Monday, September 28, 2015

An All You Can Eat Comedy Buffet

Food: A Love Story – Jim Gaffigan (Three Rivers Press)

They say that for comedy to be truly funny it has to have elements of the truth. Jim Gaffigan tapped into the American psyche with his very relatable bits about Hot Pockets and bippity, boppity, bacon! So it seems like a natural extension for Gaffigan to go whole hog into an examination of food.

The old saying about writing goes something to the effect of “write about what you know” so Gaffigan goes deep with his with his scholarly treatise; Food: A Love Story.
 

It is in those parts of the book where Gaffigan plumbs the depths America’s love affair with food that will have you laughing out loud. I fully admit that I earned more than a handful of strange looks from my family following a retreat to the confines of my…shall we say…most personal of spaces and letting loose a volley of…guffaws…what did you think I was going to say?

The scary thing isn’t how many times you will find yourself laughing, It’s how many times you will find yourself agreeing with his assessment how we relate to food. Gaffigan taps into not only that relationship, but the unique quirks and traditions we have built around food.

I also found Food: A Love Story to be learning experience; like the fact that if you believed the old wives tale about not being able to swim until 30 minutes after eating would lead to Jim Gaffigan never ever being able to don a Speedo and hit the water.

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