Author(s): Isabel Allende

Biography/Memoir

Like Diane Ackerman''s bestselling book, The Natural History of the Senses, Allende's book is a very personal blend of imagination, memory and the senses.aIn Aphrodite, a combination of personal narrative and treasury of erotic lore, Isabel Allende uses her storytelling skills brilliantly to evoke the pleasures of food and sex. Under the aegis of the goddess of love, Allende offers us a joyful book, imaginative and fresh, a feast of facts and tales about sensual delight with a generous helping of personal narrative.aWith Aphrodite, Allende becomes an authority on aphrodisiacs, which include everything from food and drink to stories and of course, love. You'll find here recipes from Allende's mother, poems, stories from ancient and medieval literature, paintings, fascinating tidbits on the sensual art of food and its effects on amorous performance, tips on how to attract your mate and revive flagging virility, passages on the effect of smell on libido, a history of alcoholic beverages, and a section on the language of flowers.aAllende's ode to sensuality and erotic pleasure, the marriage of sex and food, works-thanks to her storytelling ability and naughty sense of fun.