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De Keukendochter (2011)

by Jael McHenry(Favorite Author)

3.69 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

9044332406 (ISBN13: 9789044332407)

languge

English

genre

Food & Cookbooks

publisher

The House of Books

review 1: The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry is the story of a young woman, Ginny, who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome and overcomes her perception of herself as a social outcast through an eventual acceptance and love for who she is as an individual. In my belief, this novel is certainly quite an interesting read as it provides a perspective of the world from the eyes of a person who is not quite the same as the rest of us. There is not much physical action used to develop the plot of the story as as most would expect in literature of our fast-paced, materialistic era, but it speaks volumes in terms of its emotional depth instead. One aspect which I would certainly critique this novel on however, is that through Ginny’s constant procurement of ghosts used to clear up the mys... moreteries of her past, there is not enough character development in the present throughout the entire novel. As a result, McHenry is only able to display an externally subtle change in Ginny’s demeanor, which is brought about by an equally subtle and underwhelming climax scene. Therefore, the overall effect of the novel is one of an interesting read for sure, but one that does not reach its full potential in moving the reader due to the structural issues which it holds. The first major aspect of this novel is of course the character development of the protagonist, Ginny. At the beginning of the novel, she is scarred with the recent death of her parents, whom she had been fully dependent on for her whole life up to this point. Furthermore, Ginny reacts violently to any physical touch or social interaction due to her Asperger’s, resorting to sensory thoughts about food, her one true passion, in order to soothe herself and avoid panic attacks. Obviously, from this preexisting set of conditions, she experiences social rejection in her own heart and, even though she manages to falsely convince herself that she is normal, her sister, Amanda, compels her not to feel like it all the time, domineering over any situation involving the two of them because she does not trust her sister to make informed decisions. However, through procuring family “ghosts” to clear up her confused past, gaining emotional intelligence through interaction with the maid, Gert, and her son, David, and learning how to control her Asperger’s in social situations through an (involuntary) visit to the psychiatrist, Ginny is able to not only to break out of her shell in her own mind, but also develop a more equal role in her relationship with Amanda by the end. Once again, this change is brought about in a subtle manner This character development also depicts two main, endearing themes which capture the essence of what McHenry tries to convey. In this man vs self conflict, Ginny struggles with her own identity and part in society. This is embodied first and foremost through the motif of “The Normal Book”, which also depicts the first theme. Ginny reads this compilation of advice column clippings frequently towards the beginning of this novel in order to reassure herself that she is human and normal, as its stories convey the message that there is no defined normal and that “people come from a broad spectrum.” If Ginny’s development is the Hero’s Journey, then the Normal Book is the herald, or call, to adventure as it prompts Ginny not only to read the advice but to act upon its ideals as well as she initially displays inner desires to want to learn how to conform to society’s perception of normal through objective techniques: “I find the title How to be Good. Curious, I open it up. I am disappointed to find it’s fiction.” She has had her sister and many others brand her as broken or defective all of her life, but in the climax, when David, whom she has developed an intimate friendship with through opening up and expanding her own personality, dies in an accident, Amanda visualizes the same human emotions in her sister that she thought were not explicitly present before and, in this moment, realizes that Ginny is a normal individual who experiences life just like her every day and therefore deserves to be treated as equal individual. As I have expressed before, I do not find this climax to be truly embodies the fulfillment of this theme, as there is no definitive action which Ginny takes to bring about this change and rather simply an arbitrary event which evokes this change of heart in Amanda in itself. Although it does not make a perfect fit with the rest of the plot, the climax does revolve more centrally around the second theme. And the motif used to embody this one is that of Ginny’s ghosts. Throughout the novel, Ginny procures ghosts, which are inexplicably and wrongly given the same powers of physical individuals rather than being portrayed as figments of imagination, and interacts with them to dissipate the confusion of the past. Yet, this symbolizes Ginny’s existence in the past more than in the present, further quantified through her frequent emotional escapes to within her parents’ old closet when she is distressed. This theme that one should live in the present is embodied through David’s death, which although is cited to be an accident, actually is implied to be a suicide over the memory of his late wife which haunts and scars his psyche. Similarly, Ginny and Amanda see that they have been living in the sorrow of their parents’ deaths too after this incident and realize how it has driven them apart. They resultedly promise to live in the present together as loving sisters and enjoy life as it comes. Therefore, Ginny’s realization of both of these theme allow her to overcome her self-conflict and create a definitive image of her own identity. A last aspect of this novel is the writing style itself, which revolves heavily around analogies to food to depict Ginny’s train of thought. This factor is actually one of my favorites in the novel actually as although the connections of the past to ghosts and the theme to the climax may be muddled, these analogies of food connect with the reader through incredible sensory detail and relevance found in their comparisons. From day one, Ginny is a passionate and excellent cook, but uses her gift as a method of escape to begin with. The development of this skill in the opposite direction as an instigator of social interaction, to me, most clearly manages to represent Ginny’s direction of change in confidence throughout the novel. “I want them to bite into a cookie and think of me and smile. Food is love. Food has a power.” She is still the same person, but cooking provides her with the support that she needs to evolve throughout the novel and McHenry brilliantly incorporates this human evolution into the evolution of the purpose to which cooking is wired. So not only do the comparisons to food work really well on a microscopic level, they also serve as the glue to hold the macroscopic structure of the story together. Elsewhere, McHenry writes with standard vernacular, using a smooth flow of dialogue as the main narrator for her novel. Overall, I recommend this novel to essentially everybody who enjoys reading. I have to agree that if one is looking for an action-packed plot, this is not the book for them, but others will appreciate the emotional complexity of both Ginny’s perspective of the world and her evolution throughout the novel. Despite its structural flaws, I would have to say The Kitchen Daughter is a solid read.
