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C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)

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Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)

#51

Post by samirillian »

logingone wrote: post #31
samirillian wrote: post #25

There is certainly a xenophobic strain in the Chronicles of Narnia, most evident in what is otherwise my favorite book in the series, "The horse and his boy." I can only think that to Lewis's ear, the word "Turkish" had a certain brutality to it that contrasted well with "delight" and paired well with Edmund's perdition.

You're really shoving a square peg into a round hole there. It was an exotic and expensive treat.

Enh, maybe. But a few counterpoints: 1. We can assume C.S. Lewis intended a lot. Don't confuse the ease of his style with careless choices. 2. Have you read The Horse and his Boy? C.S. Lewis specifically talks crap about food that sounds Arab. Like almond chicken. 3. Come on, "Turkish Delight"? It sounds like a kinky sexual position. "Turkish" has a strong association with fascism and brutality in--specifically upper-class--Western culture, (cf., Igby Goes Down, New York City Cops, Lawrence of Arabia).

Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)

#52

Post by iak8god »

nashashmi wrote: post #12

Back when I read the Narnia books at the age of 11 and 12, I remember reading of lands and people other than Narnia as being portrayed negatively. Back then I did not know, who the lands were being referred to, but the more I started reading into other cultures, the more I found a strong resonance with the cultures of Iran and Turkey. Turkish delight was served by the evil witch and it turned Edmund unto a spell. In…

You're not wrong in general about the blatant orientalism in the series, though I'm not sure the witch's use of enchanted Turkish Delight is a particularly strong example. I also wonder to what extent Lewis was actively trying to turn children against other cultures vs just portraying a simplified vision of the general sentiment in his time and place. And I've always thought it was kind of neat that he makes the slightly universalist gesture of admitting a devout follower of Tash into paradise in The Last Battle.

Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)

#53

Post by ido »

quotemstr wrote: post #10

How can you _not_ like Turkish delight? I have some every time I see it --- which is rarely, granted.

I actually don't remember what it tastes like (had it a few times as a kid), only that it was really disgusting. I must have had the industrial "fake" kind rather than the good stuff they sell fresh in turkey.

Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)

#55

Post by transitorykris »

In Canada we had the Big Turk chocolate bar by Nestle. It was a reasonably hard/chewy turkish delight covered in chocolate. Getting one of these as a child was akin to punishment. There were also the miniatures that old folk would put out, you'd expect to find caramel or nuts in the center, but nope, just horrors. Sometime in my late 20s I tried real turkish delight and enjoyed it. Sweet, but not unnecessarily so, with some interesting flavours, especially the floral ones. On one of my last visits to Canada I picked up a Big Turk again... and loved it.

Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)

#57

Post by mrighele »

quotemstr wrote: post #10

How can you _not_ like Turkish delight? I have some every time I see it --- which is rarely, granted.

I would say it depends on the kind of lokum you eat. Even in Turkey itself you can find different kinds of very varying quality. My idea of lokum was what I would find in shops in Istanbul; lovely, though in my opinion a bit too jelly-ish. Then some relative sent us a kind made with honey from an artisan from Eastern Turkey and fell in love with it: sweet but not overly sweet or too strong, and it would almost melt in your mouth. I don't know if it counts as "true" Turkish delight, but it really seemed something that a witch would give you to put you under her control :-). Oh, and please don't buy it at the airports: you can find some nasty gummy-bear-kind-of hardened rubber that gives lokum great disservice

Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)

#58

Post by Symbiote »

abritinthebay wrote: post #26
mandigy wrote: post #22

Food from other countries that we haven't tried before generally tastes weird. As an Englishman I found U.S chocolate (e.g. Hershey) and Indian desserts (e.g. jalebi) unpalatable. No doubt there exist similar assessments of British sweets and puddings! I'm sheepish to admit that Fry's Turkish Delight is not a favourite, but I do enjoy Baklava (a true delight from Turkey, imo). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFd0SP_Z…

Hershey's is unpalatable though! Worst chocolate in the US :(

Hershey's contains butyric acid, which is the smell of vomit.

My colleagues bring something sweet back whenever they travel, and it's usually gone by the end of the day. The Hershey's was the only thing still left a week later -- even the salty liquorice was eaten!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butyric_acid

Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)

#59

Post by Baeocystin »

blincoln wrote: post #38

When I was young, my parents described Turkish Delight as being basically Applets & Cotlets, and that sounds like an accurate description based on this article. Substitute rosewater for apple/apricot/whatever juice and you've got Turkish Delight. Am I missing something? At least in the northwestern US, Applets & Cotlets have been a thing for decades.

No, that's pretty much it.

Re: C.S. Lewis's Greatest Fiction: Telling Kids They’d Like Turkish Delight (2015)

#60

Post by lovich »

slr555 wrote: post #19

Haters gonna hate. I love Turkish Delight. My wife had to travel to Turkey for work and frequently brought it back. I really like it. Actually in general, Turkish food is one of my favorite cuisines worldwide. I also like a lot of Indian sweets that many Americans find to sweet. No accounting for taste.

If you could name some of those I would like to try them. As an american interacting with immigrants and their food I've had a problem where everything they call desert tastes like a dinner item to me due to the lack of sugar. I can't imagine what too sweet for Americans could even be considering I happily ate nutella or pure sugar by the spoonful as a child
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