eating the landscape evaluation

Kaylen Kozlowski

Professor Melissa Santos

11 March 2018

Book Evaluation

Eating the Landscape

            In the book, “Eating the Landscape” by Enrique Salmon the idea of food and identity go hand in hand. Throughout the book, Salmon explains different personal experiences that he has went through in his life. The experiences between himself, family members and nature were explained in many parts of the book. The author explains the personal experiences by sharing with the reader the traditions that him, his family and community members had done.

            This book was filled with many traditions that, as the reader, have never heard of before which made the book a more interesting read. For example, when Salmon shared what his grandfather used to do when they distinguished between female and male plants, “My grandfather used to mention how Bawákawa (Tobacco) and Baka-bu bahi (Corn Husks) used to drink beer together. In his husky voice, he imitated the voices of Tobacco and Corn Husk as they asked for the drinking gourd and told stories of other plants.” (Page 17) By giving specific examples of his childhood and stories that his grandparents shared made the book more interesting to find out more about how his life was like growing up and how agriculture played a big role in his life then and now. It had also given reader the opportunity to learn more about plants and how they were categorized in the native lands. Another aspect of the book that made the read interesting was using the specific words and vocabulary in the native language, then explaining for the reader to understand. By exposing the reader to the different language that the indigenous people had spoken, had given the reader the opportunity to learn more information about the generations prior to Salmon and how they used to speak. Lastly, when Salmon went into detail by using specific names and words in the native language, he had explained what the words meant for the reader to understand. This book portrayed a clear representation of Salmon’s life and his native traditions.

            This book was very interesting read due to the many different stories that Salmon had shared throughout the chapters. This book is not only for people who are interested in nature, it also for the readers who want to broaden their education on the indigenous ways and traditions and also to learn about bond between nature and humans. I would recommend this book to people who have interests in native traditions and agriculture.