The Absence of Appetite

Looking out my bedroom window and seeing the various daffodils in bloom across the usually drab Danebury Estate reminds me that Spring is upon us, and for many of us this means the indulging of copious amounts of chocolate at the beginning of April for Easter (which, in my opinion, could not come soon enough!). For others however, specifically practising Christians, this currently means an inevitable time of forty days of sacrifice beforehand, the giving up of meats, fish or even fatty foods for Lent. Christianity is not alone in "The Absence of Appetite" and this voluntary giving up of certain foods. Sharman Apt Russell writes in Hunger: An Unnatural History that “Hinduism highlights the physical benefits of fasting, believing that it rests the digestive system, clears the body of toxins, and leads to greater health” (Russell 42). Moreover, Russell states that Muslims "acknowledge food as a gift from God" (ib...

Hello and Welcome to my Blog! My name is Laura Deacon, I'm 21 and am currently in the midst of completing my English Literature/Drama, Theatre and Performance degree at The University of Roehampton. I'm undertaking a exciting module called The Literature of Food and as part of our assessment we are required to write a food blog. I'll start by introducing the premise of my blog, that being the glorious concept of food. Food consumes our lives from the day we are born. From the moment we open our eyes to wake up to the moment we go to sleep - food is part of a routine that many people enjoy. Food in the form of literature also journeys with us throughout our life's. From reading Children's texts at a young age from authors such as Roald Dahl and Lewis Carroll, to the special recipes passed down through generations of family members, to the discussion of food on television and elsewhere in the media, food is without a doubt import...