Erica Bauermeister

Oh, how I love a story that has a story within a story ... this book takes it one step further to have an actual book within the book! And, this amazing book has not only a book within it, but so many stories ... and connections within stories to other stories. Erica Bauermeister has the uncanny ability to write characters in just one chapter that feel more fully fleshed out than you often find in full books. She describes people, emotions, and settings so brilliantly that you truly feel as show more if you know who you are reading about and you want to know the outcome of their story. This is one of the most unique books I've read and I wish that I could read it again for the first time ... and I just finished it! I also wish that I could read the book within the book, but it exists only in the snippets included and in the author's mind .... which is kind of the whole purpose of the book. Excellent. Absolutely excellent. show less

Lillian had been four years old when her father left them, and her mother, stunned, had slid into books like a seal into water. Lillian had watched her mother submerge and disappear, sensing instinctively even at her young age the impersonal nature of a choice made simply for survival, and adapting to the niche she would now inhabit, as a watcher from the shore of her mother's ocean.

And so Lillian turns to cooking, learning through experimentation, since she prefers not to read. She opens a show more restaurant and holds a cooking class that meets once a month. The book follows the people taking the classes, and each section follows the life of one of the students. There aren't any recipes included, which suits Lillian's aversion to the written word, but each lesson is thoroughly described and somewhat inspirational. There isn't really a plot here, although several of the characters do reach conclusions or find comfort along the way. Mainly, Bauermeister creates an atmosphere and writes beautifully about the ability of well-prepared food to comfort and enrich more than our physical bodies. show less

I am a big fan of Bauermeister's first book The School of Essential Ingredients, so I was delighted to see that her latest novel brings us back into Lillian's kitchen. It's a lovely mix of new and old characters, and, for me at least, just as magical. Each person who comes to the restaurant is lost, lonely, afraid or unhappy in some way, all have tried to ignore it and soldier on. But by mixing into Lillian's circle, these folks bump into and blend with each other, forming friendships and show more sometimes much more. Once again, I am sad that my time in that kitchen was so brief (I devoured this book rather quickly), but I am more than happy to recommend this book to YOU show less

This was such a unique story. It's a book within a book - but it's not about that story necessarily, because you don't get to read that book. You are reading how that story has touched and changed the lives of each reader. From the first agent to take it seriously to the audiobook narrator, a new mother and many others at different stages in their lives. It's a beautiful story, reminding me about people connections and the beauty of just. . .living. There are quite a few perspectives and show more their stories move quick and seamlessly. I liked how each story stood on it's own but was even more wonderful when put with the others. I like how the story they are reading is slowly revealed to us even though we never get the chance to read it. Such a fascinating way to tell a story. I was hooked from the first page and loved how it all came together.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. show less