Book Review: “Food: A Love Story” by Jim Gaffigan

“Food: A Love Story” by Jim Gaffigan (2014)

Genre: Non-fiction, Humor, Food, Essays

Page Length: 340 pages (paperback edition)

Synopsis: 

“What are my qualifications to write this book? None really. So why should you read it? Here’s why: I’m a little fat. If a thin guy were to write about a love of food and eating I’d highly recommend that you do not read his book.”

Bacon. McDonalds. Cinnabon. Hot Pockets. Kale. Stand-up comedian and author Jim Gaffigan has made his career rhapsodizing over the most treasured dishes of the American diet (“choking on bacon is like getting murdered by your lover”) and decrying the worst offenders (“kale is the early morning of foods”). Fans flocked to his New York Times bestselling book Dad is Fat to hear him riff on fatherhood but now, in his second book, he will give them what they really crave—hundreds of pages of his thoughts on all things culinary(ish). Insights such as: why he believes coconut water was invented to get people to stop drinking coconut water, why pretzel bread is #3 on his most important inventions of humankind (behind the wheel and the computer), and the answer to the age-old question “which animal is more delicious: the pig, the cow, or the bacon cheeseburger?” (description from Goodreads)

Review:

I enjoyed Gaffigan’s previous novel Dad Is Fat so I was really eager to read this book. I like his comedy style and that he has a down-to-earth/laidback personality. In Food, Gaffigan shares his personal food experiences from his childhood to his current life. He discusses topics such as favorite food, fast food,his disdain for vegetables, and much more.

In the end, I had a hard time finishing this book. While it was very comedic and entertaining, I just couldn’t bear to read almost 400 pages about food alone. I’m not much a food genre book reader, nor do I read many cookbooks, but I thought this would be a fun read. About a quarter way through the novel I felt a little bored with the book, and overall I felt that some of the chapters of the book could have been condensed into larger sections. In a few words, it was a bit repetitive.

I did, however, like the way the chapters are set up though and the wide variety of material he presents to his readers. One section of the book that I found to be really funny is where he discusses regional food in the US. The South is referred to as “BBQ Land” and the Midwest is given a name that is something like “Super Bowl Sunday Foodland”.

Final Verdict:

Fun topic, but the book becomes repetitive over time.

FTC Disclaimer: I relieved this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for a fair an honest review.