For book clubs, food provides a plot twist
NEEDHAM -- The women of the
"What's this?" asks Pam Knox, pointing to a plate of shiny green, cigar-shaped rolls. King explains that her Armenian father-in-law made both the stuffed grape leaves and the stuffed mussels. Hummus, pita bread, store-bought baklava, King's husband's homemade halvah with candied violets, and Greek wines complete the spread.
The Mediterranean-theme menu was chosen to go with the group's discussion of "Middlesex," which starts by telling of the protagonist's grandparents, who were forced to flee Greece during a Turkish invasion in 1922 and emigrated to the United States. King felt that the Greek dishes paid homage to the family's heritage and the Greek traditions they held onto once they settled in Detroit.
"Please eat if you're hungry," offers King. No one wants to be first, but in just minutes Knox and the others are happily digging in. Sounds of pleasure fill the cozy dining room. "Mmm. . . this is delicious." "We'll need his recipe," says an admirer of King's father-in-law's prowess with grape leaves.
What was initially a slightly stiff, polite group of 30- and 40-year-olds discussing facets of the selected novel soon becomes a lively, convivial band of friends. Like the relief that comes from unraveling a tie from a tight shirt collar, the atmosphere loosens as plates fill and wine is poured.
The conversation grows louder, talk of food and "Middlesex" bounce around the room. Sandra Walters, the last arrival, joins the group and once her plate is filled, King suggests they move into the living room. "And leave the food?" jokes Walters, who's still adding goodies to her plate. The others help themselves to dessert, grabbing seconds of baklava and halvah. "It's such a treat," someone says.
Once the group is comfortably seated in the living room, Karen Kopf, a new member whose young son is home with her husband, says, "My husband thinks [the book club] is a farce, just an excuse to get out of the house."
Quickly, members jump in to defend their raison d'etre: "It forces me to read books I wouldn't ordinarily read," says Lynn Klatt. "I remember the books better after we discuss them," says Maria Alvarez, who formed the neighborhood group last September.
Woven into observations about character development, plot twists, and satisfaction (or lack thereof) with the book's ending are tidbits about children, vacation destinations, troubles with in-laws, and work. Advice is offered subtly. Any lulls in the conversation are occupied with people jumping up to pour more wine or take another piece of baklava. Equal parts book club, support group, and supper club, the eight women who didn't know each other before coming together to read and discuss literature are forging bonds and unfolding pieces of their lives.
The Arbor Book Group is representative of what Needham writers Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp discovered when doing research for their book, "The Book Club Cookbook: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors" (Tarcher/Penguin). The first-time authors contacted hundreds of book clubs across the United States, asking what they were reading and the foods they were noshing on during their meetings. They found appropriately named clubs such as Pages & Plates, Wuthering Bites, Denver Read and Feed, and Epicureaders.
While reading and discussing books may be the primary and stated goal of most book clubs, Gelman, 41, and Krupp, 40, believe it's the human connection that makes them so popular and enduring. The growing interest in food is a logical extension of the friendships that sprout within most groups.
"Food has helped us bond as a group," says Debby Saltzman, speaking about her Westborough book club. "Because we're all busy, we really appreciate the effort made by the host."
Serving thematic food, say, from a book's time period or cultural context, often just evolves, "and then people get really into it," says Fabienne Madsen of the Arbor group. "It reminds me of where we've traveled to in the book," she adds. Some clubs even go a step further, and creative hosts may dress the part or decorate the dining area to set the mood.
Food often sets the timetable for discussion in Christine Alvarado's group, the SeaDogs Book Club of Cambridge. "We generally discuss the heart of the book over the main course," she says.
Gelman and Krupp originally assumed they would choose and develop recipes to pair with each of the 100 books included in "The Book Club Cookbook." "Food was very important to a lot more book clubs than we thought," says Krupp, explaining that many of the 130 clubs profiled had food suggestions and recipes they were eager to share. The two also contacted all living authors asking for their input on food pairings. Twenty-seven authors participated, including Queen Noor of Jordan ("Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life," Miramax), who contributed recipes for spinach borek (pastries) and a lentil-and-rice dish.
Anita Diamant of Newton, author of "The Red Tent" (Picador USA), was contacted by Gelman and Krupp and agreed that a dried-fruit-and-nut spread was suggestive of the foods eaten in ancient times. "Back when "The Red Tent" came out I visited many book clubs and was struck by how some book clubs eat and some eat a lot," says Diamant. She doesn't think a group she once visited that served only herb tea meets anymore.
"Book clubs are the red tent for contemporary women," an insight, Diamant says, she's voiced before, referring to the nurturing environment of many groups where women take care of each other, feed and comfort each other. Members of 10- to 20-year-old book clubs have gone through having children or grandchildren together, and have lived through cancer and other significant life events.
As with any social gathering, food and drink help ease people into conversation. For many book clubs, food has become an integral part of the exploration process, adding to the pleasure of the book and further solidifying the bonds of the group. It makes the expression "food for thought" take on a deeper meaning.
