Last House (1995)

A popular food writer and essayist, M.F.K. Fisher (who died in 1992) had the gift of being able to discuss even the most complicated subject with honesty and simplicity. Whether musing on her belief that a man's eating habits mirrored his sexual ones (''Gobbling''), or scripting a prose poem to the potato chip, or outlining an argument against forcing the older generation to discard their bad habits, she is never less than absorbing in Last House. She is also often charming, selfish, and a bit bizarre. Her writing makes you want to meet her, and she knew it; one of her themes is a slight irritation at a constant stream of guests. She is probably relieved she no longer has to deal with her admirers. As for those of us left behind, we can only mourn the absence of someone who was almost incomparable in the writing game. A