The Bialy Eaters : The Story of a Bread and a Lost World

Rating:
Summary: Bialys, bialys, bialys!
Review: There were a few things I really enjoyed about this book, as I found it both educational and enlightening when it discussed the various Jewish communities around the world, particularly in France and Argentina, as well as how completely devoid of Jews Bialystok has become. Her discussions about food and how they can trigger such powerful childhood memories were also insightful and thought provoking. However, the real jewels of this book were the conversations and letters with ex-Bialystokers, some of which could bring you to tears. Their memories of what once was bring home just how much was lost by the destruction of Jewish Eastern Europe by the Nazis and completed by the Communists, on a very personal, individual basis.

Now for the problems. As someone else mentioned, Sheraton did not visit any overseas locations until an expenses paid business trip provided her with the opportunity. I didn't find this so unusual, as traveling the world can be quite expensive. However, I found her not traveling to Australia since no one would pay for it to be more than a little strange, considering she was doing research for a book like this. However, it made for a better read in the end, as she spared us what I found were her often times tedious descriptions and asides of the places she visited and people she met. There were also paragraphs where she would be talking about one thing one minute, such as quoting one of her respondents and then abruptly change the subject, which oftentimes made for a jarring read. While her style of writing may work in magazine articles, it often failed to keep my attention and it was often marred by some awkward sentence structure, especially in her attempts at flowery prose.

Lastly, since the decision was made to include pictures in the book, I could have done with less description and more visuals, especially when it came to taking pictures of modern day Bialystok, as well as other cities and people she met and visited. And the pictures she did take, such as that of Bialys, were poorly taken, with no actual close-ups of the food itself, which there really should have been more of.

So while The Bialy Eaters may be an interesting and often educational personal exploration of a wonderful food (I'm particularly obsessed with Kossars' bialys) and a world that no longer exists, I expected so much more. But what is there is certainly worth reading, especially if you've ever eaten and loved a bialy.