Sarah-Kate Lynch

I cannot say enough good things about this book. The main character Sugar Wallace was inspirational. She made me want to be a better person. She made me want to raise bees. And, even better than one inspirational character, Lynch created a dozen wonderfully imperfect characters, all of whom I wanted to be friends with by the end of the book.

Besides perfectly-created characters, Lynch has written such a wonderfully heart-breaking, life-affirming story. It has such a powerful message of making show more your own happiness no matter where you are. And of course the other over-arching theme of the novel is to open your heart to love when it comes to you, especially when misunderstandings have piled up between you. Because when the bees are telling you to love someone, perhaps it’d be wise to listen. show less

I was a bit hesitant about this book because I after I received it, I realized I had read another by the author and, while I liked it, did not find it very memorable. Thankfully, I got over my hesitation and read the book... and kept reading... and reading. I loved this.

The main character, Lily, drowns herself in work and probably would have continued doing so if she hadn't found the picture of her husband's secret family in Italy. So she goes over there to confront him, and in the process show more falls into the machinations of the Secret League of Widowed Darners -- the old women of the village who have taken it upon themselves to mend hearts instead of socks.

I got swept up in Lily's story, and her quest for understanding, and the widows' mishaps and misunderstandings. And I really wanted to taste the amorucci. show less

I really liked this book. The title comes from a quote from Monty Python's Life of Brian so right away it captures the quirkiness of the story. Two Irishmen own one of the strangest cheese making enterprises in the world. Only pregnant unwed vegetarian girls milk the cows, the pasteurizer never comes in contact with the milk and the quality control consists of the two cheesemakers tasting the cheese each morning. Into their life comes a burned-out New York stockbroker and a granddaughter of show more one of the men who is escaping from her own problems.

It's a delightful read and full of lots of information about cheesemaking. show less

To give full context, I'm in the middle of a move, tied up with family concerns, and otherwise surviving the end of a particularly nasty winter. I kept this book out of the packed file because I planned to read it and leave it behind.
Within the first few pages, I realized that there was no way I could do that. I have to keep this sweet, loveable book nearby. The magical cheese farm of the Josephs Corrigan and Feehan, with its gaggle of singing pregnant milkmaids and cows that milk best to show more the Sound of Music, the tales of how to make wonderful cheese, and the many many threads of lives that have been tangled together made me smile, weep, and laugh out loud. I fell in love at the first description of the Princess Grace cheese, languishing in a fridge somewhere and gradually getting more annoyed (and smelly); I smiled with recognition at the earnest husband doing "good works" in a perfectly fine island community for the sole purpose of self-aggrandizement; I loved the townspeople and their antics and stories; I cheered as each character came into their own.
It's not a complex story, but it is laced with wisdom, running like a fine line of blue through a cheese. Parts of it have the slightly cheeky smell of a good Stilton. Parts of it glide down the throat like a creamy Brie. All of it fills the heart.
Key thing is, I ended it with a smile on my face, a tear in my eye, a hunger for some really good cheese, and a strong desire to go to Ireland. Or in some way, to head towards where I feel is home.
Loved it.
And I've got to say the title is one of the best I've seen. show less