Thursday Tea is a weekly feature hosted by Anastasia at Birdbrain(ed) Blog."To play along, all you need is some tea, a book, and the willingness to answer some very simple questions: What tea are you drinking (and do you like it)? What book are you reading (and do you like it)? Tell us a little about your tea and your book, and whether or not the two go together."
The tea:
Nuwara Eliya "floating over the clouds" (Ceylon Orange Pekoe). Described on the label as "The 'champagne' of Ceylon teas. Highly aromatic, delicately & tangy. This is a perfect afternoon tea uniquely enhanced by a slice of lemon or milk."
The book:
The Blue Fox by Sjon (2008) 112 pgs. pb, translated from the Icelandic
This is a beautifully told story that opens with a man tracking a blue fox through the snow in Iceland. The vixen temporarily escapes into a sudden blizzard but the man will persist for two days until he finds her again. Then it shifts back to a day or two to before the hunt, to the town where he lives and gives the surrounding story that shows us through the eyes of others what kind of man he is and what led up to his winter trek. A captivating story that I found unable to put down. The descriptions are lyrical and vivid, the characters well drawn and believable. We are then returned to the icy slopes where the hunt itself precipitates an unexpected turn of events and the struggle between life and death takes on a whole new meaning for our hunter. It is a lovely afternoon's read. I highly recommend what the publisher rightly calls "this spellbinding fable that is part mystery, part fairy tale."
Do they go together?
Hot tea always goes well with a story set in the snow. But I feel this was an appropriate drink for this book if only because the main character in the town is an herbalist and early in the story he makes tea for a grieving man who hasn't tasted it before. The tea set and the making of the tea are described while the man tells his guest about the tea-pickers on the slopes of Darjeeling in some of the loveliest prose I've read recently. Me and my tea felt right at home.
What are you drinking/reading today?
Others who reviewed The Blue Fox:
Claire at Paperback Reader
Tony at Tony's Reading List
Eva at A Striped Armchair
Recent Posts:
Library Loot
Mailbox Monday
"25 Books That Caused a Commotion"
Weekly Geeks 13 (haiku poetry)
Giveaway: The Girl Who Stopped Swimming (until April 19)
Thursday Tea (Jacob's Room by Virginia Woolf)
That book sounds like it needs a hot drink to accompany it.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, a wonderful combination! And thank you for linking to the Thursday Tea - I'd never seen it, and it's so, so perfect!
ReplyDeleteI love Thursday Tea. What a great meme. I know I said that the last time I commented on one of your posts and then I totally forgot about it. But I'm going to really try to participate this week! Later today I'll do my post! :-)
ReplyDeleteCeylon is my favourite black tea! I'm out though-must go get some more. :)
ReplyDeletewow! That book sounds amazing. I'm adding it to my wishlist right now.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of Thursday Tea before, but I love the idea :)
I love the idea of Thursday Tea! In fact, I have already made my first post. I like Tea and I like reading. Perfect combination!
ReplyDeleteHere is my post: http://imlostinbooks.blogspot.com/2009/04/new-weekly-thursday-tea-04-10-09.html
I loved your words about the book and tea!! I'm reading Wicked Lovely and drinking Diet Dr. Pepper!!
ReplyDeleteTea definitely goes well with a cold setting. I finally got my post up (a day late)
ReplyDeleteOoo, a tangy orange-ish tea! That sounds really great; I'm going to have to try it myself some time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for playing TT this week! <3
- Anastasia
Fun! Love this idea. I think I'm going to go brew a cup of tea, myself.
ReplyDeleteOh! This seems like a perfect match for each other! I never really know what tea goes with a book, I only know what doesn't~ Anyway, thank you for visiting my blog!
ReplyDelete