Bread by Scott Cutler Shershow

Bread by Scott Cutler Shershow
Series: Object Lessons
Published by Bloomsbury Academic on July 28, 2016
Source: Borrowed
Genres: Non-fiction, Religion & Spirituality
Pages: 168
Format: Paperback
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Bread is an object that is always in process of becoming something else: flower to grain, grain to dough, dough to loaf, loaf to crumb. Bread is also often a figure or vehicle of social cohesion: from the homely image of “breaking bread together” to the mysteries of the Eucharist. But bread also commonly figures in social conflict - sometimes literally, in the “bread riots” that punctuate European history, and sometimes figuratively, in the ways bread operates as ethnic, religious or class signifier. Drawing on a wide range of sources, from the scriptures to modern pop culture, Bread tells the story of how this ancient and everyday object serves as a symbol for both social communion and social exclusion.

The other day I listened to a short book about pepper and today it’s a book about bread. And I’ve gone from a funny, conversational writer/interviewer to a formal, slightly pretentious author. Can you tell which I liked better?

My boss recommended I read Bread and handed me his copy. He said it changed that way he looked at bread and would definitely change his next Communion sermon, so I was expecting it to be interesting and at just over 100 pages, a quick read.

I was disappointed. While the author clearly loved bread and has a lot to say, it was too philosophical for me. When he ventured into history and social status I found it interesting and even the religion up to a point, most of the time I found myself marveling about just how much this guy could contemplate bread.

This counts as 3 pts in the COYER Treasure Hunt (a book with One Word Title).