Iranian bookstores sell “Gourmet Rhapsody”

TEHRAN –(Iranart)- A Persian translation of French novelist Muriel Barbery’s “Gourmet Rhapsody” has recently been published by Avande Danesh Publications.

The book has been rendered into Persian by Leila Nazari.

The book is about Pierre Arthens, the greatest food critic in the world, who is dying in the heart of Paris, in the same posh building made famous in “The Elegance of the Hedgehog”.

Revered by some and reviled by many, Monsieur Arthens has been lording it over the world’s most esteemed chefs for years, passing judgment on their creations, deciding their fates with a stroke of his pen, destroying and building reputations on a whim. 

But now, during his final hours, his mind has turned to simpler things. He is desperately searching for that singular flavor, that sublime something once sampled, never forgotten, the flavor par excellence. 

Indeed, this flamboyant and self-absorbed man desires only one thing before he dies: one last taste. Thus begins a charming voyage that traces the career of Monsieur Arthens from childhood to maturity across a celebration of all manner of culinary delights. 

Alternating with the voice of the supercilious Arthens is a chorus belonging to his acquaintances and familiars – relatives, lovers, a would-be protégé, even a cat. 

Each will have his or her say about M. Arthens, a man who has inspired only extreme emotions in people. Here, as in “The Elegance of the Hedgehog”, Muriel Barbery’s story celebrates life’s simple pleasures and sublime moments while condemning the arrogance and vulgarity of power.

Barbery is professor of philosophy. She entered the École Normale Supérieure de Fontenay-Saint-Cloud in 1990 and obtained her agrégation in philosophy in 1993. She then taught philosophy at the Université de Bourgogne, in a lycée, and at the Saint-Lo IUFM.

source: Tehran Times