Hunger

by Jane Ward

Anna Rossi grew up in a home where every meal was boiled until the flavor was gone. Now, years later, a gifted cook, she finds her own appetite draining away as her marriage dissolves into blandness. Desperate to hold her lawyer husband's attention for more than five minutes, she convinces him to go on a second honeymoon in New Hampshire - only to find that, in the end, they have nothing left to say to each other.Taking her six-year-old daughter, Sara, Anna begins a new life as a kitchen assistant in a friend's busy ski-area New Hampshire restaurant. With the help of the critical sous chef, James, Anna begins to rediscover the simple pleasures of a life lived on one's own terms - along with the sweetness of fresh blueberry jam, the salty tang of blue cheese, and the warm, comforting and earthy taste of mushrooms. But just as Anna's appetite begins to make a healthy reappearance, a phone call from her less vibrant past forces her to make an important choice. Anna's decision may change the way she has come to view the world, and have devastating effects on the flavor of her future.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

308 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 7, 2001

Reviews

[Ann Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Ward’s novel “Hunger” will leave you sated on multiple fronts. As the reader delves into the mind of Anna, a dutiful wife and mother, we soon learn that her lust for luscious food and raw physical contact is dividing her from her cold and distracted husband Michael. Torn by feelings of inadequacy when surrounded by Michael’s colleagues – all lawyers like him – Anna also knows that she deserves better. When she realizes that her passion for preparing wonderful meals for Michael and his friends is merely magnifying her need-to-please, she makes a last ditch effort to save her marriage with a romantic vacation. Michael’s need to water down his presence with alcohol leads to a final argument and inevitable separation.
Anna picks up the pieces of her life where Michael left her – in a quiet country setting of New Hampshire, working in the restaurant where they had their final showdown. She and her young daughter Sarah struggle to find a new rhythm to their lives, and Anna slowly begins to nurture her own needs, indulging her passion for food and finding context among others like her.
Jane Ward is a writer with a wonderful ear for the nuances of strained human relationships. Her writing strives for and exposes the layers within her characters that lie beneath the verbal and physical exchanges. She portrays these exchanges in ways both subtle and raw - never afraid to reach for and illuminate the base desires that drive her characters. Her descriptions range from visceral to sublime, able to convey the feeling of physical desire for a muscled body as well as the creamy sensation of a rich and fragrant piece of warm cheese on the tongue. Even as her characters hunger for what they need, the reader is satisfied by their journeys.