But if the subject of food often elicited vivid anecdotes, other questions
evoked memories tied to the senses that emerged in less storied forms. Chronological
ordering and nal-sated sequences of events did not dominate these reco
l l e c t i o n ~ .S' ~to~ried segments were often overwhelmed by a cacophony of
lists, names, fragments of dialogue, foreign words and gestures seemingly unmoored
from narrative threads.'08 Such litanies of seemingly obscure details
contained muted but discernible affective strains. Long lists of tasks performed,
foods cooked and schedules imposed were hardly indifferent recollections.
They registered, in ways no story could, the repetitive and often deadening regularity
of domestic work.lo9 When Genduk Ginem recited her daily routine of
sixty years ago by the precise hour, she evoked the rigid and imposed rhythms
of Dutch households and habits