I do like historical fiction. While once upon a time I might have been tempted into a disquisition on the ways the oxymoron I just used was itself meaningful and included in that a few remarks regarding the ways narrative tropes shape our history telling, the ways history disguises as much as it tells, and the ways fiction often tells remarkable truths, I will simply allude to those notions as I have here and move on.
In The General's Cook by Ramin Ganeshram, the weaving of history and assumption and fiction together into a narrative that is both moving and educative is exactly what I hoped for when I purchased the book. (And I did indeed purchase the book - I love the actual feel of them sometimes!) I knew nothing about the cook to George Washington and little about the relation of Washington to slavery - and all this despite having grown up (as I sometimes say) trapped between Valley Forge and Gettysburg. My privilege - and the ways history was taught - elided much of the entanglement of the revolution and its "hero's" with much less honorable matters, including the enslavement of human beings. These moments of the history of enslavement - and the drive to freedom - were utterly obscured by the history I learned.
For the foodie in me, this was also a great read. Somehow the historic enslaved chef who worked so hard to both conceive of liberty and find it was entrancing - and a bit frightening. The temptation to think that because one was in a better position than other enslaved person revealed the nature of temptations through comparisons to others "beneath" one or in worse circumstances than one. That is, it revealed the risk of thinking oneself better than others.And, the painful decisions about the liberty of others - including one's loved ones . . .
And, of course, the risks and rewards of knowing how - learning how - to read. And, literacy's role in both freedom and hope.
I am hoping to read more about Hercules Posey, the enslaved chef who cooked for Washington. And, to always remember to think through the lens of both hope and disgust with historical and current racism.
I give this novel an A+ for both entrancing me and teaching me to think anew.
For more on Ramin Ganeshram, click here, to learn about her work as journalist and historian and, as importantly, as a chef! She is also a cookbook author as noted here. And, for a terrific piece she has written re story telling and food, try here. (I enjoyed the essay!) There is indeed controversy about a children's book she authored. I don't know what to make of that.
On Hercules Posey, click here or here. Hmmm.
Finally, and probably obviously, all of this reminds us that the US was indeed founded in a completely broken covenant with freedom for some and injustice for many. The work continues,
