- Paperback: 315 pages
- Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco; 1st HarperPerennial Ed edition (April 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0060930179
- ISBN-13: 978-0060930172
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.7 x 1.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,633,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
"Like a slow, seductive lover, Allende teases, tempts and titillates with mesmerizing stories and legends about gluttony--sexual and otherwise." -- "Washington Post"
Product Description
"New York Times" -bestselling author Isabel Allende celebrates the pleasures of the sensual life in this rich, joyful and slyly humorous book, a combination of personal narrative and treasury of erotic lore.
Under the aegis of the Goddess of Love, Isabel Allende uses her storytelling skills brilliantly in "Aphrodite" to evoke the delights of food and sex. After considerable research and study, she has become an authority on aphrodisiacs, which include everything from food and drink to stories and, of course, love. Readers will find here recipes from Allende's mother, poems, stories from ancient and foreign literatures, paintings, personal anecdotes, fascinating tidbits on the sensual art of foodand its effects on amorous performance, tips on how to attract your mate and revive flagging virility, passages on the effect of smell on libido, a history of alcoholic beverages, and much more.
An ode to sensuality that is an irresistible blend of memory, imagination and the senses, "Aphrodite" is familiar territory for readers who know her fiction.
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First Sentence
In a neighborhood bookstore, one of those places with beautiful wood floors and antique chairs that remind me of my grand ' house, I met Robert Shekter. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
In a neighborhood bookstore, one of those places with beautiful wood floors and antique chairs that remind me of my grand ' house, I met Robert Shekter. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What is there not to like about this book, it combines two of the best things in life, food and sex and it does it in an interesting way telling some bizarre stories. I enjoyed reading this book, the only bad thing when I read it was I was very sick and got sick if I even drank water, I felt the hunger when I read it but I couldn't stop. As a result of this book I have read more of Isabel Allende's books and magical realism too.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I find this book not uncommon in terms of subject. However, I find it quite unique and valuable in the way the perspective about senses is developed throughout the book. The author says it is a journey into her memory of senses. And I think it was a nice and delicious journey that enlightened me in senses.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
39 reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
A Wonderful Examination Of Food and Life
8 Jun 1998
Format:Hardcover
Allende has created a stunning rumination on life in her new book. And as an added bonus, she's thrown in a pretty good cookbook as well. This book serves as a wonderful counterpoint to Paula. While Paula was about death and it's effects on the human spirit, Aphrodite is about living life to its fullest by savoring what nature gives us.
Allende's strength as a writer is in using the powerful emotional connection that she has to the material to create an effective narrative flow. If she doesn't have that emotional connection, she ends up relying on her characters' dialogue, which is definitely not her strong suit (see The Infinite Plan). In Aphrodite, she uses only narrative, which shines with a playfulness and joy that comes from someone who is enjoying the material.
I remember attending a lecture where Allende said that after Paula, she thought she would never write again. I'm very glad that rice pudding helped her get over these feelings. This book should be read by everyone so that they may be reminded (as she obviously has been) that it's the simplest pleasures of life that make life worth living.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Enchanting
27 Sep 2001
Format:Paperback
This book was wonderful. I am cooking for myself for the first time in my life. This book gave me an appreciation not only for the aphrodisiac virtues in food but also for all their other sensual qualities. I recommend it to anyone who loves food or has an appreciation for anything sensual.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
A global odysey through culinary sensuousness
14 Sep 2003
Format:Paperback
For readers of Isabel Allende's novels, this might seem an unusual book. It is a passionate, unapologetic defense of the senses generally, and a catalogue of historical sexual and culinary practices punctuated with flavorful recipes, all of which place this history-cum-cookbook almost in a genre of its own. This book naturally radiates with warmth, beginning with the highly informative personal tributes Alende delivers to each of three of her major collaborators in this book, including her mother and her literary agent. The photos and drawing which are scattered throughout this book add an artistic backdrop to the evocative prose. It also made me appreciate more wholly a number of passages Allende devotes to food and cuisine in her non-ficiton book on her native Chile, My Invented Country (which I had also reviwed on this website).
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