Pepper, salt (if desired)
1 tbs. butter
Soft bread crumbs
Clarified butter
½ cup sauterne
1½ cup chopped mushrooms
1 tsp. paprika (348)
Yet there are historic objectors to the art/craft/sport of fishing: “The poet Byron said it best: “[T]he art of angling [is] the cruelest, the coldest, and the stupidest of pretended sports” (313).
There you have it! McPhee covers both sides of the story, the equation, the diet!
Up Next:
TUES: A Writer's Wit | Ellen Glasgow
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Barry Hannah
THURS: A Writer's Wit | Shirley MacLaine
FRI: My Book World | Gabor Maté, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture
This is the first I have read of the more than fifty books McPhee has published in his ninety-four years on earth, and I have to say it has been a revelation. I’m not one who fishes (maybe . . . for compliments, never the icky, slimy things that come out of the water), but I found this a fascinating history of the American shad. Its life cycle as both a saltwater and freshwater fish. Its boundless energy to overcome humanmade obstacles (dams for one). Its ability to rebound after a period of overfishing. Its delight as food (in spite of its many bones):
“When Alexander Wilson named this fish sapidissima in 1811, he was referring almost certainly to the nutty-buttery succulence of the main muscle, but the roe is the tongue of the buffalo, the tip of the asparagus, the cheek of the halibut, the marrow of the osso bucco” (295).
McPhee’s Appendix consists of nothing but recipes, one of which lists these ingredients:
2 pounds shad
1 pair roe
1 tbs. chopped parsley
Pepper, salt (if desired)
1 tbs. butter
Soft bread crumbs
Clarified butter
½ cup sauterne
1½ cup chopped mushrooms
1 tsp. paprika (348)
Yet there are historic objectors to the art/craft/sport of fishing: “The poet Byron said it best: “[T]he art of angling [is] the cruelest, the coldest, and the stupidest of pretended sports” (313).
There you have it! McPhee covers both sides of the story, the equation, the diet!
Up Next:
TUES: A Writer's Wit | Ellen Glasgow
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Barry Hannah
THURS: A Writer's Wit | Shirley MacLaine
FRI: My Book World | Gabor Maté, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture
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