We Could Almost Eat Outside, Philippe Delerm – Bière de Brie

We could almost eat outside: an appreciation of life’s small pleasures is a series of short texts, describing simple moments of life that brings happiness and make everything worthwhile, such as the very first sip of a fresh beer, the moment when you read a book on the beach, or when you look through a kaleidoscope.

Philippe Delerm’s style is astonishing by the sharpness of the descriptions he makes and the delicacy of the metaphors he uses. He knows how to find the exact right words to express some very abstract feelings. He perfectly renders the ephemeral impressions a small pleasure of life can give you with his sensory language.

Personally, it reminded me a lot from my childhood; like when I helped my mother shell peas. It was usually during summer, we were sitting at the garden table, enjoying the sun while filling a bowl of freshly shelled green peas and chatting about everything and nothing. Philippe Delerm’s short story took me back instantly to these cherished moments I spent with my mom.

We could almost eat outside appears as a collection of ordinary souvenirs. It goes from the countryside with short stories like the afternoon when you go pick blackberries and then jump to more urban frameworks with the croissant you go buy for breakfast and you eat in the street, before getting back home. This book appeals to everyone; you will undoubtedly find at least one anecdote that remind you of something you lived, and it will surely make a feeling of nostalgia emerge in your heart.

Obviously, tasting a delicious glass of wine can be classified as a “small pleasure of life”. However, today I will break with tradition and go for a beer. Why a beer? you may ask me… Probably because one of my favorite short story describes the moment when you have the very first sip of a beer. Nonetheless, I am not talking about having an ordinary beer. I am thinking about having a Bière de Brie (Beer made in the Brie region, a charming region in the East of Paris). Made by the farm/brewery Rabourdin with a very traditional method, the Bière de Brie is declined in three varieties in order to satisfy all tastes: the Blanche one, the Blonde, and the Ambrée.