review 2: Jael McHenry’s The Kitchen Daughter is a haunting story of loss and recovery, seen through the eyes of Ginny, a young woman struggling to cope with the death of her parents. This novel is an enjoyable read, although not without its flaws. The structure of the novel is unique in that each chapter is named after a recipe. The focal point of the story revolves around the ability of Ginny to summon ghosts by cooking the recipes of the deceased. This aspect allows Ginny to converse with the dead and carries most of the plot forward. Some portions of the book, such as the rising action involving conflicts between Ginny and her sister Amanda, as well as the twist ending involving David’s death, seem rushed and takes away from the story. Besides the pacing issues, some plotlines are not fully explained. Although these are minor or left to the imagination of the reader, holes in the story, such as the appearance of Evangeline’s recipe in Ginny’s mother’s cookbook, can distract the reader. I was surprised to find out that Ginny was autistic and had Asperger’s Syndrome. I found Ginny’s behavior at the beginning of the novel abnormal, but I expected that, knowing that her parents had just died. In the beginning of the novel, Ginny is a mental mess of a person. She constantly imagines times when her parents had been alive, and often seeks refuge in a closet in order to escape reality. Throughout the book, her relationship with her sister, social abilities, and ability to cope with her deceased parents is constantly challenged, and in the end she prevails, gaining the ability to move on from this traumatic incident and solving the issue regarding her parents’ house with Amanda. After her encounter with a therapist, her reality is shaken as she realizes that she has Asperger’s Syndrome, a fact which she has been denial of after being called out by her sister. Later in the novel, when she meets David, her character transforms again with newfound confidence. These events, along with others, helped her gain confidence that seemed impossibly distant and achieve her goal in the resolution. The main conflict in the story is that of man vs. self. Although it may seem like man vs. supernatural because of the ghost component of the story, the entire novel deals largely with Ginny’s self-reliance and her inability to gain confidence or determination to overcome the loss of her parents. The theme of this novel is about how a person must cope with inner conflicts in order to deal with their external conflicts in the real world. The theme develops through the many excerpts in which Ginny cooks food and admires the process. This is the way that she copes with her inner conflicts: by cooking. It its the thing most enjoyable in her life, and throughout the text there are instances of stress in which Ginny steps away from reality and reflects on food. The author’s attitude towards this theme, with the usage of food, was incredibly enthusiastic. All the excerpts regarding food are amazingly-crafted and well written, not to mention very detailed. The theme also sent to me a strong message about the correct way to deal with things such as stress and depression, and about how I should fix psychological issues first before moving onto issues in reality. The major symbols and metaphors used in this novel almost all involve food. Not only does this usage fit with Ginny’s seemingly obsessive interest in food, it also makes for many interesting comparisons seen through the eyes of the narrator, Ginny. For example, Ginny compares the lips of certain characters to food such as oranges or tomatoes. She imagines the process of food as a meditation process and through this usage of metaphors the theme is exemplified. Her passion for food is also her main way of coping with her inner conflicts so that she can move on with her life. Jael McHenry breathes life into excerpts concerning food. Her intricate descriptions and mouth-watering imagery made me hunger for snacks while I was reading the novel. Take for example this excerpt from this story:“Wash and dry the kale, slice out each rib, cut the leaves in thin ribbons. Drop. Stir. Square off cubes of bread from a peasant loaf, football shaped. Cubes from a curved loaf, there’s a trick to that, but I do my best. Everything goes in. I thought I remembered cheese, but when i double-check the recipe, it’s not there. Salt, pepper. I adjust the heat to bring the soup down from an energetic boil to a bare simmer. That’s the last of the instructions. The spicy, creamy, comforting scent of ribollita drifts upward. I breathe it in” (McHenry 7).One can expect incredible passages like these frequently throughout the book. As Ginny cooks, she describes each and every step of the process with exceptional detail. The use of food terms shows that the author’s style is very much inspired from her knowledge as a foodie. Adjectives are also used to support the imagery in these passages. McHenry’s unique use of food terms to assist in her imagery derives from her experience as a chef, and gives the book a special charm. The style contributes to the character of Ginny, specifically her love for food, by creating mesmerizing excerpts of food such as this.I would recommend this book to others. Overall, The Kitchen Daughter is an enjoyable read with an outstanding sense of imagery and style due to the author Jael McHenry’s apparent passion for food, which she shares with the character that she herself created. I did not enjoy the story very much because of pacing issues, excess characters, and mostly disliked the character Amanda, who I thought was unnecessarily made contemptuous toward Ginny for the sake of carrying the plot forward. The usage of ghosts was, in my opinion, a cool way for the character to connect with her dead parents. However, I was annoyed because the supernatural aspects of the story are not explained. I did enjoy the message sent regarding autism in children and how they should be supported from their childhood, as well as the theme regarding dealing with one’s inner conflicts. McHenry gives an amazing effort to craft a common tale about a young woman’s conflicts in life with uncommon elements such as the issue of autism and, most notably, incorporation of food not only to improve imagery, but to add to the character of the protagonist. less

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