so-soCute and cozy but wish there was a little more underlying story between the short stories
so-soCute and cozy but wish there was a little more underlying story between the short stories
Dewey‘s 24-Hour Readathon is about to begin! It‘s my 32nd consecutive ‘thon (which: whoa) and I‘m all set to kick it off with another chapter from THE KAMOGAWA FOOD DETECTIVES. It‘s lovely so far; a little bit like MIDNIGHT DINER in how it uses particular dishes to unravel the mysteries behind people‘s lives, but without the show‘s underlying grit. #deweysapril2024
pickA boy takes his Bubbe Rosa around Brooklyn and Manhattan as they shop for ingredients for dinner. She struggles with seeing new things in the place of old and her memories flood their conversation. It‘s a short read about a Jewish woman in the city, and I love the glimpses of her when she is young and her interactions with an old baker she‘s known for years.
When we talk about memories being true or false, we are fundamentally mischaracterizing how memory works. I like to think of memory as less like a photograph and more like a painting.
[painting is by my friend Gillian Willans]
pickLevy is easily one of my favorite writers. I enjoyed this one for her exquisite writing style, but the story didn‘t draw me in as much as some of her other books. Time is fluid in the story and I liked the softness of the borders between reality and imagination as the book progressed.
pickThis is a sweet little book… not quite a novel, maybe more connected vignettes? Surrounding a father-daughter team who run a restaurant that specializes in recreating a meal the customer is trying to remember from their past. Very cozy.
pickFood and memory are uniquely entwined. This is a sweet story of a father-daughter owned restaurant / food detective agency.
pickCarter is a bit bored by his job until he suddenly finds himself in a time loop. Then he meets Mariana, who ends up in the loop alongside him. A lovely relationship builds almost without them noticing as they get to know each other and work to try to end the loop. I‘m so glad I found Mike Chen‘s books. He writes relatable characters in a sci-fi setting and does bittersweet so well.
so-soI had an on-boarding issue with this book, I just didn't connect to the character. The writing is good, the story is good, very Shirley Jackson who I love. And a nice svelte 98 pages. Definitely worth a try for other people. But there is just something in the first third which didn't work for me and left me outside the glass for the other two thirds. I can respect this story but I just didn't get the emotional response to it.
