Happy Vacation! Your post made me think of my favorite asparagus story, from Proust's REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST. He describes one summer in the country when his family's cook served them asparagus all summer long. The asparagus sounds positively ethereal and almost alien due to the beautiful language he uses to characterize this lovely vegetable. There is, however, a twist. The kitchen maid was allergic to asparagus and the cook did not like her. The cook served asparagus all summer long not because it was beautiful and exquisitely tasty, but solely to torment the maid. Pages and pages of descriptions of asparagus proceed until the punch line arrives. From the sublime to the ridiculous indeed.
Happy Vacation! Your post made me think of my favorite asparagus story, from Proust's REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST. He describes one summer in the country when his family's cook served them asparagus all summer long. The asparagus sounds positively ethereal and almost alien due to the beautiful language he uses to characterize this lovely vegetable. There is, however, a twist. The kitchen maid was allergic to asparagus and the cook did not like her. The cook served asparagus all summer long not because it was beautiful and exquisitely tasty, but solely to torment the maid. Pages and pages of descriptions of asparagus proceed until the punch line arrives. From the sublime to the ridiculous indeed.