I can never resist a quick short read, reviewed and rated highly by a GR Friend. This one came from Sara and since I have not read anything by Jonathan Swift - not even Gulliver's Travels (I suppose I should be ashamed to own up to that), I thought I'd leap at the opportunity. What a surprise! Swift writes a brilliant, witty and satiric essay (albeit a touch macabre) addressing the urgent problem of poverty and starvation among the poor in 1720's Ireland. His "solution"? Selling off Ireland's abundant commodity of babies as food for the rich!
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“I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricasee, or a ragoust.”

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It's hard to even imagine laughing at such a macabre notion, but even without knowing the history of the period, a heavy-handed sarcasm is obvious and the poison arrows are aimed at....not the Starving Downtrodden Poor, but rather the aristocrats who address the issue of the (sdp) burden from their Ivory Tower (or so it seemed to me).
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“I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children.”

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The essay is freely available in numerous places online, including: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1080/...

The recording, read by Sir Alec Guinness can be found at:
https://archive.org/details/alec-guin...

Σχεδόν ανακουφιστικό

This is the same guy who wrote Gulliver's Travels, and he's sassy, and funny, and kind of a smart ass. Here's the gist:

"I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy Child well Nursed is at a year Old, a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome Food, whether Stewed, Roasted, Baked, or Boyled..."

LOL! It's refreshing (or disturbing, depending on your outlook) to know that many of the issues we have today were also issues almost 300 years ago. Your president (or prime minister, or other governmental leader who is likely blamed for your country's likely current economic / social woes) was not alive 300 years ago, and probably didn't cause them. Of course, they haven't exactly fixed them either. LOL!

Swift's modest ridonkulous proposal, he claims, would solve the following issues: religious conflicts, poverty, increase economic resources, reduce the pesky problem of having to deal with the ugliness of child-rearing (think teenagers), increase tourism and local economic growth, promote proper marriages, deter child abuse as well as spousal abuse, and reduce taxes.

Sign me up.

Wow! This one is so funny, also scary and disgusting! But what a smart thinker and writer Swift was!

“I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricasie, or a ragoust.”

Here’s a quick and easy recipe for roasted young “long pig” that is guaranteed to save a few bucks come the next last-minute dinner with friends or family:

What You Will Need
Butcher knife
Olive oil or butter
Seasonings (I have a soft spot for a pinch of Ambergris, a touch of Wattleseed, and a dash of Spanish Fly)
Roasting pan

Step 1
Trim away the end of the neck, and the end of each leg from the "knee" joint downwards. This is usually only necessary with wild-caught “long pig” because, if farmed, than it is sold trimmed for market.

Step 2
Remove any internal organs such as the liver, kidneys, intestines or any other organs that might be left inside the body cavity. Rub the body lightly over both its inner and outer surfaces with olive oil or melted butter, and then season it with salt and pepper. If your recipe calls for additional herbs or spices, rub or sprinkle them over the rabbit at this stage.

Step 3
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Place in the roasting pan on its side, without a rack. Young “long pig” is too lean for the drippings to be fatty, and any juices that cook out will help keep the underside moist.

Step 4
Baste every 20 to 30 minutes with more oil or butter to help keep it from drying out. Turn it after 45 minutes, if you wish, to ensure even cooking.

Step 5
Roast until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 F, when tested by inserting an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. The entire process will take approximately 90 minutes with a market-weight of 10-12 pounds.

Tips
Tender “long pig” can also be roasted at 425 F for 20 to 25 minutes, giving it a chewier texture but a richer flavor.
Many traditional recipes call for roasted “long pig” to be "barded," or covered with thin sheets of protective fat. This can be thinly-sliced pork back fat or lacy sheets of caul fat, but bacon is easier to find and works well. If a smoky bacon flavor is inappropriate in your dish, ask the butcher to sell you thinly-sliced uncured pork belly instead.

The braising liquid can be reduced to concentrate its flavors, then thickened to make a sauce for your rabbit.

WARNING
The FSA's Food Safety and Inspection Service recommends cooking all game animals to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit to minimize the risk of trichinosis and other foodborne illnesses. This is especially crucial with wild-caught infants.

I know it is slightly too late to thank Dr Swift, But I would like to thank him many realms away nevertheless. It's good to know that Cannibalism is never an inappropriate topic to write a satirical essay about. I'm sure this knowledge will come in handy one day in my life. This whole "review" isn't supposed to be portrayed in a sarcastic manner either, I don't like sticking to the same theme.

I enjoyed it very much, and couldn't stop laughing. Probably because I've always responded well to Dark humour, and this definitely ticks the box... and them some!

Can you believe this guy? I realize that this was, like, a long time ago and things were different back then. Like, less civilized and they didn't value life like we do today and stuff. But omg, seriously! For all intensive purposes, this guy Swift was crazy. After I read this I literally cut my own head off.

So apparently in the eighteenth century (and by the way, isn't it so stupid that it's called the eighteenth century when it was the 1700s? that makes like no sense at all), there was a lot of poverty and poor people and hunger and stuff. And this guy Swift was thinking, "what should we do with all of these babies whose parents are struggling to care for?" And you'll never guess what his solution was... To eat the babies!

I mean, I guess he was pretty smart. He argued it very well. He said that you should keep the babies while they breastfeed (uh, gross, bee-tee-dubs!) and like fatten them up and stuff, but when they get to about a year old when they're nice and chubby, you should roast them like a pig and make gloves and boots out of their skin and stuff. Seriously! Gross! I don't like to wear skin, thank you very much. My leather boots do me just fine!

I mean, for one thing, isn't that really illegal? I'm pretty sure that you can't just do that to a baby, even if it's your own baby. And I know it's a doggy-dog world and you have to watch out for yourself, but I draw the line at eating babies. Irregardless of what this guy Swift says.

Okay I seriously have to stop rambling about this now. I'm getting too worked up and I think I might get carpool tunnel syndrome from so much typing.

13 or so pages of blistering satire by Jonathon Swift, the author of Gulliver's Travels, as he expounds upon a simple solution to the problems of overpopulation and poverty.

I suppose the reason this essay is still considered relevant today is the fact that our politicians continue to espouse and promote equally preposterous simple "solutions" to complex societal problems . . . and the masses, having itching ears, continue to eat it up (pun intended).

reading this made me feel smarter.

Goodreaders, my Friends, “…who peruse this [Review], Be not offended, whilst on it you [chew]: Denude yourselves of all depraved affection, For it contains no badness, nor infection: 'Tis true that it brings forth to you no birth Of any value, but in point of mirth; Thinking therefore how sorrow might your mind Consume, I could no [more] apt subject find; One [plume] of joy surmounts of grief a [duration]; Because to laugh is proper to the [rational person].”–Rabelais

Funny, but not funny like "haha", funny like "yikes".