Ruth Reichl's book Garlic and Sapphires is a lively memoir of her days as the food critic for the New York Times which veers into a thoughtful discourse on the power of image and behavior on personality and attitude.
I picked it up at the bookstore because the title intrigued me and because I am just enough of a foodie to be interested in the story of a food critic. That part of the book does not disappoint. Several of her most famous restaraunt reviews are included along with the stories surrounding her choice to visit them. There are also a number of her own recipes in the book for a variety of foods. Ruth Reichl is now editor of Gourmet magazine and she is a cook. However this turned out to be much more than a book about the eating and journalistic experiences of an influential restaurant critic.
A food critic strives to visit a target restaurant a number of times anonymously. If you are recognized as the critic for the NY Times you are going to get the best food the kitchen can produce and extraordinary service--not the treatment of the average patron who may read your review. So having been warned that her description was posted in kitchens all around town, Reichl decides to create several disguises as her "cover".
She goes to some lengths to make these disguises physically believable, even enlisting the assistance of a drama coach to help her learn behaviors that will suit each new Ruth. She imagines a "backstory" for each character that she creates to help her behave convincingly. Each persona is "auditioned" for her doorman and family to make sure that she isn't instantly recognized.
Reichl starts with "Molly", a character and disguise based on her late mother. Later "Miriam", "Chloe", "Betty","Brenda" and "Emily" are created and pressed into service. Each has a very different appearance, personality and "life story." As she spends time being one of these characters Reichl discovers that her own personality, behavior and outlook morphs into that of the character. She is startled to realize that she is jealous of her husband's approval of "Brenda" and had a fight with him over the way one of the more unpleasant personas was intruding on her private life. By the end of the book, Reichl is exhausted by the pressure of the disguises and leaves the NY Times for Gourmet.
Behavioral psychologists know the phenomenon described in the book very well: when behavior is changed, emotions will change and follow the behavior. If you are unhappy (and I don't mean clinically depressed--that's another situation) and you make yourself act as though you are happy or pleasant, after a while you will also FEEL a change in your emotions. Similarly, imitating unpleasant behavior will make you feel unpleasant and unhappy, as Reichl discovered when donning some of her disguises.
Another NY Times writer recently summed this up very well:
What can we do to improve ourselves and feel happier? Numerous social psychological studies confirmed Artistotle's observation that "We become just by the practice of just actions, self-controlled by exercising self-control, and courageous by performing acts of courage." If we are dissatisfied with some aspect of our lives, one of the best approaches is to act more like the person we want to be, rather than sitting around and analyzing ourselves.
Timothy Wilson, NY Times, 12/29/2005
Ruth Reichl found that when she acted like one of the personas she admired, she became more like that persona and when she acted like one she despised, she began to despise herself. The unexpected theme of this book is the one that makes it memorable and worth reading.
I picked it up at the bookstore because the title intrigued me and because I am just enough of a foodie to be interested in the story of a food critic. That part of the book does not disappoint. Several of her most famous restaraunt reviews are included along with the stories surrounding her choice to visit them. There are also a number of her own recipes in the book for a variety of foods. Ruth Reichl is now editor of Gourmet magazine and she is a cook. However this turned out to be much more than a book about the eating and journalistic experiences of an influential restaurant critic.
A food critic strives to visit a target restaurant a number of times anonymously. If you are recognized as the critic for the NY Times you are going to get the best food the kitchen can produce and extraordinary service--not the treatment of the average patron who may read your review. So having been warned that her description was posted in kitchens all around town, Reichl decides to create several disguises as her "cover".
She goes to some lengths to make these disguises physically believable, even enlisting the assistance of a drama coach to help her learn behaviors that will suit each new Ruth. She imagines a "backstory" for each character that she creates to help her behave convincingly. Each persona is "auditioned" for her doorman and family to make sure that she isn't instantly recognized.
Reichl starts with "Molly", a character and disguise based on her late mother. Later "Miriam", "Chloe", "Betty","Brenda" and "Emily" are created and pressed into service. Each has a very different appearance, personality and "life story." As she spends time being one of these characters Reichl discovers that her own personality, behavior and outlook morphs into that of the character. She is startled to realize that she is jealous of her husband's approval of "Brenda" and had a fight with him over the way one of the more unpleasant personas was intruding on her private life. By the end of the book, Reichl is exhausted by the pressure of the disguises and leaves the NY Times for Gourmet.
Behavioral psychologists know the phenomenon described in the book very well: when behavior is changed, emotions will change and follow the behavior. If you are unhappy (and I don't mean clinically depressed--that's another situation) and you make yourself act as though you are happy or pleasant, after a while you will also FEEL a change in your emotions. Similarly, imitating unpleasant behavior will make you feel unpleasant and unhappy, as Reichl discovered when donning some of her disguises.
Another NY Times writer recently summed this up very well:
What can we do to improve ourselves and feel happier? Numerous social psychological studies confirmed Artistotle's observation that "We become just by the practice of just actions, self-controlled by exercising self-control, and courageous by performing acts of courage." If we are dissatisfied with some aspect of our lives, one of the best approaches is to act more like the person we want to be, rather than sitting around and analyzing ourselves.
Timothy Wilson, NY Times, 12/29/2005
Ruth Reichl found that when she acted like one of the personas she admired, she became more like that persona and when she acted like one she despised, she began to despise herself. The unexpected theme of this book is the one that makes it memorable and worth reading.
6 comments:
How funny--I was just looking that over at Large Chain Bookstore this evening, because I have enjoyed her first two books.
I'll have to read it soon.
Excellent, Grace!
Hey QT, my Mom told me to leave you a comment and have you e-mail me and I will give you her numbers and all that for where she is in Austin cause she really wants to meet up. so my e-mail is cchoate00@yahoo.com so please e-mail me and give me your e-mail address so you and Mom Gator and Sppoky Rach and M2 can meet up. Thanks,
Baby Gator
When I read this book my idea was that we should try the same disguise thing with churches . . . visit the same church in different personas and see how the experience varies.
PCIT--now THERE'S an interesting idea. It would make a great book, too.
People frequently quote John 8:32 "Know the truth and the truth will set you free." Yet the whole quote is "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31b-32. Also, Jesus said the where our treasure is there will our heart be also. Paul said to be imitators of Christ.
I have taken from these that it is pointless to decide what I ought to be and then wait for the movtivation to become it. We have to invest ourselves (be disicples) in where we want to end up (if that makes any sense.) Seems to me her experiance highlights the transformational power of imitation.
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