Whilst looking back on her life and the family and friends who accompanied her along the way, memories resurface for Pegi. But not every memory is sweet, and some secrets leave a bitter taste.
On the occasion of her eightieth birthday, Peggy's son Jonathan presents her with a notebook and asks her to write down the story of her life. She takes a walk through the village and ponders on this request. By the end of her walk she comes to the conclusion that "the past was a stronger force than this pale present. Something new had woken in [her]. Was it madness, the winds of old age bringing back all the yesterdays, close enough to touch, to smell, to taste?" And, with that, Peggy begins to set down her tale.
Peggy's story is told by different characters, which provides us with various perspectives. Each chapter is headed by an individual character and a recipe, as the protagonist, Peggy, is a baker and shares her baked goods with the inhabitants of the village. The recipes are simple with just a few ingredients and a method of just a few lines.
List of chapters/recipes: Peggy, 2010. Mai Davies, Neighbor - 1937. Ginger Cake. Sion Pugh, Peggy's grandfather, 1936. Barley Pudding. Gwynfor Daniel, Gardner, 1939. Peggy's Second Breakfast. Davey Hoyle, Gypsy, 1944. Trout. Jennie Williams, Peggy's Mother, 1948. Oatcakes. Francis Phyllip, The boy from the Shop, 1948. Raspberry Ice Cream. Annie Vaughan, The Reverend's Wife, 1951. Pork and Apple in a Cider Sauce. Isaac Phyllip, Peggy's Father-in-law, 1953. Turkey in Cornflakes. Kenneth Davies, Mai Davies' Son, 1958. Beef Casserole with Mustard Dough Balls. Dr Thomas, General Practitioner, 1966. Oat and Seed Flapjacks. Menna Arthur, Pwllheli, 1967. Lavender Biscuits. Francis Phyllip, Peggy's Husband, 1969. Oat Biscuits. Merfyn Thomas, Estate Agent, 1970. Peanut Butter and Honey Milkshake. Susan Vaughan, The Reverend's daughter, 1970. Llanegryn Curry. Huw Phyllip, Peggy's Son, 1976. Plum Tart. Annie Vaughan, Peggy's Best Friend, 1987. Christmas Toast. Sion Phyllip, Peggy's Grandson, 1990. Chocolate Popcorn. Jack Vaughan, Annie's Husband, 1997. Affrogato. Huw Phyllip, Peggy's son, 2008. Easy Mince Pies. Peggy, 2010 Jonathan Phyllip, Peggy's son, 2010. Bread.
Quotes that caught my attention:
"My tongue became my sharpest knife." The thread of negativity through the book made me lean out rather than in.
"Excitement. The once-in-a-lifetime sheen of being on the cusp of something." What an apt definition.
"Memory is such a flawed, fragile thing." Agreed.
"I nodded, the secrets filling my mouth, threatening to choke me. I could not release them." What an awful, unpleasant feeling.
This book is a serious, must-read. If you're looking for a food & fiction kind of novel, this is it!
An English translation from the Welsh 'Blasu' written by the same author, I think The Seasoning had made me feel like I wanted to read all the author's other works, but sadly they are all in Welsh.
I've heard of Tywyn before (which is one of the town mentioned numerous of times in the novel), although I'd never set foot there. Reading this; of the beautiful scenery described, of the prom, the spring, the winter and the landmarks, I was coaxed gently bit by bit that I'd like to visit the town someday.
For me, this book hold a taste of everything. There are mysteries, a sense of families and the importance of it, motherhood, love, mental illnesses, friendship between two women of different characters and for the first part of the novel; the presentation of a girl's childhood in a traditional Welsh countryside. Everything of these are described in deep details which I truly adore the author for.
In The Seasoning, I had a mixture of emotion and that had been the greateast experiences of all. I cried towards the end! I was in awe whenever Peggy and Francis, seemed so right together (a perfect image of a marriage). It tickles my taste buds with all the recipes and the cooking throughout the novel and when Jonathan entered the scene; his equal shared passion with Peggy, I thought he was one of my favourite characters after Peggy and Francis.
