In Rabelais's tale, the giant Gargantua is a vast and inescapable cluster of qualities and activities, less a human being than a force of nature: in his greed and incontinence, and in his voracious violence, he outdoes everyone else. We can recognize, says Julian Stallabrass, in the old giant's size, ubiquity, gluttony, vast knowledge and warlike nature, qualities of our own contemporary culture.
In Rabelais's tale, the giant Gargantua is a vast and inescapable cluster of qualities and activities, less a human being than a force of nature: in h...