I started reading The Gourmet a few weeks after internship started, only to complete it about a month or two ago (I had this post saved in draft for a terribly long time, lazy).

The Gourmet is narrated by Jean, a renowned food critic in France, who is lying on his deathbed at the start of the story. He is at the verge of slipping into eternal unconsciousness, but is held back as he still desires a "taste", a "flavour" that he cannot quite put a finger on. His devoted, neglected wife, devastated at his impending demise, is ready to accede to his every request.

The Gourmet is divided into chapters named after a particular type of food; meat, fish, whisky, etc. Jean centres his narration on food, every description is detailed and colourful. Jean hardly talks about anybody else with emotional depth, and even if so, rare and brief. The existence of people insignificant and secondary to him.

His love does not extend beyond food. You can see this in the other chapters, where his children, wife, mistress, housekeeper tell their tales. His angry children, void of fatherly love; his lovelorn wife, neglected and lifeless; his mistress, only an object of lust. No matter their emotions, they have one underlying thing in common: their desire for Jean's affections.

How could Jean, a selfish, soulless man, have stirred so much complex, conflicting emotions?
Humans lust for things they cannot acquire, and Jean's unchanged nonchalance only intensified their want for his love. Does getting something seemingly beyond our reach give us a greater sense of satisfaction when we eventually do? The value of the unattainable is great.

Does love make one falter and vulnerable? Jean died, he lost his place on earth, the pleasures of life - but he found his "taste" and died in whole, while the others will have to live on with a void for they will never have a "taste" of his love.

I did not find The Gourmet particularly enchanting, but it was a good, short read. I think Jean's search for his final desire was what kept me reading on. Muriel Barbery has brought food to life with words, but I think I'd prefer tasting it (re-read this sentence and found it extremely cheeessssssy).