Lizardi, José, and David L. Frye. The Mangy Parrot, Abridged: The Life and Times of Periquillo Sarniento, Written by Himself for his Children. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub. Co, 2005.
This is the abridged and translated version of what is known as Mexico's first novel, written by Fernández de Lizardi.
Much is lost in translation and abridgment; it's been said to use the various speech patterns of different classes, which forces one to use his or her imagination with the creative interpretations. It is a novel written in the picaresque form, and as such it has long-titled chapters that give away the plot like an overbearing movie trailer. They do help the graduate student quickly get a sense of what is going on.
The protagonist goes from relative comfort to complete ruin trying to explore all the ways in which he can make money without working hard, alienating himself from his parents, who both die, arguably while grieving their son's flagrant debauchery and the financial ruin he has provoked. He goes through several rounds of different schools to find himself in all sorts of trouble as a gambler, a thief, and so on. The story is narrated from the protagonist's deathbed, who finally achieves the understanding he was 'robbed' of by his parents overly permissive upbringing of him.
Because lately I have been studying food in Mexico and am interested in how people looked at food, I will return to this book in the Spanish at a later time. I did note several areas where he describes food, and I put a few here to jog my memory later when I come back to this.
Themes - Food:
Chocolate stands, p.7
The importance of fiestas, weddings, baptisms and ceremonies and the role of food in those, p.17
Rubbing one's cheeks with chili, p.20
Making punch (liquor, sugar, and lemon), p.50
Food and class (quail & pheasant vs. tortilla "dampened perhaps with the sweat of your brow"), p.56
Hunger and tavern food, p.65
Pulque and chiringuito, p.68
Rum vs. chocolate, p.69
Coffee, p. 70
Steamed water for chocolate, p.73
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