Romance

The dinner is delicious, but I pick at my food because at court there is always someone watching you, and I don't want to seem greedy. Our table faces the front of the hall, so it is natural that I look up to see the king at his dinner. In his rich clothes and great collar of gold you might mistake him for one of the old pictures over an altar; I mean, a picture of God. He is so grand and so broad and so weighted with gold and jewels, he sparkles like an old treasure mountain. There is a cloth of gold spread over his great chair, with embroidered curtains hanging down on either side, and every dish is served to him by a servant on his knees. Even the server who offers him a golden bowl to dip his fingers and wipe his hands does so on bended knee. There is another server altogether to hand him the linen cloth. They bow their heads as well when they kneel to him, as if he were of such unearthly importance that they cannot meet his eyes.

-The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

Reading a novel by Philippa Gregory is like eating chocolate. It's so smooth, rich, and delicious that I find myself disappointed every time I finish one of her books. My only consolation is that I still have yet to read all of them - and hopefully she'll never stop writing.

Historical novels need to be written well for me, and hers meet my expectations. This one centers around Henry VIII and three ladies in his court - you know, the one who had multiple wives and killed nearly every one of them. You can almost taste the fear of the women who surrounded him, and wonder how any of them wound up surviving.

At home, Ushman makes rice and lentils. As he and Farak did when they had many people for dinner, he sits on the rug in the living room, with his bowl in his lap. There is a soccer match on TV. The game keeps him company. He accepts his loneliness with resolve. It is familiar to him. There are no surprises in it.

-The Rug Merchant by Meg Mullins

Aside from living vicariously through other people's sadness, it has been a while since I have experienced my own permeating melancholy. So when I sit here wondering what food it is that I prefer to have when I am swimming in the blues, I come up empty-handed. There was a time when I'd go out and buy myself chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, and a good amount of string cheese - but these days I'd like to think that I'd choose a healthier fare like Ushman did.

"This is the way in Iran," he says, placing a cube between Stella's own teeth for her. His finger brushes against her bottom lip. She puts the cup to her lips and drinks. Then she holds the cube between her thumb and forefinger.
"It's good," she says, "but what about conversation?"
Ushman smiles, displaying his own sugar cube.
"Yeth, ith ith juth thumthing you learn to do. A wight of passagth."

-The Rug Merchant by Meg Mullins

I usually don't mind reading sad books, but I'll admit that I was relieved when I closed The Rug Merchant and switched my focus to what I would prepare. It reminded me of when I was dating, when cultural differences and lack of authenticity were part of whatever relationship I was in at the time. Thankfully I'm no longer dating, and thankfully there were a few happy moments in the book, including a moment with tea.