That's the name of the book I've been reading this morning for my dissertation. I had high hopes that this book would provide some theoretical context to understand the exchanges of hospitality during the friendly occupation period. Oddly enough I think it would work better-specifically the concluding chapter, "Symbols and cooked breakfasts"- as a thesis on dating. Words, materiality, and gestures associated with dating as with other forms of exchange are complex in meaning. The meanings vary by nation or tribe, community, family or individual. And don't forget the ever important role gender plays in the interpretation of these signals. For this language there is no dictionary... trail and error or perhaps anthropological study might provide insight. Obvious right but sometimes it takes reading it in an academic text to really sink in.
"People load their exchanges with meaning, and exchanges are symbols: they have consequences not only for life itself, but for the meaning of life as well... The studies of symbols are apparently less precise than the realities of birth, death. You can tell fairly easily whether a person is dead or alive; it is more difficult to know what someone means when they offer you bread or a stone."
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