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Loading... La Cucina: A Novel of Raptureby Lily Prior
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.  mrstreme | Jul 26, 2009 |  I really HATED this book; it made me conscious of being manipulated. First, the many sex scenes are formulaic; after awhile, I started to count the pages between them, and there was a definite pattern in their regularity. Second, the main character is not in any way sympathetic (and not very interesting either). Third, the author isn't doing anything here in terms of the relation to food that wasn't done better in Like Water for Chocolate. Don't waste your time on this garbage. (  ) Cariola | May 25, 2009 | In the beginning of the book I was surprised there was no film of it yet, as there are loads of scenes that could be very visually interesting. But I understood later that it could be quite difficult to incorporate all the sex scenes without making it an X-rated film. The story was quite sensual, both in the food and the sex department, with some surrealist touches. If it were to be made into a film, it should be directed by Peter Greenaway. The narration was quite clumsy though, too much "but I wasn't to find out about X later". Those devices weren't necessary either, the story is gripping enough by itself. I wasn't sure about the treatment of Silician culture either: the author is clearly fascinated by it but it always stays weird, you don't really get to share it, understand the weirdness. (  ) wester | Dec 15, 2008 | Sweet but fairly derivative first person story set in Sicily about the redemptive powers of food and sex, and the need for self-actualisation to take full advantage of them. (  ) minerva2607 | Jul 6, 2008 | A quick read; I fell in to this book and finished it in two evenings. Our heroine's chief identity is that of Sicilian cook; the kitchen, as you might guess from the title, is the center of the novel and the main character is most alive when she's cooking. After her young life is shattered by the deaths of her father and lover, Rosa Fiore cooks until she has exhausted the resources of the family farm and indebted herself. When her family puts a stop to his, she leaves for the city and finds work in the library there. It is as a librarian that she meets her English lover, who seeks access to the old cookbooks in the rare books collection. Rosa offers to show him the true nature of Sicilian cooking and they fall in love in a number of scenes sensuous for their food as well as their physicality. Then the Englishman mysteriously disappears. Rosa's narration is unreliable, an engaging technique which keeps the reader uncertain - is this reality or a rich fantasy? Only further reading will tell. ( ) jacobsmd | Jun 19, 2008 |  no reviews | add a review
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| Book description |
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Since childhood, Rosa Fiore -- daughter of a sultry Sicilian matriarch and her hapless husband -- found solace in her family's kitchen. La Cucina, the heart of the family's lush estate, was a place where generations of Fiore women prepared sumptuous feasts and where the drama of extended family life was played out around the age-old table.
When Rosa was a teenager, her own cooking became the stuff of legend in this small community that takes pride in the bounty of its landscape and the eccentricity of its inhabitants. Rosa's infatuation with culinary arts was rivaled only by her passion for a young man, Bartolomeo, who, unfortunately, belonged to another. After their love affair ended in tragedy, Rosa retreated first into her kitchen and then into solitude, as a librarian in Palermo. There she stayed for decades, growing corpulent on her succulent dishes, resigned to a loveless life.
Then, one day, she meets the mysterious chef, known only is I'Inglese, whose research on the heritage of Sicilian cuisine leads him to Rosa's library, and into her heart. They share one sublime summer of discovery, during which I'lnglese awakens the power of Rosa's sensuality, and together they reach new heights of culinary passion. When I'Inglese suddenly vanishes, Rosa returns home to the farm to grieve for the loss of her second love. In the comfort of familiar surroundings, among her, growing family, she discovers the truth about her loved ones and finds her life transformed once more by the magic of her cherished Cucina.
Exuberant and touching, La Cucina is a magical evocation of lifes mysterious seasons and the treasures found in each one. It celebrates family, food, passion, and the eternal rapture of romance.
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:16 -0400)
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Wikipedia in English
Then, L’Inglese disappeared, leaving Rosa in total despair. She returned to her family’s farm, spending time with her aging mother, her gaggle of brothers and the great “cucina” where she could cook away her sorrows. At the farm, Rosa rediscovered the joys of farm life and being surrounded by those you love.
La Cucina was, at the basic level, a story about delicious food and sex. For the latter, this book will not be everyone. The sex scenes were gratuitous but not vulgar, but if you don’t like to read about sex, then stay clear of this book. If you love food, however, this is the book for you.
This was the debut novel by Lily Prior, and her “rookiness” showed. Her depictions of Sicily – the sights, sound and smells – were rapturous in themselves. However, the pace of this novel was off, especially at the end where a hundred (important) things were crammed in. I wish Prior made another revision to tighten the time frames. But La Cucina kept me turning its pages, hoping that Rosa found peace and love. In the end, that’s really what I wish for in a book. (