His mother was a chops-and-peas sort of cook, exasperated by the highs and lows of a temperamental stove, a finicky little son, and the asthma that was to prove fatal. His father was a honey-and-crumpets man with an unpredictable temper. When Nigel’s widowed father takes on a housekeeper with social aspirations and a talent in the kitchen, the following years become a heartbreaking cooking contest for his father’s affections. But as he slowly loses the battle, Nigel finds a new outlet for his culinary talents, and we witness the birth of what was to become a lifelong passion for food. Nigel’s likes and dislikes, aversions and sweet-toothed weaknesses, form a fascinating backdrop to this exceptionally moving memoir of childhood, adolescence, and sexual awakening.
Under normal circumstances, I am not one to read memoirs. Quite honestly I don’t care about someone else’s life enough to read a whole book about their life. Especially if I don’t know them other than seeing them on television. If a friend wrote a memoir, on the other hand, I’d snatch it up in a heartbeat if only to see how much smack they talk about me. LOL But as a dear friend took the time to send me a copy of Toast knowing how much I enjoy learning about the ordinary life in the UK, I decided to read it. Of course it helps that Nigel didn’t write it in a normal chapter set up. It was set up more like a journal with food stuff as the title for each entry rather than a date. I also found it more enjoyable because in a way I seemed to identify a lot with what he went through as a child. Especially when it comes to being finicky about certain food. I learned that there are more similarities between American and British cuisine; we just call things differently. It also has made me want to visit an English sweet shop and discover all the wonders of the food that is worst of all for anyone, let alone a child.
I’m glad to have read Toast and would recommend it to any of my English friends for a bit of reminiscing and to any of my American friends for learning about British cuisine.
Categories: memoirs
The year is 885 and England is at peace, divided between the Danish kingdom to the north and the Saxon kingdom of Wessex in the south. Warrior by instinct and Viking by nature, Uhtred, the dispossessed son of a Northumbrian lord, has land, a wife and children – and a duty to King Alfred to hold the frontier on the Thames. But a dead man has risen, and new Vikings have invaded the decayed Roman city of London with dreams of conquering Wessex … with Uhtred’s help. Suddenly forced to weigh his oath to the king against the dangerous turning tide of shifting allegiances and deadly power struggles, Uhtred – Alfred’s sharpest sword – must now make the choice that will determine England’s future.
While it may seem that the introduction of such a dreaded concept as peace into any of Bernard Cornwell’s writing to be a bad thing, he still manages to make peace exciting. All of Cornwell’s books are infused enough action to be a literary equivalent of the best action movie one can imagine. But as brutal a time as he writes about here, it’s never something that is off-putting. You read and understand that this was a way of life. So even peace can be eventful.
Highly recommended as are all of Cornwell’s books.
Categories: historical fiction
This is the sequel to “The Book with No Name”. Again we meet Sanchez the bartender, Dante and Kacy, Peto the Monk, and the Bourbon Kid.
At the start of this book, we find out why the Bourbon Kid is so “mean”Dante is being a gullible fool, as in the last book. Peto is undercover.
Anonymous has again written about vampires, werewolves, and the undead in his/her own unmistakable style. I couldn’t put it down, and thoroughly enjoyed it. So much so that I have checked online in case there is a third novel.
Probably a bit too soon, maybe early next year.
Click here to read the bumph!
There are a few newspaper reviews on the back of the novel. This one is possibly the most accurate.
This particular Anonymous has decided to take a fistful of drugs and gone on a literary genre-bender….. a slightly strange experience but a lot of fun. Daily Sport
After reading this I am more inclined to accept that this particular Anonymous could be Walter Moers, although there is nothing to suggest that the novel has been translated into English from German anywhere.
Categories: fantasy · humour
