Food and Fantasy


I want you to cast your mind back to when you were a child with your favourite fantasy book.

My most vivid memory was of me laying on my stomach on top of my bed. The windows were partially open with a small breeze rustling through the dark blue curtains - just enough to send chills down my back as I was kicking my legs in the air. That wasn't the only thing that was giving me chills though, I was reading an assortment of low-fantasy books at that time ranging from Harry Potter to my beloved Percy Jackson series and, every time without hesitation I always got the familiar sensation of goosebumps rippling across my arms as I immersed myself into the world of myths and magic.

So what makes these low-fantasy books so enrapturing? For me it's the ability to merge together the magical realm and the realism of life and this is partly because of food. Food can be used as a means of blurring the lines of reality and fantasy which creates an immersive narrative for us to enjoy and immerse ourselves into, food is an item that we can relate to whether it'd be a home cooked meal from your mother, a banquet for the gods or a live chocolate frog from Honeydukes. 

The aim of my blog is to find out what makes food so immersive in the fantasy genre and what it means to the character as well as what purpose food serves in the marvellous, mythical and magical realm of fantasy.

Comments

  1. Sophie WicksNovember 23, 2018 at 12:04 AM

    I had never thought about food as an immersive tool in fantasy and I love it as a topic. I have seen Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Botts Beans being sold in certain shops and every time I fight my immediate impulse to buy the overpriced sweets! But after reading your post, I fully agree that food is a key part of the fantasy realm that helps fully engross us as readers.

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