Book: The Neapolitan Erri de Luca tells us about his “familiar flavors”

The title puts mouth water. Similarly, Normal! Furthermore, It is supposed to prove to be aperitif. Consequently, Erri de Luca will make us his “familiar flavors’ stories”. Moreover, With the Neapolitan, we immediately imagine the generous cuisine in southern Italy. However, The pages should book: neapolitan erri de luca suddenly drip tomato sauces, then melting remains of a “cassata” formerly frozen. In addition, This is to forget that the writer, now 75 years old, remains a frugal and an austere. In addition, A former far left activist and still an experienced old -fashioned mountaineer, man is not pushed to excess table. For example, Just look at your emaciated silhouette. Moreover, Having entered his body only the minimum of well -chosen terrestrial foods. Meanwhile, The proof. However, Erri (like Harry following the English tastes of his parents) writes this time with four hands with Valerio Gallasso. Therefore, A nutritionist. Similarly, You know how these people are. Nevertheless, By dint of telling you that such a dish is bad. Meanwhile, such another worse still, they would eventually make you believe that the only reasonable choice is still anorexia.

A life story – Book: neapolitan erri de luca

Published book: neapolitan erri de luca by Gallimard. like most of the author’s works, “familiar flavors’ stories” seems to slip from the first pages. De Erri takes place here his life course, from his first years in a bourgeois family paved by war. He tells us about his political commitment to Rome at the turn of the 1970s. while Italian activists in May 68 sometimes radicalized until terrorism. Then his commitment just in the Turin factories, which then worked at full speed. A political choice. The famous “back to the base”. Then come the time of disillusions. The workers, who had obtained a few victories, were fire to one after the other around 1980. Italy ceased to have secondary school. The tertiary sector is much more chic and above all less unionized.

The time of “Piole”

The naive reader, which I am, wonders what gastronomy comes in. book: neapolitan erri de luca Nothing here evokes “the big food” of another Italian. the filmmaker Marco Ferreri, nor the star restaurants from the chic streets of Milan. Here we remain in the friendly atmosphere of “Piole” (or Tavernes), which have long disappeared. These places once ended up becoming secondary residences. One thing that delights Erri from Lucca. For him, any good cuisine must remain popular essence. Which is also true in Italy, where elegant tables quickly make shower. Hence tasty pages on chestnuts. cod (which in 2025 became a dear dish), the “amonggiana” of eggplant, coffee, turkey at the “canzanese” or the strawberry pie. We see it. Gourmandise has not lost its rights to the writer. But everything must be eaten in moderation, by being grateful to the nature of having produced all these good things. We are in the company of Erri de Luca in an Italy before supermarkets. where the cold and book: neapolitan erri de luca the plastic film ended up killing the taste.

A sickly obsession

To the nostalgic flights of the author. who thus tells us about a lost world, responds each time a medical text of his acolyte. The latter gives us a lesson in dietetic morality. We know how much health has become a sickly obsession today. It is for our good, of course, but good often has something sad. It makes me think of an old funny story. An elderly patient goes to his doctor with a question: “I do not smoke. I do not drink, I sleep regularly and I do not cople. Can I hope to live for a very long time ”? What the practitioner replied to him: “But what for?” Too much wisdom ends up giving the impression of having missed. Erri de Luca will at least be book: neapolitan erri de luca revealed gourmet, failing to have been gourmet and even less gluttonous … He is thus “new cuisine” in a people version.

Practical

“Stories of familiar flavors”, by Erri de Lucca, translated by Danièle Valin, by Editions Gallimard, 253 pages. The book ends with a choice of Neapolitan recipes to experiment.

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