La Cucina: A Novel of Rapture

by Lily Prior

Since childhood, Rosa Fiore -- daughter of a sultry Sicilian matriarch and her hapless husband -- found solace in her family's kitchen. La Cucina, the heart of the family's lush estate, was a place where generations of Fiore women prepared sumptuous feasts and where the drama of extended family life was played out around the age-old table.

When Rosa was a teenager, her own cooking became the stuff of legend in this small community that takes pride in the bounty of its landscape and the eccentricity of its inhabitants. Rosa's infatuation with culinary arts was rivaled only by her passion for a young man, Bartolomeo, who, unfortunately, belonged to another. After their love affair ended in tragedy, Rosa retreated first into her kitchen and then into solitude, as a librarian in Palermo. There she stayed for decades, growing corpulent on her succulent dishes, resigned to a loveless life.

Then, one day, she meets the mysterious chef, known only is I'Inglese, whose research on the heritage of Sicilian cuisine leads him to Rosa's library, and into her heart. They share one sublime summer of discovery, during which I'lnglese awakens the power of Rosa's sensuality, and together they reach new heights of culinary passion. When I'Inglese suddenly vanishes, Rosa returns home to the farm to grieve for the loss of her second love. In the comfort of familiar surroundings, among her, growing family, she discovers the truth about her loved ones and finds her life transformed once more by the magic of her cherished Cucina.

Exuberant and touching, La Cucina is a magical evocation of lifes mysterious seasons and the treasures found in each one. It celebrates family, food, passion, and the eternal rapture of romance.

Genres: Fiction, Food, Italy, Romance, Magical Realism, Historical Fiction, Foodie

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Rosie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I felt like I needed to include a book I didn't like. I really, really, really disliked this book. The author peppers the story with Italian words, but never really captures Italian culture. She resorts to some tired stereotypes - the ignorant peasant girl, the possessive father who uses the words "dishonor" and "puttana" way too much, the fat middle-aged woman, the Mafia taking out a foreigner, etc. This left me cold. I couldn't sympathize with the characters because they were so two-dimensional. The story is supposed to be about a woman who finds love after a long time alone and rediscovers her sexuality with an Englishman, but a lot of the scenes were bordering on gratuitous. I only finished it because I kept hoping it would redeem itself. It didn't.

[Melly · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was bad.

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Definitely a page turner: I read it in less than three hours. However, I didn't enjoy it as the love interest's personality was repellent. For example, "[he] waved me ahead of him up the spiral staircase. I had reached halfway before I realized that he had positioned himself directly underneath and was looking up my skirts. I tried to gather the material close around my legs so he could not see anything, but in truth, he had already seen everything. He smiled broadly at my discomfort." Urgh. Also, the sex scenes were nauseating.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magical realism combined with Italian charm make this a really imaginative and romantic read, with deliciousness weaved throughout.

[Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title - La Cucina: A Novel of Rapture

Author - Lily Prior

Summary -

This is the tale of Rosa Fiore, a peasant Sicilian girl who grows up in a passionate household and who in her way finds her own passions. From the men she loves to the cooking she does.
Rosa's family has always been suspect in her small village. Her mother's powerful and lustful ways the stuff of much gossip. Until the birth of her brothers, Siamese twins, proof of her mother's wickedness the gossip was always in whispers.
For Rosa, in her youth she falls in love with young Bartolomeo, the son of a local Don of the Mafioso. A relationship that would not be permitted.

"..Then you may begin the rolling. Dust the table lightly with flour and divide your dough into eight equal pieces. Taking one piece, begin rolling by moving the rolling pin in a motion away from you, pressing evenly to create a rectangular shape. Continue thus until your sheet of pasta is long and thin and about the thickness of the blade of a knife. The knife that slit Bartolomeo's throat. Slicing through his beautiful young flesh like coltello through lard..."

