In the Kitchen

Depressing. I tried to remain upbeat reading this book, but the protagonist, Gabe, was too much for me. A chef in a hotel restaurant, Gabe discovers the dead body of a Urkranian immigrant employee named Yuri at the beginning of the book. The book deals with themes of slavery, prostitution, kitchens, immigrants, aging family members and mental illness. Gabe is planning on leaving his hotel job to open his own restaurant, but before he is able to realize his dream, he allows his life to spin out of control on every level. We are meant to believe that it is his undiagnosed mental illness that drives him to make destructive decisions. I didn't buy it. I was asking myself about the author's motivation in creating such a pathetic character. show more Altogether too dark for me. Felt like I was engulfed by a black and sinisiter cloud while reading. Will think twice before I read another Monica Ali book. show less

A brief synopsis might state this is a novel about a middle-aged chef in London who hopes to run his own restaurant but first has to deal with an employee’s death. That would be doing short shrift to the underlying themes. The obvious sub-theme is the trafficking in illegal workers. Although this is set in England, we Americans shouldn’t fool ourselves that it doesn’t happen here. Another, more subtle, theme has to do with the lies we tell ourselves, and how much our lives are influenced by how we remember our past. The truth/lie dichotomy is also found in his internal defensiveness about the lies he tells at work, and wondering whether he is a bad role model vs. whether he is providing a good lesson to his subordinates on how to show more get ahead in the business. Less pervasive, but important to the character’s development, is his struggle to determine where the limits of his responsibilities are, whether he lowers his moral standards when he closes his eyes to problems.
Around mid-book it became difficult to continue reading pages and pages of Gabe’s stressed out thoughts and actions, and his inability to reach out for help. I had to keep putting the book down, taking a break. When I finally realized what a masterful job the author was doing at portraying a midlife crisis, I became motivated to finish the book. The ending was unexpected, but, in a way, is a Zen resolution: when we step out of ourselves we can become attuned to the larger picture. show less

In the Kitchen is Monica Ali's second novel following the widely acclaimed [Brick Lane] published in 2003. Our chief protagonist is Gabe, the aspiring chef of a so-so restaurant in a so-so English hotel. Gabe's life is beset with many people and problems none of which he seems to be able to make reasonable choices about and it's a bit uncomfortable to see him constantly turning left while you urge him to turn right.

The variety and complexity of characters in this novel is a testament to Ali's abilties as an author; they alone make the novel worth reading. Despite that level of discomfort I must say that I enjoyed this book much more than [Brick Lane].

Many of the reviewers here didn't like it -- many thought Ali's _Brick Lane_ was far better. I can't wait to read that because I really loved this! The characterization of Gabriel Lightfoot -- the executive chef in midlife, who unravels personally and professionally in a bipolar episode that the reader sees from Gabe's POV -- was brilliant. As a citizen of the U.S., I found the discussion of political and economic realities of Britain then and now to be interesting and relevant. In general I found the book page-turningly suspenseful -- will it turn out that the restaurant porter was murdered? What are Gabe's underling Ivan and his colleague Gleeson up to? How is Gabe going to find out and what's he going to do about it?

In The Kitchen by Monica Ali was like a good-looking, sweet-smelling dessert that held so much promise – until you sunk your teeth into it. Despite its delectable exterior, it turned out to be a book with little taste or appeal.

The recipe was classic. Gabriel Lightfoot was on the brink of culinary success, entering into a business agreement with investors for his own restaurant and involved in a promising relationship with the perfect woman. Then, one night, one of his porters died in the restaurant’s cellar, marking a downward spiral for Gabriel – his life methodically spinning out of control.

As if watching a character deteriorate was not hard enough, it was even harder to read how Gabriel made no attempt to get his life back show more together. His affair with Lena, a stone-cold wisp of a woman, and his treatment of his dying father did little to add to Gabriel’s plight – or his likeability. Not every character has to be likeable, but at least there should be a purpose in his general “unlikeability,” and I struggled to find that purpose in Gabriel.

I do applaud Ali’s attempts to elucidate the issues of immigration, sex trade and xenophobia in this story, but it was not enough. Her themes were right, but the story wasn’t.

While I had issues with the characterization and the plot, Ali’s writing was superb, and I do plan on reading more by this author. Simply put, In the Kitchen was not the story for me. show less

First I have to say that I absolutely loved Ali's first book, Brick Lane. The movie that followed was also very good so I was really looking forward to this book. Somehow, all the things I loved about Brick Lane, the immigrant experience, treatment of women, rich character development and a terrifcally absorbing storyline were totally missing form this book. On top of that, instead of building interest, the book seemed to reach its peak about midway through and then recklessly slide into the abyss. The main character, Gabriel, was totally unlikeable, which is not always a detriment to a book but in this case his lack of appeal was so overwhelming that I could barely force myself to finish. Not recommended.

After the success of her debut “Brick Lane”, Monica Ali revisits the immigrant experience in this her third novel. This time though, the location is a central London hotel’s restaurant kitchen and its working life. Ali’s prose captures the teamwork of the assortment of nationalities with their different temperaments and makes you feel the tensions and heat of their working environment.
The executive chef, Gabriel Lightfoot, struggles to keep the team on track as well as worrying about his elderly, unwell father and his poor relationship with him and at the same time trying to finalise plans to open his own restaurant in order to fulfil a long-held ambition. Ali reveals the pressures building on him and his mental equilibrium is show more thrown off balance by revelations about his dead brother and his suspicions about the activities of some of the hotel and kitchen staff.
These challenges build to an intense climax where Ali’s writing steers you to an ambiguous ending and Gabriel faces an uncertain future. show less