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American Cookery
Animated as a family reunion, intimate as a lovers' picnic, American Cookery serves up tradition and innovation in a family novel based on the joy of cooking. The story is complete with twenty-seven recipes from the life and tumultuous times of Eden Douglass.
Eden was born in 1920 into a contentious California tribe, and the ingredients of her life include her grandmother's reserve, her aunt's instinct for action, and her mother's foggy warmth. Seasoned with spicy herbs, and a few bitter ones, simmered and stirred over time, these instincts shape her destiny.
Two strong-willed women--her grandmother Ruth Douglass and her aunt Afton Lance--struggle to pull Eden from the comfy sloth of her parents' home. Her ill-matched parents drift toward financial collapse, and her father, pursuing phantom wealth, takes the family to an Idaho mining town. He finds fulfillment in Idaho, but Eden's mother breaks down, and Eden must shoulder the household drudgery, burdens not in keeping with her aspirations to be a journalist.
Eden's adventurous spirit takes her far from her faith and family. She falls in love in wartime London and rides a motorcycle across war-torn Belgium. After the war, still reeling from a devastating loss, Eden returns to Southern California and is hired by a newspaper, only to confront insidious opposition, yet find an unexpected ally.
Then, in 1952, fate puts Eden Douglass in the path of a runaway horse at Greenwater Movie Ranch, where they're filing a B-movie Western. She falls flat on her face, and Matt March lifts her from the dust. Charming and charismatic, with good looks, cowboy boots, and appetite for life, and his VistaVision of the Western, Matt ignites Eden's passion. Three months later, they elope to Mexico.
In these exuberant California boom years, Eden nourishes Matt's dreams, even though they are sauced with secrets and larded with debt. He tests Eden's strengths and his children's love.
A big-cast book, American Cookery fulfills the wide embrace of its title. The novel chronicles the stories behind family recipes and the lives that touch Eden's--lives of horse thieves, ranchers, railroad men, developers, dreamers, migrants, immigrants, natives, Latter-Day Saints, sinners, silent-film stars, sidekicks, and stunt people.
The good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful emerge in these pages as American Cookery serves up the whole gorgeous banquet of life.
Eden was born in 1920 into a contentious California tribe, and the ingredients of her life include her grandmother's reserve, her aunt's instinct for action, and her mother's foggy warmth. Seasoned with spicy herbs, and a few bitter ones, simmered and stirred over time, these instincts shape her destiny.
Two strong-willed women--her grandmother Ruth Douglass and her aunt Afton Lance--struggle to pull Eden from the comfy sloth of her parents' home. Her ill-matched parents drift toward financial collapse, and her father, pursuing phantom wealth, takes the family to an Idaho mining town. He finds fulfillment in Idaho, but Eden's mother breaks down, and Eden must shoulder the household drudgery, burdens not in keeping with her aspirations to be a journalist.
Eden's adventurous spirit takes her far from her faith and family. She falls in love in wartime London and rides a motorcycle across war-torn Belgium. After the war, still reeling from a devastating loss, Eden returns to Southern California and is hired by a newspaper, only to confront insidious opposition, yet find an unexpected ally.
Then, in 1952, fate puts Eden Douglass in the path of a runaway horse at Greenwater Movie Ranch, where they're filing a B-movie Western. She falls flat on her face, and Matt March lifts her from the dust. Charming and charismatic, with good looks, cowboy boots, and appetite for life, and his VistaVision of the Western, Matt ignites Eden's passion. Three months later, they elope to Mexico.
In these exuberant California boom years, Eden nourishes Matt's dreams, even though they are sauced with secrets and larded with debt. He tests Eden's strengths and his children's love.
A big-cast book, American Cookery fulfills the wide embrace of its title. The novel chronicles the stories behind family recipes and the lives that touch Eden's--lives of horse thieves, ranchers, railroad men, developers, dreamers, migrants, immigrants, natives, Latter-Day Saints, sinners, silent-film stars, sidekicks, and stunt people.
The good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful emerge in these pages as American Cookery serves up the whole gorgeous banquet of life.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published September 5, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
March 6, 2009
I'd like to give this four stars, mostly based on the unusual format. I loved the little "snapshots (and recipes)" at the end of each chapter. It was a good story that tended to drag from time to time and got pretty melodramatic. All that being said it was a thoroughly enjoyable read.
