As I mentioned earlier, I was considering the idea of drawing on the travels of Marco Polo to China as a parallel to one of the main characters in Not for Nothing. Thanks to a good friend in academia, I just finished reading "Marco Polo and his 'Travels'", an academic essay by Peter Jackson of Keele University.
For several reasons given by Jackson, I have decided it best to drop the idea of a parallel with Polo. What I may consider in his stead, though, is a broader idea that I've considered from time to time over the years. That being, the commercial sun's dawning and dusking on the port powers of Venice, New York (Chinatown & Little Italy conveniently being neighboring 'hoods) and Beijing over time. Some, of course, could argue that before Venice there was Beijing and I will consider that. Along these lines the story may be told with pasta, not beer, playing the role of local product - that being debatable. I will have to talk to my chef about that one as we make our own pasta by hand in Manhattan when the same process could be done in Queens, in Iowa or in Antarctica.
This added element of empire, on the one hand, risks spreading the main story of quality versus quantity too thin. At the same time, it may add depth if done right. If I can't make it work, then I can spin off the empire theme into its own story, one that moves from a bowl of pasta to one of noodles over three continents and a 1,000 years.
In other news, I'm enjoying Jonathan Fenby's Modern China: The Fall and Rise of a Great Power, 1850 to the Present.
I have also made progress in fleshing out the non-research based story, but many questions remain.
Lastly, I made another batch of pancakes this past Friday for family meal at work. I tried a different recipe and will continue to tinker. I'm thinking of apple crepes next.
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