Crescent Dragonwagon

If The Catcher in the Rye and The Bell Jar had a literary baby, it would be Crescent Dragonwagon's (yes, that's her real name) The Year It Rained. Having been admitted to (and banned from) various psychiatric hospitals and boarding schools, 17-year-old Elizabeth Stein is not sure where she belongs. Her parents are on the brink of divorce, she hates the "special" school she attends, and her best friend is far away, mentally as well as physically. Like Holden Caulfied and Esther Greenwood, show more Elizabeth, fresh from a hospitalization following a suicide attempt, is weary, troubled, aloof and jaded; she can't figure out the adults that populate her life, not her successful and overbearing mother, or her distant alcoholic father, and certainly not from the various psychiatrists and therapists she's sees for her mental distress. It's not until she tries "vitamin therapy" does she begin to recover.

This is not a book with a lot of action; more pointedly, it's a rich tapestry of complex characters living their lives as best they know how. Elizabeth has a distinct voice: introspective, intelligent, darkly funny, self-deprecating and ultimately hopeful, in spite of the challenges she faces. This is definitely not a "feel good" book, but it is so well written you can't help but be drawn into the various lives that are interconnected like a spider's web. It's an engrossing read. show less

I am a foodie; preparing delicious food is one of the most satisfying experiences anyone can enjoy. This book is an excellent resource for anyone interested in learning more about beans and their vital role in nutritious eating. I switched to a plant-based food regime in December 2011 (a health decision), and while I have found many good resources on getting interesting and good tasting food as a vegetarian, this book is one of the best, and the recipes are outstanding. Perhaps the most show more interesting discovery about plant-based eating is that the marvelous variety of tastes in any meal are from the plants, spices, and herbs used in the recipe (rather than the meat). For example, Ms Dragonwagon has a recipe for "Chopped Liver," using green beans, lentils, and toasted walnuts. It is amazing! Her chilies are great, her explanations are clear and easy to follow and she adds caveats where appropriate. If you are a foodie, this book should be in your kitchen. show less

Quite the period piece, as the title suggests. A group of students at "Alternate U" explore communal living in Fort Greene. Lots of preamble about healthy living, the military-industrial complex, and stretching the budget by shoplifting. At the end of the book, the sixteen year old author and her husband are leaving Brooklyn for the Ozarks, where the author remained for many years running Dairy Hollow House with her second husband. Clearly this later, vegetarian persona is more well-known, show more judging by the relative ownership of "The Commune Cookbook" and "Passionate Vegetarian," but I find the urban,meat-eating Crescent more engaging. Recipes are good too, and have worn far better than many of that era. show less

This book is a 4.5 from me. More than a listing of recipes, Crescent Dragonwagon's writing style is conversational, personal, educational and informative. I've seen the strangest commentary from people who seem bewildered that a cookbook with the theme of beans included recipes for fresh string beans, that a vegetarian cookbook author's book about *beans* did not include more meat ("yet another vegetarian cookbook," he complains even though several of the *bean recipes* do include show more instructions for including meat), or that the recipes are "bland" despite including chile peppers, vinegars, handfuls of fresh herbs, and a number of condiments and sauces (harissa, chipotles in adobo sauce, mustard pickle) as ingredients.

This book was exactly what I was looking for in a bean-themed cookbook. show less