I would recommed this book! Hurrahs to the author!
After exciting 'right up my street' very beginning, I slowed down. It's taking me a while to engage with this novel, although I acknowledge it's got decent ideas for a novel & an interesting structure. Each chapter records a specific Tywyn resident story about the other residents, in their own words - across the decades, beginning with a recipe associated with each of them.
Some of the prose is a bit clichéd and clumsy - wondering if it's been translated from Welsh. But, if she mentioned Peggy's "grey eyes" anymore I'd have screamed.
But ploughed on to the end, it's an easy read, with some interesting characters. My favourite was Mrs Msi Davies, the first character we meet. You learn about Peggy's life via others, who highlight aspects of her personality & why is, is as she is - her mother was a horror. And how she grew up, disclosing a massive secret to her son towards the end.
The Seasonings by Manon Steffan Ros was a Goodreads first reads giveaway
I found this a beautifully written, poignant and moving story. The main character is Peggy and her life if told by through the voices of people around her – her family, friends and acquaintances, as well as by herself.
The first chapter introduces everyone as flashbacks in Peggy’s memory, which helps pace the narrators of each chapter. Food is featured in the story, in fact each chapter begins with a recipe. As a child she was deprived, not only of human contact, but of food. After it was apparent that her mother could not cope with her, she went to live with her grandparents, who were strangers to her. She discovered food, and throughout her life gorged on food as if it was an uncertainty and might disappear. Food and the scent of it bring back memories.
She has been deeply traumatised by her mother, who in turn was affected by her parents, who cut off contact with her, although it’s not clear why. Although this affected Peggy’s life, she has no knowledge of it, so it is not in her story.
She found love and was happily married, with children and friends, but was always concerned that she might have inherited the instability of her mother.
I love the descriptive style it is written in. The description of the places in the book, the village and her grandparents farm are very well depicted, you can almost imagine you are there. The passage when she realises her lie is coming to an end is especially sad – a softness to the edges of life, like energy spent; colours less bright as if grey was bleeding into everything. She realises she will soon not be there, but the landscape she loves will continue. She leaves behind her memories and her recipes, so to some extent she lives on.
This was a free copy from a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
A beautifully written and sensitive account of one woman's life, told through the recipes that formed a focal point of her story. Peggy has a troubled childhood, neglected and hungry, and struggles all her life to understand the events that have left their mark on her. The setting is a Welsh village but the themes of the novel are universal ones - poverty, mental illness, love, friendship and family - and are addressed without sentimentality, in a way that deeply engages the reader.
Peggy's story unfolds through the eyes of others, family and friends who encounter her through the years, and each of their accounts is prefaced by a recipe that relates to the story. Food is integral to the narrative, it comforts and consoles as Peggy confronts difficulties and disappointments. I loved the vivid descriptions of the ingredients and how they reflected the events in the novel. The characters are so skilfully developed through the episodes described, especially Peggy's loving husband Francis and her friend Annie.
This novel was originally written in Welsh and has now been issued in English. I am so glad it has, as it is a real gem that deserves as wide an audience as possible. I was totally gripped by this book and captivated by Peggy and the other characters. A great read.
It's 2010 and Peggy's son Jonathan asks her to write down her life story. It started in 1937 with a piece of ginger cake. The young Peggy is afraid of her mother. She is a neglected child and her mother ignores her presence. After a horrible incident Peggy asks for help, because she can't take it any longer. Later her life is a lot happier, but she can't forget the past.
Peggy's unusual appearance and low weight are something that doesn't go unnoticed. She loves food and can never stop eating, but she's really thin. A better period starts for her when she's almost an adult and Peggy is free to go wherever she likes. As she loves her work in the village shop she stays in Llanegryn and marries the shop owner. With him Peggy can be herself, but her past keeps influencing her present...
