Comfort Me With Apples (#839) is a Ruth Reichl memoir published in 2001, and it covers part of her life in a Berkeley commune with her first husband Doug, a rising star in the art world, and her early years as restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times. She certainly has led an unconventional life, with a considerably broader palate than mine. Even if you don't always agree with her tastes or actions, she knows how to grab her reader's attention and not let it go until the final page. As to the recipes she includes with each chapter - not so much.
She includes in this memoir the affairs that led eventually to her divorce from her first husband. Who wouldn't be bowled over by stay in Paris with no expense spared, dining in the finest restaurants and staying at luxurious hotels most of us will only read about? Her second marriage leads to futile attempts to have a child, and when that fails, to a private adoption handled by an expensive Los Angeles attorney who doesn't get it right. Reichl and her husband are forced to give back their child to the biological parents. It takes a long time to recover from that loss, but there is a happy ending here.
If you enjoy reading about, preparing or eating wonderful food, and want to know more about the people who make these fabulous meals possible, this memoir will reward you with many entertaining stories.
No comments:
Post a Comment