This is a story about accepting the people we love—the people we have to love and the people we choose to love, the families we’re given and the families we make. It’s the story of two women adrift in New York, a widow and an almost-orphan, each searching for someone she’s lost. It’s the story of how, even in moments of grief and darkness, there are joys waiting nearby.
Lorca spends her life poring over cookbooks, making croissants andchocolat chaud, seeking out rare ingredients, all to earn the love of her distracted chef of a mother, who is now packing her off to boarding school. In one last effort to prove herself indispensable, Lorca resolves to track down the recipe for her mother’s ideal meal, an obscure Middle Eastern dish called masgouf.
Victoria, grappling with her husband’s death, has been dreaming of the daughter they gave up forty years ago. An Iraqi Jewish immigrant who used to run a restaurant, she starts teaching cooking lessons; Lorca signs up.
Together, they make cardamom pistachio cookies, baklava, kubba with squash. They also begin to suspect they are connected by more than their love of food. Soon, though, they must reckon with the past, the future, and the truth—whatever it might be. Bukra fil mish mish, the Arabic saying goes. Tomorrow, apricots may bloom.
This book took emotional hunger to new heights in metaphor. The work led me to a dark and emotionally uncomfortable place, yet I give a huge applause to the author for getting me there. For many of the pages I just wanted to jump into the phrases and either shake some sense into a character or just simply hug them. Cooking, mothers and daughters, love and loss, and filling the empty spot in our souls were the paramount themes in this book. The character Blot was an awesome branch to the story and I loved his name as for me, it reminded me of cleaning up a spill and in the protagonist’s case, cleaning up her blood from her incessant and heartbreaking cutting. The food references were abundant and used not only literally, but also to describe feelings, physical attributes and more.
Thankfully, the book wrapped up in an honest way and wasn’t too rushed trying to fit all the pieces together.
Quotes I liked:
Sometimes, no matter how hard I tried to keep my hopes down, the popped back up like a turkey timer.”
– “Not for a moment had I allowed myself to wither into sadness. Wouldn’t. It’s impossible to know when sadness ends. It’s a string I feared I’d keep on pulling until I unraveled the carpeting of a million rooms.”
– “For the rest of his life, he realized, he would have a relationship with something that was what it wasn’t.”
Good Book Fairy. I loved this book, I couldn’t put it down. I too felt like the book brought me to emotional places I hadn’t even thought of. Since I am adopted this was particularily moving.
Dear My Inspired Table, Thanks for taking the time to comment. I’m so glad this book touched you as it reminds me that a book is worth nothing without its reader, and each reader receives something different from the book! Best, L
Review:The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride is a moving and powerful novel about community, our differences, and having each other ‘s back. I listened to this on audio which was narrated amazingly well by Dominic Hoffman.Although James McBride is probably most well-known for his first book, The Color of Water, which I adored, this too will make a mark on readers everywhere. Although I thought this would be a plot driven book based on the very first scenes, I could not have been more wrong. This story is driven solely on these perfectly flawed and nuanced characters. I adored Shona and Moshe, Nate and Addi and of course, Dodo, who the town is trying to save from the “school” he’s been sent too.I don’t want to give spoilers but know that the heart of this book is about humanity and connectivity to one another no matter your religion, color or ethnicity. @jamesmcbrideauthor @riverheadbooks @prhaudio 📘: When is last time you wrote a letter? #bookrecs#newbookreview#igbookreview#igbookreviews #TBR #addtoTBR #historicalfiction#histfic #jamesmcbride #readersmatter #booksmaatter#goodbookfairybookreviews #goodbookfairy... See MoreSee Less
Reading cookbooks is one of my favorite ways to relax. As an empty nester, I don't cook as much as I'd like to, but I still love to read new recipes. I made these amazing Mashed Potato, Kale and Feta cheese pancakes. It was easy, delicious and I cut the recipe in half!Copy and paste this link to purchase: amzn.to/48L0xxR{affiliate purchase}📘: What's your favorite thing to cook? (besides re#cookbookreader##cookbooke#cookbookreadersc#NewRecipese#cookinge#recipeso#goodbookfairy #goodbookfairy ... See MoreSee Less
Good Book Fairy. I loved this book, I couldn’t put it down. I too felt like the book brought me to emotional places I hadn’t even thought of. Since I am adopted this was particularily moving.
Dear My Inspired Table,
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I’m so glad this book touched you as it reminds me that a book is worth nothing without its reader, and each reader receives something different from the book!
Best,
L