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Writer's Cave - The Tummy Trilogy
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List Price: $16.00
Our Price: $7.35
Your Save: $8.65 ( 54% )
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Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.013
EAN: 9780374524173
ISBN: 0374524173
Label: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 400
Publication Date: 1994-09-30
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Studio: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Tummy
Comment: I still have not received my book and you or the seller have not responed to my emails. ARE you going to send me one or give me credit??????
I getting tired of no one responding. What gives???
Customer Rating:
Summary: trillin but....
Comment: amusing but not as clever or bitingly witty as Traveling with Alice. Trillin is a great food writer but at times he needs to edit himself. His shorter works are more entertaining
Customer Rating:
Summary: Funny Foodie Confesses All
Comment: This review refers to "Tales From The Tummy Trilogy" by Calvin Trillin(audio cassette)
He is in search of the perfect bagel. He researches the history of Buffalo Wings, and can tell you if the stain on your shirt that gives away you've been eating them, is from very hot or medium hot wings. He stresses greatly if his favorite cheese shop closes for a holiday. And has stories that will make you both laugh out loud, and ravenous for each and every dish he describes.
Calvin Trillin gives us an hysterical look at the serious foodie. He confesses all, and is proud of it! " Tales From The Tummy Trilogy" include selections from "American Fried","Alice, Lets Eat" and "Third Helpings" He travels the world looking for the best cuisine. No not your high priced fancy shamancy stuff, he's looking for some good old down-home BBQ, making friends with guys who's wife are from the old country and can make a decent dish without adding cream of mushroom soup to everything, and he shows his appreciation for a meal well done, by what else..having third helpings. This to the frustration of his wife, who is trying to keep him on a healthy diet.He pokes fun at his own food addiction and his need for passing it own to his own daughters.
His accounts may make you run to the fridge. I practically ate my way through this very funny book. I took to listening to it on the treadmill in the gym(to help burn off the extra calories i was consuming). I laughed out loud several times, and when I got stares from the other gym rats, I just smiled and held back what I was listening to, for fear of getting hit with flying water bottles!
This audio edition has 2 cassettes, for a total running time of about 3 hours. The reading itself was told with a very unique sense of humor, told in such a serious tone. The sound quality was very good. It is an abridgment. I had never read any of the books that had these selections, so it was all fresh and new to me. So I would say if you have already read them, this will all be repeat stuff(my reason for 4 stars).
Well, as much fun as this book was, I am glad I have finished it and can back to my protein bars and salads!
Enjoy the read....Laurie
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fats Goldberg lives!
Comment: I seriously doubt when Calvin Trillin was knocking out this purple prose back in the early `70s that he ever considered himself a "food writer." I expect no one at the time save the M.F.K. Fishers and Elizabeth Davids of the world even considered that label for themselves. Besides, Mr. Trillin was--indeed, still is--funnier than hell about his gastronomical habits and so was likely slotted under "Humor" in disco-era bookshops--a fate, I'm sure, worse than literary death. I mention all this as a eulogy to how far we've come, category-wise; Mr. Trillin is indeed a food writer and a great one to boot. And even though he's been at this over thirty years his essential approach--*bon vivant* foodie, not frustrated chef or that hideous modern invention, "food critic"-- remains unique.
So how is it that someone scribbling about *eating* (not, mind you, *cooking*) can have me laughing out loud? And wouldn't a self-confessed "big eater" feel at least some desire to whip up what he puts away? Part of the answer lies in that essential dichotomy: Trillin seems vaguely aware that writing about consumption is ridiculous, but he lets us in on the game and, like any good comedian, takes his craft *very* seriously. Most of the stories in these three hilarious volumes have long been published elsewhere but taken together (they can easily be consumed in any order) they betray a level of culinary detail that I doubt any European 3-star Michelin grader could approach.
From the first pages a wonderful informality reigns; Trillin seems to write like I'd imagine he speaks, which in this context is near-perfect. Being invited to the kind of BBQ joints, Chinese restaurants, and fried chicken houses that he describes *demands* this kind of chatter and rather than rambling, the author's language almost seems made for his venues. (Starting with "the best restaurants in the world are, of course, in Kansas City. Not all of them; only the top four or five.") The folksiness not only serves the purpose; when it comes to food, Trillin makes it clear: it *is* the purpose.
Another delightful device is familiarized repetition: bringing back an issue (the paralyzing fear that unreadable Chinese on menus hides unimaginable gastronomic delights, for example) from a previous story helps us identify with Trillin's angst--but also betrays his quiet confidence that we *read* the previous part and know its importance. Bringing whole characters (e.g., Fats Goldberg, the pizza baron) back into the mix regularly is even more fun.
To be sure, after nearly four hundred pages the author has a few overlaps (at least a few titles start with "Confessions of ..."), but they're minor compared to his comic genius. Reading `The Tummy Trilogy' was delicious from start to finish and the only dated portions--best exemplified by continual slams against "continental cuisine" (exemplified by `La Maison de la Casa House')--still rang somewhat true, even playing to a thinly-disguised inverse snobbery.
My only regret after this satisfying meal was not getting a better picture of the author himself, despite his occasional family references. Perhaps that's not all bad; I doubt Mr. Trillin and I would get along. From his recent writing, he appears to be indulging in political fever-swamping (especially against Mr. Bush) which is a tragic waste of talent. While he admits his days as a "sausage-eating crank" may be behind him, I can only fervently wish otherwise.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wonderful writing and a delight even though much has changed on the American food scene
Comment: As far as I know, Calvin Trillin and I disagree on almost everything in government, economics, and legislation. However, he writes so well, that I prefer to forget the other and just remember how much he delights me with the music and fun of his words. This book is actually three books in one and all of them are about food. Trillin writes about food in a wonderfully charming way by using his family, friends, as well as the patrons, and restaurateurs he meets during his journeys in search of good eats.
"American Fried" is from 1974, "Alice, Let's Eat" from 1978, and "Third Helping" from 1983. The compilation has a new introduction that is, like the book, from 1994. America eating in the 1990s was much different than the way American's ate in 1974. Through the author's eyes (and tummy), we can recapture what it was like in those inglorious years for America's non-cuisine. Oh, there is plenty of bad food even in 2006, but it is much easier to find great food if you care to eat it.
Trillin is a wonderful storyteller. He has an eye for the telling and humorous detail and a great way with dialogue. These books are packed full of delightful anecdotes that illustrate local delights from all over the country (as well as horrors from all over the country). He has a special kindness that is never mean even while pointing out the ridiculous.
These remain fun books that I can recommend enthusiastically even though eating out on the American scene has changed a great deal since the years in which these books (this book) were written.
Enjoy!
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