The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolution, Eccentricities, and Meaning of Table Manners

Exactly my kind of book. It takes one aspect of our lives and dissects it, comparing current beliefs and practices with other cultures and times. What I learned: culture is weird :)

What I didn't like: sometimes the author repeats herself and the ending was quite abrupt.

The first book that comes to mind on this topic is by Norbert Elias. In this work the author shows how civilization developed rituals around eating. It is in this vein that the book was written about the origins, evolution, eccentricities, and meaning of table manners.

Even cannibalism is not random and arbitrarily vicious; the records that we have of cannibalistic behavior demonstrates that people are eaten according to strict rules. The word cannibalism itself was not used until the time of Columbus. Columbus found two different Native American tribes who were cannibals and in the dialect form of one of the Native American tribes the word used led to the Spanish use of the word cannibalism. Previously, the word for cannibals was the show more Greek word for man eaters but was now replaced by cannibals in the languages of Europe (p. 5). In addition, Shakespeare created a character in which he made the embodiment of the bestial aspects of humankind and the idea of cannibalism was attached to him. The Aztecs fought wars to provide itself with prisoners who were eaten. Estimates of the numbers of victims put to death and consumed range from 15,000 to 250,000 (p. 8). Large in any case. The Aztecs had never managed to domesticate large animals which they could eat and the only animals left were turkeys and dogs. Neither of these animals were good enough to supply enough meat to sustain the population.

The Eucharist is undoubtedly the most significance charge dinner ritual ever revised (p. 36). As a meal, the Mass spans all the meanings of eating at once--from cannibalism to vegetarianism, from complete fusion of the group to utterly individual satisfaction, from the breaking of the most fearful of taboos to the gentlest and most comforting restoration. All this and more is contained, expressed and controled by ritual: dramatic movement and structure, song, costume, poetry, incense, gesture, and interaction; every one of the five senses is employed in the service of mystical experience (p. 37).

The author displays an impressive range of cultural and linguistic evidence and the book is exhaustive in its explanation of the rituals of dinner. show less

A fascinating study of table manners, how they evolved, why we need them and how they differ from country to country, age to age.

Fairly interesting survey of the many rituals and customs surrounding eating in various cultures.

The detail is very rich -- I dipped in and out of this book over a really long period of time, but it wasn't a problem!

Fascinating study - all you ever needed to know about knives, forks, spoons, chopsticks - and how we use them. Explains why Europeans and Americans have very different approaches to the use of the fork.

Table manner and rituals are a language that convey our culture and our upbringing. The Rituals of Dinner by Margaret Visser is a reference source for anyone looking to study the topic. If you have a general interest in the topic, you may find yourself skimming the book or looking for a different one. Should you choose to read it, you will never sit down to dinner quite the same way again.

Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2015/06/the-rituals-of-dinner.html

Reviewed based on a publisher’s galley received through NetGalley