From the author of Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club pick The Scent Keeper comes a “heartbreakingly delicious” national bestseller about a chef, her students, and the evocative lessons that food teaches about life. Once a month on a Monday night, eight students gather in Lillian’s restaurant for a cooking class. Among them is Claire, a young woman coming to terms with her new identity as a mother; … new identity as a mother; Tom, a lawyer whose life has been overturned by loss; Antonia, an Italian kitchen designer adapting to life in America; and Carl and Helen, a long-married couple whose union contains surprises the rest of the class would never suspect.
The students have come to learn the art behind Lillian’s soulful dishes, but it soon becomes clear that each seeks a recipe for something beyond the kitchen. And soon they are transformed by the aromas, flavors, and textures of what they create….
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This is a lovely book about a group of students who find themselves in a cooking class together. Perfect rainy day read that you can finish ion one sitting before rushing off to the kitchen.
Loved the characters and the cooking class food!
I can’t believe its her first book. I loved it from start to finish. A love of cooking would enhance the story but you will have a love of smells, memories, and cooking when you finish.
Light but happy reading. Connections made between the students in a cooking class gave them what was missing in their lives….
This book has become one of my favorite books! Read it!
Wonderful story with well-developed characters. Original premise keeps the reader engrossed with
the story. Thank you for writing this book.
In a sense, this is magical realism, but only in the sense of the culinary descriptions: lyrical, evocative prose in such exquisite language that I could feel the slipperiness of flour between my fingers, and the scent of ginger as well as the taste of it on my tongue. I loved the concept, the characters, and the food. My God, the food! The stories of each of the cooking school students could stand alone, but how deftly the author folded them together. I loved it. It’s literary food porn for romantics.
Lovely vignettes about various characters. Not exactly a page turner and not a hugely satisfying ending but beautiful in its own way for someone who enjoys food and cooking.
It’s a comfortable read. The author draws pictures with their words. I enjoyed the characters and their quirks.
It was the first book I read by this author. i so enjoyed it that I also read the sequel. The characters were memorable. The author pulled you into the life of each character and I walked through the pages with each one of them. The sequel was equally enjoyable. So happy I read them.
Great for foodies.
I loved the simple process of cooking to bring people together. This book does it all.
A well written, lovely read. Short but sweet. Great characters. Good endings.
I almost finished reading the book at the beginning. But so happy that I kept going and truly enjoyed all of the characters who were wonderfully described and made an integral part of the whole story.
Excellent book.
Very entertaining!
Interesting people and interesting food all told from the viewpoint of a cooking and its student.
I liked the interpersonal relationships and how they changed and grew
I loved this book and found it inspiring.
A wonderful story