August 18, 2023
"God never gives us burdens we cannot carry"
"Then God must be very optimistic"
a very jarring start, but once st elmo and the douglasses were all laid out, the story flowed pretty well. i really did hope that some parts of the story had more emphasis since i found myself getting barraged towards the end. the recipes after each chapter bring a satisfying close. however, some snapshots provided too much foreshadowing for my liking.
eden is imperfectly resilient. she's able to handle so much pressure, but everything has its natural limit. moments where eden is reduced to a vulnerable soul act as checkpoints of how much she has went through: painfully defined and noteworthy.
religion is the common theme for this novel, but not particularly suited for one demographic of religion. this novel will stick to you not only in the form of memory, but will imprint its spirit through food.
April 16, 2020
Loved this! Americana family epic full of characters and plenty of great cooking.
April 30, 2008
This novel was a bit slow-going for me. I liked the main character, Eden, for the most part, but she started getting on my nerves as the book went on - on the one hand, she always sort of went with the flow and adapted when negative things happened, which is a positive trait as far as I'm concerned; on the other hand, she came across as weak to me because she seemed to just let things happen to her and didn't stand up for herself enough. And maybe that's what the author intended to examine, that dichotomy, the fact that we all struggle with opposing traits within ourselves, but it really started to annoy me after a while - maybe she just took it too far for me.
The format of the book was different from anything I've read before and I found it really interesting: each chapter is followed by a recipe, written like a litle story in itself (no list of ingredients), then there was a character snapshot, going further into one person's story than the main narrative takes you - answering questions that may have gone unanswered otherwise and giving backstory to some of the minor characters.
By the end, the story was pretty depressing, but the ending itself gave a bit of hope, which made it a little better, although it felt like a "we need to wrap this up, and quick - make it happier" kind of ending.
The format of the book was different from anything I've read before and I found it really interesting: each chapter is followed by a recipe, written like a litle story in itself (no list of ingredients), then there was a character snapshot, going further into one person's story than the main narrative takes you - answering questions that may have gone unanswered otherwise and giving backstory to some of the minor characters.
By the end, the story was pretty depressing, but the ending itself gave a bit of hope, which made it a little better, although it felt like a "we need to wrap this up, and quick - make it happier" kind of ending.
July 29, 2010
You'd think a novel centering around food would be, for a foodaholic like myself, completely absorbing. However, this sadly did not prove to be the case. I seem to be in the minority though because this book has apparently been well received by a number of people.
It centers around Eden, a girl growing up in an Mormon family with a strong grandmother and aunt, an alcoholic mother and a father who is more interested in his genealogical studies than in his own family. She develops an interest in food after she starts working in a diner and she deviates from the traditional Mormon role for women, and travels to California and later to Idaho. This is her life story and the food she enjoys and learns to cook along the way. The author throws in a few side stories, I think, perhaps to try and flesh out some of the characters a little and there are a number of recipes provided.
I thought the whole thing lacked spice and flavor.
It centers around Eden, a girl growing up in an Mormon family with a strong grandmother and aunt, an alcoholic mother and a father who is more interested in his genealogical studies than in his own family. She develops an interest in food after she starts working in a diner and she deviates from the traditional Mormon role for women, and travels to California and later to Idaho. This is her life story and the food she enjoys and learns to cook along the way. The author throws in a few side stories, I think, perhaps to try and flesh out some of the characters a little and there are a number of recipes provided.
I thought the whole thing lacked spice and flavor.
April 23, 2008
When I first started this book, I was like, "am I going to be able to handle a whole book about the LDS--doesn't mention the LDS focus at all on the cover?" Well, it turned out it wasn't exactly pro-LDS, which works in its favor. I got drawn in by the very strong female characters. The storytelling was very good,the mix of characters was good and interesting too, but eventually it got too soap opera-ish, and the author inexplicably drew all her fragments together with this reunion/happy ending. There were some little recipes in between that whetted one's appetite between chapters, and there was this ironic humor that ran through the book's chapters counteracting an otherwise depressing storyline. Interesting book for a random selection.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 16, 2009
Finished this on the plane ride back from Boston...haven't read a real "American Epic" in a long while and was thoroughly satiated by this book. Set in the American West (mainly St. Elmo, CA; but also Idaho, Europe during WWII, and Washington State), it narrates the story of Eden Douglass, a lapsed Mormon in a family with women who have very strong personalities.
One of the best parts of the book was all the recipes that ended each chapter...A Christmas Pie looks good pretty much anytime of the year.
One of the best parts of the book was all the recipes that ended each chapter...A Christmas Pie looks good pretty much anytime of the year.
October 14, 2014
I wish I liked it more, but Eden's transformation just bugged me.
I can see what the author was trying to do - the book was centered around the feisty but imperfect heroine, sharing the tales of the family and friends through her life and how they were connected to food. But I can't get over some of her flaws, not because I can't understand them happening or existing, but because there's not really the best transition from her as a young woman taking on the world to the sap that is just okay with her husband's behavior. It just doesn't jive to me.
