“I hadn't seen California in ten years, hadn't tasted a strawberry or a leaf of lettuce in three. Hunger was simple, as the rest was not.”
The narrator reflects on their prolonged absence from California, their homeland. The ten-year separation from California and the three-year deprivation of simple pleasures like strawberries and lettuce symbolize a profound disconnect from the familiarity and comfort of their past life. The hunger they mention here isn't just a physical longing for food; it symbolizes a deeper, more complex yearning for the essence of home and a life that has been lost. The simplicity of hunger contrasts with the complexity of the challenges and difficulties they've faced such as being stranded in England and their uncertain future.
“Lucky that the smog had taken a year and a half to reach Europe, lucky we'd escaped the famine that ravaged the Americas and Southeast Asia, lucky that mung-protein flour was calorie for calorie cheaper than cobbled-together diets of old. Yet the flour was gritty and gray, and the bread it baked could not be coaxed to rise.”
The narrator conveys a sense of mixed blessings in a world grappling with environmental deterioration and food scarcity. The initial use of the word "lucky" underscores a feeling of relief that Europe had more time to prepare for the adverse effects of the encroaching smog in contrast to the catastrophic famines that had already devastated the Americas and Southeast Asia. The mention of mung-protein flour being "calorie for calorie cheaper" than traditional diets highlights the practicality of this nutritional source in a resource-scarce environment. However, the subsequent description of the flour as "gritty and gray" and its inability to make bread rise portrays the harsh reality of reliance on this seemingly practical but unpalatable food source.
“A beast who is fat may buy his own country! I read in one of the auto-translated comments, which confused me until I looked up an alternate translation: Rich monster.”
The quote highlights the controversy and public outrage surrounding the elite research community on the Italian-French border. The comment captures the sentiment of many who see the wealthy investors behind the community as powerful individuals who can manipulate and control their destinies, including acquiring land and resources. The narrator's realization that the comment translates to "Rich monster" underscores the negative perception of these individuals as not just wealthy but morally questionable figures who exploit their wealth and influence for personal gain. This comment reflects the broader theme of economic inequality and the power dynamics at play in the story which ultimately motivates the narrator to take the job as a private chef in pursuit of fresh produce.
"Couldn't see what it was for which I survived."
The Narrator is expressing a profound sense of disconnection and disillusionment in the face of a world that has drastically changed. The loss of a wide variety of foods and flavors as well as the closure of restaurants serving diverse cuisines, symbolizes a broader cultural and societal regression. The narrator feels like a stranger in this new reality, unable to relate to the British people's stoic resilience. This quote underscores the narrator's existential crisis as they question the meaning and value of their continued existence in a world that has lost so much of its vibrancy and flavor.
