I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it; I thought it was well-written and entertaining. The author, Gabrielle Hamilton, is the chef/owner of Prune in Manhattan.
Gabrielle Hamilton has led a very interesting life. For one thing, it's fairly rare for a woman to be the chef/owner of a restaurant. Many times, cooking is a man's business. Both of her parents were interesting people and her memoir begins with her memories of her home and her parents' parties. Her mother was French, and her mother's cooking deeply influenced Hamilton's cooking; in fact, something her mother made, marrow bones, is on the menu at Prune today, I think.
She herself is a vivid person who's made some interesting choices, and she talks about them in her book. Not only did she travel in France, Greece and Turkey, picking up food lore along the way, but she attended a writer's program in Michigan. In Michigan I think she must have experienced a very different culture - both literary culture and the culture of the Midwest.
I finished this book in about three days and that's important to me because I've come to feel that when I am able to read fast it's a sign that the author is a strong prose stylist. I think Hamilton is a really good writer. Some of her sentences were very poetic.
I also think that she grapples with some tough personal issues in her book. I read the New York Times review last night and the reviewer reported that there was wasn't much connective tissue between the episodes in the book and that she failed to explain why she did some things.
I think those criticisms are valid but unimportant to me as a reader. I wanted to be entertained and I was.
The reviewer did not find her to be honest; I found her to be refreshingly candid and the gaps in exposition the reviewer noted I associate with the fact that we do not see ourselves or our lives objectively; memoirs can be beautiful, instructive and true in a number of ways but I don't think that they are ever objective. This is a story told from her point of view.
One aspect of her story I found particularly interesting was how ambition had, according to her report, hurt the relationship she had before she met her husband. Conflict over ambition, and whether it's really socially acceptable, really resonated with me.
Many people specifically enjoy reading about food and I think that they will enjoy the book. I recommend this book to foodies and to anyone who likes a good story.
Prune has a nice website with the restaurant's menu, at http://www.prunerestaurant.com.
Gabrielle Hamilton has led a very interesting life. For one thing, it's fairly rare for a woman to be the chef/owner of a restaurant. Many times, cooking is a man's business. Both of her parents were interesting people and her memoir begins with her memories of her home and her parents' parties. Her mother was French, and her mother's cooking deeply influenced Hamilton's cooking; in fact, something her mother made, marrow bones, is on the menu at Prune today, I think.
She herself is a vivid person who's made some interesting choices, and she talks about them in her book. Not only did she travel in France, Greece and Turkey, picking up food lore along the way, but she attended a writer's program in Michigan. In Michigan I think she must have experienced a very different culture - both literary culture and the culture of the Midwest.
I finished this book in about three days and that's important to me because I've come to feel that when I am able to read fast it's a sign that the author is a strong prose stylist. I think Hamilton is a really good writer. Some of her sentences were very poetic.
I also think that she grapples with some tough personal issues in her book. I read the New York Times review last night and the reviewer reported that there was wasn't much connective tissue between the episodes in the book and that she failed to explain why she did some things.
I think those criticisms are valid but unimportant to me as a reader. I wanted to be entertained and I was.
The reviewer did not find her to be honest; I found her to be refreshingly candid and the gaps in exposition the reviewer noted I associate with the fact that we do not see ourselves or our lives objectively; memoirs can be beautiful, instructive and true in a number of ways but I don't think that they are ever objective. This is a story told from her point of view.
One aspect of her story I found particularly interesting was how ambition had, according to her report, hurt the relationship she had before she met her husband. Conflict over ambition, and whether it's really socially acceptable, really resonated with me.
Many people specifically enjoy reading about food and I think that they will enjoy the book. I recommend this book to foodies and to anyone who likes a good story.
Prune has a nice website with the restaurant's menu, at http://www.prunerestaurant.com.
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