Peter Gethers

This quaint little book packs a punch despite its size. Behind many famous figures lurk their cats, and these cats speak their minds. Some had ambitious ideals, others were more concerned with their own desires, and still others offered sage advice. But all had entertaining bons mots in this lavishly illustrated book. To paraphrase Nathan Hale’s cat, “I regret that I have but five stars to give this book.”

I received this as part of LibraryThing Early Reviewers and have to say after initially thinking "not sure where this is going" and feeling like it meandered, the story snuck up on me and I quite enjoyed this book. The story is a bit of a roller coaster (not a bad thing) and I really enjoyed that the characters were not cookie cutter types - they are all flawed in some ways (except maybe some of the external characters) and don't always do what you might imagine they'd do. But that ended up show more being part of the enjoyment, thinking something would go one way and having it go another. Even if it's sometimes frustrating, it does keep things interesting. Good books should be able to frustrate and surprise. show less

I was prepared for something much more rustic in tone when I saw the cover. But what's inside is an elegant and well-crafted tribute to an amazing woman. Peter Gethers' relationship with his mother was intimate and loving and his admiration shines through on every page. This isn't a bragfest, though- there is balance and she remains human, not a superhero. Peter sets out to make his mother her favorite meals, the ultimate of her favorite foods, and he aims to make them himself. His mother show more worked with Wolfgang Puck and so many other famous chefs and was a cookbook author, so this was no easy feat. The author owns his shortcomings in the kitchen, but this is a labor of love. There are recipes included, most of which are far above my skill set. The author set out to let the world know how amazing a woman his mother is and he achieved his goal. show less

I read this book slowly. Not because it was a slog, quite the opposite. I was so delighted by the stories of the author's mother that I decided 1/3 of the way through to take my time with it. Peter Gethers memoir of his mother's llfe, and her relationship with him, family, and friends is a wonderful and sweet read. As his mother, Judy, begins to grow frail, he decides to cook an ultimate meal for her based on all of her favorite dishes. It is great fun to read the stories behind Judy's show more favorites and Peter's attempts at cooking them. Peter admits upfront that he is not a great cook and that he is very lacking in cooking knowledge so while you are provided with some tasty recipes throughout the book, it is refreshing to read about Peter's attempts - both failures and successes - to cook them. While the recipes are interesting themselves, the stories about Judy's life and her relationships with friends and family are the true meat of this book.

When I started the book I did not realize that his mother was such a well known cook and celebrity in the food world. While the name-dropping was a little much at times (thus my half star). At first I thought this would irritate me after my initial delight with the book, however it quickly became clear that Peter is very down to earth and appreciative of the experiences in his life thanks to his parents' and his own successes rather than taking them for granted. show less