The Cookbook Collector by
Allegra Goodman
Allegra Goodman
I fall into these ruts of not
reading fiction, and when it happens, it lasts a really long time and feels
like it will never end. And then there’ll be a book—an amazing, magical
book—that not only gets me out of the rut, it throws me way the heck out of it. This is one of those books.
reading fiction, and when it happens, it lasts a really long time and feels
like it will never end. And then there’ll be a book—an amazing, magical
book—that not only gets me out of the rut, it throws me way the heck out of it. This is one of those books.
And there’s no way I would’ve picked up this book in the middle of a fiction rut had my book club not selected it.
Now, there is one thing about
this book that’s bugging me, but first I’m going to tell you all the things I
liked about it.
this book that’s bugging me, but first I’m going to tell you all the things I
liked about it.
A wonderful relationship between
two sisters is at the heart of this book, and I adore that, because there are
few things better than a wonderful sister who loves you even when you’re not at
your best. And that’s fully in play in this story.
two sisters is at the heart of this book, and I adore that, because there are
few things better than a wonderful sister who loves you even when you’re not at
your best. And that’s fully in play in this story.
The sisters are near-opposites:
one leads a new dot-com in the days before the burst of the tech bubble, and
the other is a wayward grad student who works in a bookstore.
one leads a new dot-com in the days before the burst of the tech bubble, and
the other is a wayward grad student who works in a bookstore.
And this is also a delightful
comedy of manners. There are a couple of romantic relationships that evolve,
and one of them is rather a pleasantly surprising one. I’m a sucker for a
well-done comedy of manners, and this book is a wonderful one.
comedy of manners. There are a couple of romantic relationships that evolve,
and one of them is rather a pleasantly surprising one. I’m a sucker for a
well-done comedy of manners, and this book is a wonderful one.
OK, so the thing that annoyed
me. There were some coincidences that just seemed way too pat. I know, I know,
these weird things happen all the time in real life. But in a novel, I set the
reality bar higher than I do for real life. There it is.
me. There were some coincidences that just seemed way too pat. I know, I know,
these weird things happen all the time in real life. But in a novel, I set the
reality bar higher than I do for real life. There it is.
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