Tag: baking for bookworms
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Tasha Alexander’s book doesn’t include very many mentions of food. It’s mostly a part of the general scenery, but it does play one important role, which is to highlight the tension between toeing the line of society’s rules and flaunting them. Some of the food is the height of what English society expects while other…
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There’s not a whole lot of food mentioned by name in Adler’s book (review to come!), but the zabaglione was both intriguing and simple, so I decided to give it a try. It’s interesting that food isn’t mentioned specifically in the “novel” because everything else is remarked upon in great detail. But Jen, the protagonist,…
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The food in Donna Tartt’s book is an interesting mixture of the decadent (roasted lamb, exotic mushrooms, souffles, foie gras) and the hopelessly mundane school cafeteria food and bad coffee. Food helps delineate separate worlds of influence and privilege. As the protagonist, Richard, is largely an outsider, he notices the discrepancies between the displays of…
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When Claire first arrives in the 1740s (from the 1940s), it naturally takes her a while to adjust and figure out exactly where she is. When she is brought to the laird of clan MacKenzie, she is brought refreshment and questioned about her presence, but not before she does some snooping and finds out that…
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Pineapple upside down cake tends to be a standout dessert no matter where you encounter it, but in Renee Rosen’s book Dollface, it’s a standout dish for reasons beyond its distinct and colorful appearance. Vera, the main character, leaves her childhood behind to enter the dangerous world of the 1920s flapper. It’s only a matter of…
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Every once in a while, you’ll read a book and be extremely grateful for the things you have. Meg Vandermerwe’s book is a heartbreaking look at what it means to be poor in South Africa, as well as what it means to be an outcast in your own hometown. The protagonist is an albino, and…
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Frances Mayes’ memoir takes the reader on a culinary journey. So much so in fact, that she includes dozens of recipes within the book. Here is one of them, which celebrates two of my favorite things: dessert and fruit (and thus it should be no surprise that tarts are some of my favorite dishes) The…
Allison Burris 