<!--[if gte mso 9]> 0 0 1 783 4469 Overlook Press 37 10 5242 14.0 <![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>
new posts in all blogs
By: John Mark Boling,
on 9/19/2012
Blog: The Winged Elephant (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: gourmet, kosher cooking, Helen Nash's New Kosher Cuisine, Helen Nash, recipes, cake, fish, cookbooks, Add a tag
By: Elizabeth Varadan,
on 7/26/2011
Blog: Elizabeth Varadan's Fourth Wish (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: mystery, Paris, hedgehog, club, secret society, French Connection, Dumas, gourmet, Bastille, Add a tag
While getting ready for my surgery, I started accumulating books over the past few months, some from used book stores and some from Borders. (Alas, I won't be doing the latter anymore.) Some were adult books, and some were children's books. I started on the adult stack first, and was I ever surprised: Apparently my week in Paris a couple of summers ago burned its imprint into my unconscious; five of the books take place either partially or entirely in Paris. They are too many to review, so consider this post a thumbnail sharing of each.
I'll start with my least favorite first, Gourmet Rhapsody, by Muriel Barbery. I'm sorry to put it that way, too, because my purchase was motivated by how charmed I had been by Barbery's first book, The Elegance of the Hedgehog. In Hedgehog, a young girl has given herself a date on which she'll commit suicide unless she can find enough reasons not to. I know that sounds like a morbid story, but the book captures small, luminous moments of beauty that make life truly worth living. So I was expecting to be deeply moved again in Gourmet. Nope: A food critic lies on his deathbed, hoping to capture a favorite flavor that he can't quite identify in memory. Acquaintances and family each have a turn at sharing what they recall about this thoroughly unlikeable man. That's it, folks. some exquisite writing, because this author cannot turn out a bad line, but for me, the plot was . . . missing in action (pun intended).
But, next I read Cara Black's Murder in the Bastille. Black is one of my favorite mystery writers. Her series stars Aimée Leduc, a private eye for white collar techie matters who keeps getting dragged into murder cases instead. To read any one in the series is to get a free trip to Paris. Black knows that city inside and out and places each new mystery in a different neighborhood. Because Aimée grew up in Paris, naturally she has little snippets of memory about buildings she passes or bridges or streets she traverses, and so in a completely non-intrusive way, the reader picks up scraps of French history and art history while Aimée chases or runs from the bad guys. Black's website is equally interesting: Press here and go take a peek.
Then I read The Girl at the Lion d'Or by Sebastian Faulks. This is a carefully sculpted story of a young girl cast adrift following World War I. It takes place in a small village outside of Paris where Anne has taken employment as a waitress in the Hotel Lion D'Or of the title. Her story unfolds by degrees: Her father was falsely accused of cowardice at Verdun and shot. Because of accusations, Anne and her mother were hounded out of their village and went to Paris. With no one to turn to after her mother dies, Anne hopes to find a new life at the Lion D'Or. Sh
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: gourmet, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 2 of 2
![Blog Icon](http://images.jacketflap.com/images/ele.jpg?picon=166)
Blog: The Winged Elephant (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: gourmet, kosher cooking, Helen Nash's New Kosher Cuisine, Helen Nash, recipes, cake, fish, cookbooks, Add a tag
3 Comments on Recipes and a Giveaway from HELEN NASH'S NEW KOSHER CUISINE, last added: 9/20/2012
Display Comments
Add a Comment
![Blog Icon](http://images.jacketflap.com/images/ev.jpeg?picon=2694)
Blog: Elizabeth Varadan's Fourth Wish (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: mystery, Paris, hedgehog, club, secret society, French Connection, Dumas, gourmet, Bastille, Add a tag
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xLvpxr7bWbY/Ti8R4xKnKrI/AAAAAAAAAgs/zhoMQLa4sdY/s1600/The-Three-Musketeers.jpg)
I'll start with my least favorite first, Gourmet Rhapsody, by Muriel Barbery. I'm sorry to put it that way, too, because my purchase was motivated by how charmed I had been by Barbery's first book, The Elegance of the Hedgehog. In Hedgehog, a young girl has given herself a date on which she'll commit suicide unless she can find enough reasons not to. I know that sounds like a morbid story, but the book captures small, luminous moments of beauty that make life truly worth living. So I was expecting to be deeply moved again in Gourmet. Nope: A food critic lies on his deathbed, hoping to capture a favorite flavor that he can't quite identify in memory. Acquaintances and family each have a turn at sharing what they recall about this thoroughly unlikeable man. That's it, folks. some exquisite writing, because this author cannot turn out a bad line, but for me, the plot was . . . missing in action (pun intended).
But, next I read Cara Black's Murder in the Bastille. Black is one of my favorite mystery writers. Her series stars Aimée Leduc, a private eye for white collar techie matters who keeps getting dragged into murder cases instead. To read any one in the series is to get a free trip to Paris. Black knows that city inside and out and places each new mystery in a different neighborhood. Because Aimée grew up in Paris, naturally she has little snippets of memory about buildings she passes or bridges or streets she traverses, and so in a completely non-intrusive way, the reader picks up scraps of French history and art history while Aimée chases or runs from the bad guys. Black's website is equally interesting: Press here and go take a peek.
Then I read The Girl at the Lion d'Or by Sebastian Faulks. This is a carefully sculpted story of a young girl cast adrift following World War I. It takes place in a small village outside of Paris where Anne has taken employment as a waitress in the Hotel Lion D'Or of the title. Her story unfolds by degrees: Her father was falsely accused of cowardice at Verdun and shot. Because of accusations, Anne and her mother were hounded out of their village and went to Paris. With no one to turn to after her mother dies, Anne hopes to find a new life at the Lion D'Or. Sh
12 Comments on The French Connection, last added: 7/30/2011
Display Comments
Add a Comment
I think I'd like to try either the Honey Cake or the Hazelnut Balls. I'm a sucker for sweets and they might be simple enough that even I could be successful with them. What's that? A main course?! I'll keep looking...
I would love to try the Marinated Salmon which sounds delectable and special. Especially since I eat mainly fish and salmon is my favorite.
The Broiled Chicken with Honey and Lemon interests me greatly. A new and unique way to prepare chicken is always appealing.