comfort food by Kate Jacobs
Release date: 2008 / 325 pages
First line: “Gus Simpson adored birthday cake.”
Synopsis(from jacket cover): “Shortly before turning the big 5-0, hostess extraordinaire and Cooking with Gusto! TV personality Augusta “Gus” Simpson finds herself planning a birthday party she’d rather ignore — her own. She’s getting tired of being the hostess, the mother hen, the woman who has to bake her own birthday cake. To make things worse, the network execs at the Cooking Channel want to boost her ratings by teaming Gus with the beautiful, ambitious Carmen Vega, a former Miss Spain, who is decidedly not middle-aged.”
Review: I have not yet read The Friday Night Knitting Club, but I thoroughly enjoyed comfort food. I packed it for my recent vacation in Michigan and found it to be the perfect choice for a holiday read. The characters are quite likeable — even Carmen, the “villian.”
Jacobs takes a bit of a risk by using fictional “famous” characters: Gus, the host of a popular cooking show, Carmen the beautiful You-tube star, and a disgraced, reclusive, former professional tennis player. However, one aspect of this novel that works surprisingly well are the contemporary allusions to popular Food Channel shows. A few years ago I used to watch the Food Channel from time to time and the contemporary references to Emeril, The Barefoot Contessa, and Jamie Oliver were fun, although I did wonder if they would eventually date the novel. But this certainly isn’t a problem right now!
The point of view is third person limited and does dip into the thoughts and perspective of the various characters, but primarily follows the protagonist, Gus, which is best since she is the most interesting of the characters. However, the shifting perspective was effective since much of the novel explores relationships, interactions, and how we can inadvertently affect each other.
So, I recommend comfort food as a light, enjoyable vacation read, and I look forward to checking out The Friday Night Knitting Club soon!
I liked this book too — it was cute and fun!
I liked it but just couldn’t stay engaged. Kept feeling the pull to other books like Ma Jian’s “Beijing Coma” or Salman Rushdie’s “Enchantress of Florence”. I tried with “Comfort Food” – I really did, but it just didn’t move fast enough for me. Not enough cooking either – I was hoping for something like “Chocolat” or “The Last Chinese Chef” that would make me scramble to the kitchen to try it out – so while it was a nice book, it didn’t inspire me much. Wah.
I agree that I thought there would be more about food — and more recipes! Would have only improved the novel…!
Comfort Food