Wednesday, November 25, 2015

REVIEW: KITCHENS OF THE GREAT MIDWEST BY J. RYAN STRADAL


Published by Viking (an imprint of Penguin Random House), 2015. Hardcover, 312 pgs

I was happy to read this when I did! Since I live in the United States, the entire month of November feels like one big lead up to Thanksgiving- cooking heartier meals for the coming winter, prepping meals for church potlucks, and gearing up for Turkey day itself. When my friend Elena from ElenaReadsBooks asked if I'd be interested in a buddy read, that made it all the better! This month was a bit unusual for me reading wise. I was very distracted with other obligations, and was also bitten by another hobby, the crafting bug. I needed a less-heavy read for this mindset.

In this debut, we follow Eva Thorwald, a young girl who has experienced tragedy early in life, is a misfit at school, and has a hard time relating to her parents. She finds solace in the kitchen and excels at all culinary endeavors. The reader hears her life in different stories from people who surround her. Whether it be a jealous co-worker, boyfriend, a cousin, or friend, the reader gets various perspectives on Eva's life. Different ingredients or foods are mentioned within these narratives, which also make up important parts of her meals and life story.

The recipes were enticing, there was a cute, realistically-portrayed romance, and we had a deeply devoted father figure. All these things were refreshing. I also enjoyed that Eva worked in a Mexican restaurant at one point- that's my favorite kind of food so that set my mouth a-watering:-) However, while I enjoyed this, it didn't blow me away. I was impressed with Eva's culinary abilities and wished her well, but the book jumped around so much in trying to tell her complete life story that I ended up not feeling connected to any one person. Thus, I didn't feel invested in the outcome. Some characters I just hated. However, in the cut-throat world of haute cuisine and foodie culture, this is a reality.

I realized half-way through the story that I was subconsciously comparing this to A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. This is totally unfair since both of those are memoirs while this is fiction, even though they talk about food as well. Those had the emotional punch that I just didn't get with this one. While there were many little things I liked, it just didn't add up to a memorable whole. It's an easy, fun read.


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