Julie Powell charmed readers with Julie and Julia, in which she chronicled her quest to cook, in one year, every recipe out of Julia Child's...
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It's a wondrous thing when you put down a book, and a day later you find yourself thinking about someone, caring about them or worrying about them, only to recall they were a character in that book you just finished.
In addition to that quality of writing, Diaz weaves universal themes and places them in a contemporary context.
Any reader will find one or another aspect resonant. Outsider, immigrant, geeky kid taking refuge in books, observer. Connection, its relevance and strength, no matter what drives or interferes with its completion, matters.
We hope the next book comes soon, we miss our people.
Having a deep love for the city of New Orleans, I could not return until I was sure its recovery from the storms and my own were far enough along that my trip would not be a daily trail of tears.
To my delight, I had the great luck to find Sara Roahen was doing a reading/book signing at the Garden District Bookstore. It was such a treat to hear her speak about her adopted home, her falling in love with the city, being seduced by the "food culcha".
The book is a series of stories framed around food, food histories, myths and epiphanies. Most all of life and social intercourse in New Orleans is only a fork's distance from food, it seems to me, so this works well.
The book is at turns laugh-out-loud funny and drippy tears poignantly sad. It reinforces the importance of food and the significance of a shared meal. Just don't try to read it on empty stomach!
Jacqueline Church
The Leather District Gourmet
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(8 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
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Jacqueline Church has commented on (2) products.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Jacqueline Church, April 18, 2008
It's a wondrous thing when you put down a book, and a day later you find yourself thinking about someone, caring about them or worrying about them, only to recall they were a character in that book you just finished.In addition to that quality of writing, Diaz weaves universal themes and places them in a contemporary context.
Any reader will find one or another aspect resonant. Outsider, immigrant, geeky kid taking refuge in books, observer. Connection, its relevance and strength, no matter what drives or interferes with its completion, matters.
We hope the next book comes soon, we miss our people.
Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table by Sara Roahen
Jacqueline Church, March 14, 2008
Having a deep love for the city of New Orleans, I could not return until I was sure its recovery from the storms and my own were far enough along that my trip would not be a daily trail of tears.To my delight, I had the great luck to find Sara Roahen was doing a reading/book signing at the Garden District Bookstore. It was such a treat to hear her speak about her adopted home, her falling in love with the city, being seduced by the "food culcha".
The book is a series of stories framed around food, food histories, myths and epiphanies. Most all of life and social intercourse in New Orleans is only a fork's distance from food, it seems to me, so this works well.
The book is at turns laugh-out-loud funny and drippy tears poignantly sad. It reinforces the importance of food and the significance of a shared meal. Just don't try to read it on empty stomach!
Jacqueline Church
The Leather District Gourmet
(8 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)