Before we were hungry!
Another wonderful meeting at Nancy’s beautiful home. Appetizers of cheeses, oysters and salsa started out the evening, a nice food tribute to Anthony Bourdain. After laughing at Sammy doing zoomies through the House, and appetizers finished, we proceeded to the dinning room for the main dish. Hilarie cooked a lovely beef pasta dish, noodles were perfectly cooked al dente. Kathy’s gorgeous salad, artisan bread, and my mashed cauliflower with pesto, rounded out the meal. Then our oohs and ahhs, started as Carol unveiled her dessert of apple crumb topped cheesecake and fried dough stuffed with raspberry jam.
The books we discussed were Kitchen Confidential and Before We Were Yours.
KC got 4 stars. We all thought the writing was well done. We marveled at the dance of workers and chef in a small confined space, talked about the atmosphere of stress in the kitchen, the drugs and sex that took place, misogyny that women face and still exists today, and how important close relationships are with workers and the chef. The book gave us insight not only into the life of a chef, but what made AB who he was, how food influenced his life and future. We talked about his depression, and how it tragically led to his death.
Before We Were Yours, received 3 stars. The story was about an unethical adoption mill in 1930s South Carolina. It touched on moral issues of removing children from families with the sometimes misguided notion of offering them a better life. Do the desires of the wealthy justify tearing families apart? Such moral dilemmas have come up with other books we’ve read. Why and how one can decide to look away with what is right when you want something so badly, that you can justify your decision. Overlaying the children's home society treachery was a modern day discovery of a family's past secrets and how the family bond was rediscovered. How or would that change anything? Every one thought the love interest didn’t add or work well with the story.
We meet again on Saturday, December 8 at Lonnie's house. Kathy will select the books. We will read: Less by Andrew Sean Greer and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.
