Eating the Landscape Review

Holly Hogan

EN 102

March 11, 2018

Book Evaluation

Eating the Landscape Evaluation

In Eating the Landscape, author Enrique Salmón has compiled stories of his life as a native man, and how this intertwines with his diet and how he views the food industry. In this book, Salmón tells authentic stories of growing up as an indigenous individual, sharing these details with the reader. He tells his audience how his family was brought together by foods, and the relationship we have with food today.

Personally, I found that Salmón is a great writer, as he uses very vivid imagery, however I found that the book was difficult to follow at points. When a chapter ended, I did not find that it largely connected with the previous, making me struggle to continue reading. Publishers Weekly noted this in their review of Salmón’s work. However, Publishers Weekly felt that changing setting and topic in each chapter was positively engaging readers. Not all readers find this style of writing engaging, but this does not make Salmón a talentless writer. His great use of detail and imagery help readers move forward with the text.

For example, when Salmón describes what he is about to eat, the reader is transported to the table with him. Salmón reminisces of the days when he would be greeted by his mother’s cooking, “Entering the house, I would inhale deeply in order to gloriously embrace the warmth of corn and flour masa being heated , pinto beans steaming on the stove, and a flimsy pile of newly cooked tortillas on the table behind where my mom stood by the oven” (5).

I would recommend this book to those who are interested in indigenous writing and stories, as I feel it would best suit this audience. I would not recommend this book to those who want an ‘easy-read’. Overall, I was not largely pleased by this compilation of stories, but Salmón’s teachings were informative and interesting.

Works Cited


"Eating the Landscape: American Indian Stories of Food, Identity, and Resilience." , Rev. of Eating the Landscape: American Indian Stories of Food, Identity, and Resilience, by Enrique SalmónPublishers Weekly, 6 Feb. 2012, https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780816530113. Accessed 12 Mar. 2018.

Salmón, Enrique. Eating the Landscape: American Indian Stories of Food, Identity, and Resilience. University of Arizona Press, 2012.