It's a memoir of a woman about our collective age, from her babyhood to her divorce from academia to her marriage and the best part, it's told in food. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a major foodie - I love trying new things, cooking at home, picking out produce and eating more than I should when I travel. In that alone, I found myself among Molly's words. Furthermore, she writes sort of like me I think - somewhere between funny and serious, or poetic and thoughtful. She's relatable and honest, which is always a reward for me as a reader.
She's the author of Orangette, a foodblog that she started on a whim back in 2004 when she decided she hated her PhD program and didn't want to spend her life buried in boring books to get somewhere she didn't believe in. That hit me hard...because I've been tossing those things around a LOT lately. Also, unlike a lot of food writers, she's not a professional cook - rather, her and her hubby have a shared interest in eating and mostly, sharing recipes. I won't tell you how she met her husband, but it's an awesome tale that speaks volumes about how life falls into place when you're doing what you love.
Her blog is as delicious as this book and it's inspired me and John to create our own blog about Foxy (my (our?) cat). She's also inspired me to continue cooking passionately and to explore the homemade life I've always valued a little bit deeper. There's at least one recipe at the end of each chapter and while I've yet to try any, I cannot wait to slow-roast tomatoes, try the Italian Grotto Eggs she made for her dad while he was dying of cancer and make her wedding cake. In the mix, I hope to come up with my own way of sharing the foods I love dearly with those I love.
The only thing I will warn about this book is that is has created a conflict within me that no other book I've read has done...do I store it on the bookshelf among my literature...or do I keep it with my cookbooks? At once, it belongs in both places, which to me, is pretty much the perfect place for both life and a text.
I came upon the Orangette blog quite awhile ago (right before the book came out) but I cannot remember how exactly. I do remember liking it and wanting to read the book though.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who thinks publishing a memoir in your early 30s is weird?
I agree - and I think I remember Blythe mentioning her disdain for "memoirs by nobody" somewhere on here too. However, this was an excellent book and I might dare say that perhaps the memoir by young people/average people is a new genre that will allow for more people to write their stories...but if they're going to do it, they better be THIS good. Maybe some people have the gumption to write in their 30s but may not in their 80s...
ReplyDelete