Comments on: March 1, 2010 — Saïd Sayrafiesadeh: “Appetite”

By: The Mookse and the Gripes » Saïd Sayrafiezadeh: “Paranoia”

The Mookse and the Gripes » Saïd Sayrafiezadeh: “Paranoia” — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 22:46:23 +0000

[...] I haven’t read this story yet because I’m deeply engaged in a few other reading projects and don’t want to take the time just yet. When I read it, hopefully soon, I will post my thoughts here, but in the meantime I’d love to see how people are responding to it. I was so-so on Sayrafiezadeh’s last New Yorker story, “Apetite.” [...]

By: Trevor

Trevor — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:37:45 +0000

We are lucky enough in our household to enjoy Mrs. Berrett’s home-made marshmellows, Kevin, though I’m not sure we’ve avoided all of the hazards of having them in a house with children. Still, I think these are worth it, where the minis might not be :).

On a similar note, Kevin, I didn’t know you cooked, though I knew you appreciated food. I’m no fancy chef, but Sherry did tell me the other day that when she’s rich she’d pay for me to go to a culinary arts school — because she knows I like cooking, not because she was disappointed in anything I made recently.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:31:00 +0000

We do have a container of Miracle Whip in the fridge and it does come out (usually with chicken or turkey sandwiches). Not with grilled cheese, I must say.

And I will only respond when it comes to miniature marshmellows, although I suspect those with young children know much more about that hazard than I do.

By: Mrs. Berrett

Mrs. Berrett — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:41:57 +0000

Miniature marshmallows? I would like to get you started on that.
As a side note, the tangy zip of Miracle Whip seriously improves a grilled cheese sandwich.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:52:35 +0000

I should also admit that I was very sympathetic to the burnt bread, unmelted cheese issue. Mrs. KfC almost always gets a version of that, but after one test run (hers) the next (mine) comes out perfect.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:49:48 +0000

Grilled cheese with Kraft cheese? Childhood memory. Now I will say that in the three years we lived in Pittsburgh, we did discover an American processed cheddar that was even better — it got every bit as gooey and had way more taste. And I will also admit that I make a lot more with sharp cheddar than with Kraft — what would I do with the other seven slices?

Don’t get me going on minature marshmellows.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:38:39 +0000

I think we felt similarly about the story, Kevin, only he lost my positive side of nuetral toward the end, landing just on the negative side.

By the way, as a foodie, how can you like a grilled cheese made with Kraft? It’s lunch time for me right now, and that still doesn’t tempt :) . My preferred method is sharp cheddar grilled with a cover so all the cheese melts while the outside gets golden brown.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:08:19 +0000

I rather liked this story. Perhaps influenced by the author’s name, I did assume that while the narrator might be “white” he does not come from a long line of Americans. And I did find a certain poignancy in the way he was screwing up us courage to ask for a $2 raise after seven years on the job, when the yearly increment appears to be 25 cents. I was willing to forgive him his failures with grilled cheese — we had a fascinating discussion the other night with a friend that clearly showed three people had three very, very different opinions about what the perfect grilled cheese is (I voted for Kraft processed pretty much glued to the bread, our friend much prefers real cheddar that is not completely melted).

And I thought the anorexic waitress was a symbol for how low “hope” can go when you are stuck in dead-end circumstances. The fact that she picked him up and toyed with him (“pretty boy”) just underlined how far back in the pack he ranks.

Despite those thoughts, it was still a story that was just on the positive side of neutral for me.

By: Colette Jones

Colette Jones — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:38:12 +0000

I didn’t have any sympathy for the narrator. He seemed to want a raise but didn’t bother to do his job very well. I think that may have been part of the point – he wants things for nothing. If he can’t make a grilled cheese sandwich, does he even deserve the job, let along a raise? Another example: He doesn’t take the office job because it’s going to take some effort to get there every day.

What did the waitress have to do with anything, and what is the significance of the ending? I don’t know.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:37:13 +0000

Joe, I agree with your assessment of the ending. I didn’t like it much at all, though I was pretty blah’ed out by that time and didn’t care. I did like the beginning — well, that’s too strong — I found the beginning easy to get into, which I think, when struck against the ending, kind of balanced this story out just to the negative side of even.