Monday, March 31, 2014

Lunch in Paris? Oui! Oui!

Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with RecipesLunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was fun. First, I once again got to learn about Paris. Second, it was about food, and Three, it was about family. Well, it was more about Elizabeth herself, but family was tied into it.

I think I'm fascinated by cooking with fresh food. While I am not adventurous when it comes to different foods, I am more and more liking being able to eat fresh food. I don't like to cook out of a can (well, that's not entirely true, there are some foods, like canned tomatoes, that do make for an easy recipe), and do like cooking with foods fresh from market. I'm not quite sure how I'd do in a meat market, but I do love going to the Butcher. To me, that's the beauty of the book, cooking with fresh food every day, and just in the amounts you need.

Elizabeth weaves in her recipes with stories about herself, her husband, family and friends. I also really appreciated how she compared the stress driven American lifestyle with the slower paced French culture. I'm attracted to slowing down in life and not letting myself be stressed by things I can't control. I have so much to learn in this area, and somehow, chopping (with a knife, not a blender), slicing and dicing does help me get in a slower mode.

To clarify, although the book was a fun read, there are some serious issues addressed--cancer, sense of self-worth, taking risks toward making dreams come true, making friends in a foreign country and more. For me though, the crowning touch of this particular book was the recipes. I mean to try more than a few.


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Sunday, March 30, 2014

A Boy, A Disaster and a Goldfinch

The GoldfinchThe Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked the premise of the story behind The Goldfinch, but I think it was a little too long. I ended up skimming much of the last 2/3 of the book, before slowing down again for the last chapter. Do you know how sometimes you just want to know the ending? It was like that for me, but instead of feeling like each chapter was leading up to the anticipation of the ending, I was just feeling like, let's get this part over with already. Additionally, there was a point in the story that I could predict what was going to happen next.

Theo's story is a sad one, losing his mother in a catastrophic accident when he is 12 years old. It is in this moment that his life becomes uncertain, and he carries that uncertainty with him in every circumstance of his life. Along the way he befriends an adult, Hobie, whom he admires, and whom he also disappoints. I love the character of Hobie for the unconditional love that he shows Theo throughout his life. Everyone of us needs a Hobie in our life!

At the center of the story is the painting, The Goldfinch. This is an acutal painting by a Dutch artist, that I at least, had never heard of, Carel Fabritius. Theo's mom loved this painting and her thoughts about the painting are one of the last memories that Theo has of her. I always do enjoy when an author uses pieces of non-fiction in their novels.

The author describes Theo's anxieties throughout the book in a very realistic manner. For me, it sometimes felt like he (Theo) was spending a little too much time feeling sorry for himself. His friendship with another young boy, Boris also takes up a lot of the book. To be frank, this also got a little wearing on me and I ended up skimming a lot of these areas.

I did however, like the way the book ended. I do agree, that art, whether it be novel, poetry, music, artwork, whatever, does speak to each of us individually and in different ways. I like how the author described it:
"That's not the reason anyone loves a piece of art. It's a secret whisper from an alleyway. Psst, you. Hey kid. Yes you.. . . yours, yours, yours, I was painted for you."



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Friday, March 28, 2014

Perfume, Paris and An Inheritance: Why Couldn't This Be Me?

The Perfume CollectorThe Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Grace's world turns upside down when she finds out she is receiving an inheritance from a woman she never heard of, who lived in, of all places Paris. (I should be so lucky as to get a letter like this!) Grace isn't all that excited about it though--and, she's not sure she can accept this surprise gift. Who was this woman, and why did she leave her money to her? Grace is convinced that she made a mistake.

Eventually Grace leaves for Paris to meet with the lawyers and find out more about her benefactor, Eva. Along the way she discovers some of the mystery behind Eva,and, eventually, Grace also begins to discover herself.

Some of the story was believe-able, and some not so much. For example, I'm not sure I would have had the scruples Grace had as she researched the history behind the gift.

The story switches between people and times and the characters were interesting. It's a little more in depth than a beach read, and a good book to just escape to another place for a weekend.



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