I can see what the author was trying to do - the book was centered around the feisty but imperfect heroine, sharing the tales of the family and friends through her life and how they were connected to food. But I can't get over some of her flaws, not because I can't understand them happening or existing, but because there's not really the best transition from her as a young woman taking on the world to the sap that is just okay with her husband's behavior. It just doesn't jive to me.
September 19, 2008
Nearly finished. From poverty to wealth and back again. Eden weaves a tale of her life from Saint Elmo CA through WW II and beyond.
Woven in are recipes, some I have made! Shake that Thang Pork Chops were terrific.
Kitty the Songbird of London, who never sang a note.
TV westerns in the 50's and ,much more.
Woven in are recipes, some I have made! Shake that Thang Pork Chops were terrific.
Kitty the Songbird of London, who never sang a note.
TV westerns in the 50's and ,much more.
December 20, 2013
A good family saga type story. Being from L.A., I especially enjoyed the early Hollywood references and how the San Fernando Valley was once an open space with great locations for early movie shoots. The recipes and "snapshots" interspersed in the story were a nice touch. Though I didn't think it was a great classic, it was a good and entertaining read and would recommend it on those terms.
August 21, 2009
I rated this book just ok because while I thought the book was well written and the story was engaging, I was frustrated by the character's choices in the book. The author's portrayal of Morman's was also off. It's obviously fiction, but I couldn't help wondering what people not of my faith would go away thinking after reading this book.
I did like the recipes.
I did like the recipes.
March 15, 2010
I loved this book. It was a love story. In WWII Eden fell in love with a man in London. They were to get together after the war. He never wrote. Eden married a man who had a "frontier town". Food was intertwined throughout this book. In the end she ran into the man from London. Very good book.
January 2, 2013
I loved the first half of this book so much it was headed for a 5. The second half seemed to have been written by another author, and I found it boring. It bored me, even though it was about movie-making, and I usually love books about movies. Her writing style is great, and I will try more of her books for that reason. But this one puzzled me.
May 8, 2018
Enjoyable read with the common theme of life being like a constantly changing recipe. A bit slow at times. I was frustrated with the main character's resignation to her husband's unfaithfulness, which actually made her more complex. The format, with recipes and chapters sprinkled throughout, was playful, though the snapshots didn't always seem to fit or add to the storytelling structure.
October 26, 2007
I found it yesterday on the library shelf and almost took it home with me, until I vaguely recalled reading it at the beach this summer. I liked it, but I guess it doesn't have much staying power in my mind. I also remember being angry about the ending, though I can't remember why.
February 15, 2008
Wonderful story and good writing based in the Northwest. Ever since I've finished reading American Cookery I keep thinking about the story and the characters. The author has a great use of foreshadowing, character development and works in great food and recipes into everything.
October 16, 2010
I enjoy a novel that permits me to put it down. The hooks are there, set firmly when the writing bores into the consciousness and stays there, a permanent resident once the book is finished. The recipe for dealing with all aspects of life filters through the pages.
June 10, 2011
An old fashinioned story aout a bizar family in the l930's
Eden grows up and joins the WAC'S and meets the love of her life in London during the war....but it's not to be. Some interesting recipes thrown into the plot.
Its a very memorable book
Eden grows up and joins the WAC'S and meets the love of her life in London during the war....but it's not to be. Some interesting recipes thrown into the plot.
Its a very memorable book
March 18, 2008
Quite enjoyable.
March 26, 2008
Historical fiction with smatterings of home spun recipes throughout. Pacific Northwest, California, Europe and even a dash of Philadelphia.
June 26, 2008
interesting novel.
September 18, 2008
Not the best in Kalpakian's ouevre but certainly a solid part of it.
September 22, 2008
I love a book with great plot and great recipes. This has it all. The Mormon element was a bit bitter, but an interesting story overall.
May 16, 2009
I considered finishing this book so I could laundry-list what, exactly, I didn't like about it. I decided to save myself the trouble. The story just wasn't for me.
July 12, 2011
Started it on two separate occasions as a friend had recommended it, but just never cared for it. Put it down after 100 pages....
July 16, 2011
I don't recall the details of this novel, just that I really enjoyed it! I love fiction/non-fiction that recipes interspersed throughout! that I do remember.
abandoned
September 7, 2016I usually like Kalpakian's books but this was disappointing. Too many characters introduced too close in time, and the writing constantly moved back and forth in time. Annoying.
February 22, 2012
sooo goood
January 20, 2016
Enjoyed the stories and the recipes
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews