Jack Turner, author of Spice:
The History of a Temptation, writes history with a narrative zeal
that speeds his prose across the page. Though heavily researched (oh,
that bibliography!), there isn't a dull page in this witty, finely written
book. Turner likes the revelation of human nature, the story-telling
aspect of history, and the stories he likes best are the ones that make
him smile.
Turner does us not attempt a linear trip through time, but has organized
to "consider the chief hallmarks of the appetites that drove that
search for spice: cuisine, sex, medicine, magic and distaste: palate,
body and spirit." Bypassing camel caravans, Turner begins with
Columbus' wrong way journey to India, and the search for spices, one
that evidently confounded the explorers of the new world: "all
the explorers report of seeing nutmeg trees, yet all report that they
don't 'recognize' them." Having established the ironic tone of
the book, Turner loops briefly back in time to the Greeks and Romans,
then goes forward to the Middle Ages. Here he deals with the constraints
of climate and class. As we might expect, when spice was a rarity it
was a display of princely wealth, but it was also a counterbalance for
the taste of fish and meat preserved in salt, for the slightly rancid
taste of meat that lacked proper storage. A spiced ale was purer and
safer than drinking water.
Discussing the medicinal use of spices, Tuner tells us that there was
a belief that spices could delay old age: "The Franciscan monk
and polymath Roger Bacon recommended a mixture of viper's flesh, cloves,
nutmeg, and mace to delay the onset of old age." For those not
saved by spiced vipers, Turner gives us insight into spice as used in
burial practice, from the Egyptians (a peppercorn was stuffed into each
nostril of Ramses II) to the medieval when a wealthy corpse was sacred
and spice-laden while a poor one was profane and putrid.
Turner illuminates the use of spices as aphrodisiac, the perpetual search
for a potent sex life. He shows us how pagan use of spices overlapped
with magic and even found a spiritual home in religion. "Pope Gregory
the Great . . . argued that the sweet spices rose heavenward with the
incense, sweetening the prayers . . . "
The success of this book lies in Turner's brilliant synthesis of research
materials, and the sense of humor he brings to bear on his discoveries.
If you read this book to laugh or read it to learn, you will succeed
in both endeavors.
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