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Chez Moi (2006)

by Agnès Desarthe(Favorite Author)

3 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0143113232 (ISBN13: 9780143113232)

languge

English

genre

Food & Cookbooks

publisher

Penguin Books

review 1: I was thankful this book was short, otherwise I don't think I would have finished it. I kept waiting for the moment when I would see something real in Myriam, something to explain why she was so hell-bent on self-destruction. And I got... nothing. The author could wax eloquent over the merits of various vegetables, but couldn't even seem to hint at this woman's experience in anything more than a terse series of sentences that left more questions than answers. I kept waiting for these scraps to get picked up and expounded upon later, but they never were, instead just left in the vast compost heap of Myriam's life. The explanations that might have led the reader to understand her and maybe even empathize with her situation were flat. The people who put up and even coddled he... morer ineptitude were even harder to understand. That she could wreak so much havoc in her own life and those of others, yet come out not simply unscathed, but revered and adored... I just didn't find it believable.
review 2: (Fiction 2006) A slice of life, but a very strange and disjointed life it is. It has pretensions of being almost magical, but it never quite makes it. Nor does it make being whimsical, nor engaging. I kept reading, waiting for ... something. Myriam has rented a restaurant with ideas of a fabulous place, but really is not interested in making it happen. She cooks what she wants, without any regard to her customers, and pushes people away, even those who try to help. Slowly, her story comes out, but caused me more confusion than illumination. There were moments of enjoyment, certain phrases or paragraphs beautifully written, then the fog and detachment would come down again. I feel like I'm missing something, even now, reviewing this story. I don't think I would recommend it highly, but it is occasionally interesting. less

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