Every person who plays an important role in her life also has a recipe to share. Food and people are always related in Peggy's world. Peggy is eccentric. Her looks are peculiar, her behavior is strange and her relationship with food isn't just one filled with love. Peggy has a darker side and slowly the truths are being revealed. They are alternated with delicious food in the form of recipes from people who love Peggy. I enjoyed that very much. It made me fall in love with this book straight away. The warmth of the people is visible through the food they like to eat.
I love the recipes in The Seasoning. They are simple with fresh ingredients and easy instructions. For me the food made the story. There's no Peggy without something to eat. The recipes made my mouth water. The deliciousness of food in combination with the difficult topic of mental illness and the consequences of living with someone who's suffering from it is a daring combination. I think it worked really well in Peggy's case and Manon Steffan Ros is such a talented author. I was glued to my seat, I couldn't stop reading. At the same time I wanted to start cooking, but I couldn't put the book away and wanted to finish the story even more. The Seasoning is a book filled with delightful contrasts, which is what I loved about it. I highly recommend this fantastic book. I can't praise it enough, it's one of those hidden gems, a book to treasure and to read again and again.
My advice is to read this book from cover to cover first and then read it again more slowly by making the recipes one by one to eat while reading their corresponding chapters. I think that would be a unique experience and it's one I'm definitely going to explore.
Stori hyfryd am fenyw, ei theulu a'i chymuned. Pegi yw'r prif gymeriad yma ac mae Steffan-Ros yn ein tywys ni o hamgylch ei bywyd mewn ffordd hollol hudolus. Do'n i ddim eisiau hwn i orffen!
Brief synopsis from the book cover: Peggy is eighty and the family is having a birthday party. Her son's gift of a beautifully crafted notebook comes with a request… Peggy's not so keen on telling her own story, but each of her family and neighbours has a story to tell, revealing not just Peggy's life but that of her village, tucked beneath Cader Idris on the southern fringes of Snowdownia. Bookended by Peggy's own shocking testimony, each chapter has a different voice and a different take on events, from the jolly fat woman who is feeding not just Peggy but her own sense of emptiness, to the generous shopkeeper and his young son, who has had his eye on Peggy for a long time, and Peggy's best friend, who's not sure she's cut out for marriage to the church and its curator. As the village voices fill out the picture of life in Llanegryn, slowly the reader realises that all is not well, and that Peggy's eccentricities have a terrible dark secret hidden behind them - and not just that she was a neglected child.
My rating:
Story: 4 out of 5 stars Writing: 4 out of 5 stars Character development: 4 out of 5 stars Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
Review:
The Book has a fresh and original concept. Each chapter starts with a recipe and then tells a piece of Peggy’s story from the perspective of one of the long list of people that are part or where part of Peggy’s life. The book touches on subjects such as poverty, mental illness, family bonds, but also love and loyalty. The main tread throughout the book is the bonds that are created through the enjoyment food and how it brings people together. The book was well written, the characters were vividly depicted. This made them easy to relate to and made it hard to put the book down. If you like literary fiction or historical fiction, you will like this book.
Roedd darllen y llyfr yma wedi hollol newid fy nghanfyddiad o lenyddiaeth modern Cymraeg; wnaeth o lwyddo fy nanforio i fewn i ddiwylliant Cymraeg a lleoliad Llanegryn gyda'r ddisgrifiadau manwl a phrydferth ofnadwy. Roedd strwythr y nofel wir yn ddiddorol a wedi benu lan yn gwych oherwydd mae'n adlewyrchu'r amseroedd a chyfnodau gwahanol y berffaith. O beidio gallu siarad am 'iechyd meddwl' yn y bennodau gynnar i wedyn gallu siarad yn rhydd a hyd yn oed ymweld a ddoctor amdano yn y bennodau ar ol. Roedd yr amseroedd a bersectifau hefyd wedi gadael ni fod yn dyst i ddatblygiad Pegi fel cymeriad a sut wnaeth popeth effeithio hi heb hyd yn oed clywed o berspectif hi am ran fwyaf y llyfr! Un o fy hoff rannau oedd pryd wnaeth Pegi a Francis mabwyso Johnathan o fewn pennod Susan a mae'n ddangos pa mor gwych mae Pegi fel cymeriad ond hefyd Johnathan hefyd pryd mae'n ddweud 'Why would she think that? I'm from Liverpool!'- o fewn ymateb i Pegi yn coginio ef cyri oherwydd dyna oedd hi'n meddwl bydde fo eisiau fel plentyn ddu. Dyna yw'r llinell dwi wir yn credu dyle PAWB darllen ac ystyried.
Nofel a wnaeth wir agor fy llygaid i brwydrau mewnol, bwyta anhrefnus (Bwlimia), penderfyniadau anodd a chanfyddiad pobl o eraill.
This book tells the story of Peggy's life in a small welsh village. From age 6 when she sought help from neglect by her mentally ill mother until her final day. Each section of her story is written from the point of view of another person in her life - friends, relatives, locals. Each chapter begins with a recipe which is signiciant for that part of her life. This sounds like a clunky explanation but it is a slightly different way of writing a book and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Peggy is a complex character who is damaged by early years. Consequently her interactions with other characters are interesting and in some cases quite odd. She is a very interesting person and I really enjoyed looking at her life from other people's viewpoint. I thought this was well written and very interesting. There is plenty of complexity of characters and some interesting plot twists. I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.
Really loved this translation. It starts with a son giving his mother a journal so that she can recount her life and jumps right in with an adult--who resolves to punish an unpleasant shopkeeper by feeding the entire village--finding a dusty little girl at her door needing an adult to respond. This little girl's story is told through recipes, each associated with people she impacts. It's Welsh. It's quaint. It's bucolic. It's heartbreaking. And it's relatable. As if "It's a Wonderful Life" had no ghost and wasn't so saccharine.
Manon Steffan Ros can do a lot with a 100 pages! Short novel with a lot of feeling. I also liked how Peggy's life was told through the eyes of the various people in her life - so many different perspectives building one woman's story. There were moments when the plot veered into the cheesy (the physical decription of Peggy got on my nerves a bit - we get it, she's not conventionally beautiful, she's skilly and she has grey eyes) or the icky (like the doctor's chapter), but overall an interesting read.
Manon Ross is the discovery of the year for me! I've not come across such a comforting style of writing for quite some time. I fell in love with her "The blue book of Nebo" but "the Seasoning" touched every part of my heart and wrapped it in a loving hug. I am mesmerized with the way she talks about such a complex character as Peggy. It really did not feel like a book, more like a memory. Manon Ross, I'm in awe.
Life in a small village in Wales, stories around one person whose childhood and adult life was in this village. From sadness to joy, with characters who a living, or damaged, this books reflects lots of different experiences in life, but so well threaded to show unconditional love, redemption, and hope for future life to be different from historical life.
I love this author. I stumbled upon her only other book that was translated to English, The Blue Book of Nebo. I loved it so much, which is why I read The Seasoning. Her characters, flawed and beautiful. The writing, lyrical and filled with emotion. A purely joyful read that will stay with me for a long time.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the story, the recipes, all of it was a feast for the senses! Their were a few threads I had hoped would have been tied off at the end but it didn't spoil my enjoyment.
Skilled writing, vivid characters, and a hauntingly realistic tale of a life lived in a Welsh village across eight decades. I'm not sure the party/notebook framing of the story worked for me but that's just personal taste.
Gwych gwych gwych!!! Teimlo pob math o emosiwn yn darllen hwn! Yn aml iawn yn ffeindio fy hun ddim eisiau ei roi i lawr ond yn gorfod oherwydd gwaith. Ffeindio fy hun yn ddargreuol yn aml. Hollol ffab o lyfr!
Sadly I just finished this wonderful book. The story of Peggy and her loved ones is so beautifully crafted. I loved the characters, each one adding a layer to our understanding of Peggy and her secrets, her sufferings but also her joys.