Memoirs involving New York, good food, and colourful women definitely go to the top of my book pile, and I haven't been disappointed so far. I have just finished Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton and really loved it.
Hamilton's chapters are almost like stand-alone essays on different aspects of her life, from her idyllic childhood, through her tumultuous teenage, to her unexpected and unconventional marriage to an Italian doctor, and the equally unexpected adventure of opening her now well-acclaimed restaurant Prune (at the same time as juggling the demands of becoming a parent).
It's gritty and real, the writing is quirky, and the storytelling very honest. It's full of life.
(Postscript: this book was recommended to me by the lovely author of the food blog pass the salt. If you haven't already discovered her, take a peek, she's a clever one!)
My other favourite New York based memoir is Madeleines in Manhattan written by french food writer Collette Rossant, who, at the age of 22 years, moved to New York with her husband, Jimmy. As a reader, it is exciting to discover New York's world of food with Rossant as guide, to be party to her private world as she falls in love and becomes a parent, to follow her career as it unfolds, and to be given a glimpse into her colourful, rich world.
These books make me desperate to get there and experience the city's diverse and exciting food scene for myself....meantime I'll keep on hunting for books like these to fuel the dream!
x Library Girl
With reviews like your I'll be forever standing in line at my busy bookstore and be broke. Thank you! I have also read Blood, bones, and Butter and thought it was one of my better reads this year.
ReplyDeleteI read blood, bones and butter just a couple of weeks ago myself, great writing considering she's primarily a chef. I've only been to ny once and just loved diners, proper american diners so we never ate anywhere fancy!
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