The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Prawn Cracker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Author | Will Self |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Penguin Specials |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Penguin |
Publication date | 1 February 2012 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Pages | 50 pp. |
| ISBN | 9780241962619 |
The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Prawn Cracker is a collection of Will Self's Real Meals column for the New Statesman. Covering such things as London Cheesecake, Pizza Express, ready meals and fast food cuisine. The title is a play on Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
The collection of columns covers a variety of non-traditional culinary experiences to provide a counterpoint to the more idealistic style of food reviewing. Self's stated aim for the column was as follows:[1]
Most food writing and restaurant criticism is concerned with the ideal, with how by cooking this, or dining there, you can somehow ingurgitate a new—or at any rate improved—social, aesthetic and even spiritual persona. I aimed to turn this proposition on its head, and instead of commenting on where and what people would ideally like to eat I would consider where and what they actually did: the ready meals, buffet snacks and—most importantly—fast food that millions of Britons chomp upon in the go-round of their often hurried and dyspeptic lives.