In her grief, young Rosa cooks and cooks. Her recipes and abundance of food feeds her family and the village. She cooks herself into exhaustion.
No longer able to stay in the village where her young love was murdered she leaves to become a librarian in the small town of San Domenico. Twenty five years pass and she has settled into a new life of her own. Far from her village, from her family and from the two passions in her life. Until one day a foreigner comes into the library looking for manuscripts on the recipes of the cultures that had built the city and the island of Sicily.
With the arrival of this L'Inglese, the passions that had laid dormant in Rosa would re-ignite. Her love and her cooking.

"..Of course, signor," I said very quickly, as if afraid my courage would desert me at the last moment, "if you really want to know about our food, you will not find it in books."
"No?" L'Inglese read the signal.
"You, um, you need someone to show you." I looked at him squarely while blushing like a beetroot.
"You mean you cook, signorina?" he asked, his eyes bright with a sudden fire."
"Signor," I said, "I cook..."

Together, with her L'Inglese, Rosa comes alive again. But will the disapproval of her family reach out to take her happiness away once again?

Review -

La Cucina is very similar in its telling as Like Water For Chocolate and if you loved Like Water for Chocolate, you will love La Cucina. If you didn't get Like Water for Chocolate, you will not get La Cucina.
It is romantic and passionate but not erotica in a obvious way. It is subtle yet powerful. Prior chooses to be descriptive about the passion and dreams of her characters rather than the acts themselves. The influence of family and small village life is also interesting and adds another dimension to the happenings in this novel.
All around a very good read.

[Mira · Rating 1 out of 5]

I generously gave the book 1 star. There was so much potential but it was ruined by the fake Italian, for one thing. Rather than splatter an Italian word here or there, she should have truly attempted to understand the culture. I am Italian and felt insulted. Rosa, the protagonist, could have been developed into a wonderful character full of spirit. Instead, she is reduced to a lost puppy at the mere site of this stranger "l'inglese". Give me a break. I didn't feel love between them. It simply felt like a lamb being taken to slaughter. And speaking of slaughter. The page long descriptions of her love for slaughtering animals were unnecessary and vile. I found Rosa to be unlikable and stupid quite frankly. What a waste of time.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun and racy read! The lead character, Rosa, is easy to fall in love with. I found myself in my own daydreams that included the wonderful aroma of her cooking – if only I could have sat at her table for samples! And thank goodness she met L’Inglese in his ‘come to bed shoes’ – I will never look at men’s shoes the same again…

Thank you, Rosa, for inspiring me to bake fresh bread last night; it was delicious! And thanks to Bebe for recommending this book as it is a fun and interesting peek into one perspective of Sicilian farm life.

[MÉYO · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily Prior is now one of my favorite authors. I love everything from her style of writing to her very unique imagination. The only thing that pains me about Lily Prior is her novels are too short. She has so many interesting plot points and characters in her writing that simply get glossed over due to her penchant to keep her novels short and sweet. I liken Lily Prior to 'Haruki Murakami Lite.'

[Sve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Слаба ракия като цяло. Нещо като смесица между "50 нюанса сиво" и "Като гореща вода за шоколад".
Изключително дразнещо е че книгата е пълна с грешки - не е минавала през редактор и коректор.

[Saleh MoonWalker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Onvan : La Cucina - Nevisande : Lily Prior - ISBN : 60953691 - ISBN13 : 9780060953690 - Dar 263 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2000

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was quite witty. It took me on a journey of learning and love. How I hoped for a happy ending! Worth the read.

[Laura L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Read

This book made me want to eat Italian food and fall in love all over again. I was so engrossed that I read the whole book in one day.

[Usanisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

ถ้าจะบอกว่าหนังสือกินได้ก็คงจะเป็นเหมือนเรื่องนี้

เรื่องเล่าเกี่ยวกับ โรซา ฟิโอเร หญิงสาวชาวซิซีลี (เกาะทางใต้ของอิตาลี)
ผู้ซึ่งชีวิตสุข ทุกข์ ตั้งแต่เกิดวนเวียนอยู่ใน ลากูชินา - ห้องครัว
จากบ้านฟาร์มในแถบชนบท ชีวิตเปลี่ยนผันให้เธอเข้ามาหลบซ่อนตัว
เป็นบรรณารักษ์ในเมือง แม้จะซุกซ่อนตัวเองจากโลก เธอไม่เคยซ่อนตัวเองจากห้องครัว
การทำอาหารคือ ชีวิต คือการแสดงออกของอารมณ์อันไหลหลากของเธอ
ทุกครั้งที่ผู้เขียนบรรยายฉากการทำอาหารพลอยทำให้คนอ่านจินตนาการตาม
เช่นเดียวกับการบรรยายฉากรักของโรซาและชายคนรัก
หากคุณเป็นคนที่รักการทำอาหารและอยากเพลิดเพลินเจริญใจไปกับนิยายพาฝัน
เราขอแนะนำเล่มนี้

[Adelaide Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5* Dividido nas estações do ano, este livro conta-nos a vida de Rosa e a sua ligação à cozinha. Uma história inesperada e surpreendente, com personagens peculiares, que combina sensualidade e comida.

[Kate L · Rating 4 out of 5]

this isn't the type of book that I normally go for, but I think I loved it so much for exactly that reason. I am a big fan of how the author structured the book, this was beautifully written. now to check out more of her books!

[Constance Colding · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book that is an unabashed celebration of sensuous and sensual experiences - be they culinary or erotic. It is NOT food porn or any other porn as one reviewer alleged. I can only ascribe this very sad misunderstanding to a calvinistic nature of the reviewer.

[Idea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A scintillating, aromatic banquet of words, characters & plot with some delectable food descriptions thrown in. Loved it, that's all I want to say.

[Olga Seppänen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5
Parasta kuvailua mitä olen hetkeen lukenut. Juoni oli vähän kökkö, mutta tekstin kauneus pelasti paljon.

[Susie Nazzaro · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible. Finished out of sheer boredom when I was in the Peace Corps.

[BeverlyB · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me years ago --finally decided to read it. DNF! Hated it! Vaca is too short to waste on a book you are not enjoying!

[Meagan Shay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this because it said it was similar to my favorite book "Like Water for Chocolate".

I did not find it similar at all except for the basic premise of food and love being intertwined.

The writing style was much more tell than show and it made the idea lose it's magic.

[Caytlin Meribela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book. Great vacation read. It's Sicily's 'Como aqua para chocolate'.

[Roo · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars! A darling, darling book! Prior is a wonderful writer, introducing Rosa's cooking into each of her trying moments. She describes the recipes so well that you can almost taste them. I can tell that she did a deep dive into the culture of Sicily, as it feels very of the time and place. (Some authors seem like they are reciting Wikipedia).
I love the characters and how she describes them. They were quite gossipy and mean to her at times.
There is sex in this book! And it is wonderful for a woman over 40 to find that kind of passion in her life.
I just happened to watch Stanley Tucci's Finding Italy episode on Sicily while i was reading the book, and it validated the recipes that Prior writes about.
Just a delightful book!

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This novel is much too easy to mock, and so I dare not, since I might get carried away. The author raises "food porn" to a whole new level, and I don't mean in a good way. OK, I just can't help myself: one teensy little mockery: the narrator is more full of herself than a Mario Batali cannoli! Read at your peril. (Or if you want to laugh out loud, when you really shouldn't.) On the other hand ... maybe it was meant to be this funny.

[Linda Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend loaned this book; her mother loaned it to her because she said it made her laugh. I didn't laugh but I sure enjoyed reading this story of passion, in all rooms of the house and in the garden as well. The cover is rich and so is the story. La Cucina is the kitchen where the life of the cooks in the household takes place. Rosa Flores is a cook - kneading dough calms her, creating an elaborate dish lets her forget her pain. A sumptuous read.

[Jaden Felix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deliciously written that got even me hungry and hot. It sits in the unusual valley between feministic and not, soap-opera-like and not, mom’s mass-market novel and not. It’s a story that takes a while to grab hold of you, and eventually comes full circle, but not without its shortcomings.

[MaryAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Makes you want to cook, eat and have lots of sex!

[Laura K · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book , I really did. The back cover review compares it to "Chocolat" and "Like Water for Chocolate". Um... nope. I think it had that potential, but it was a potential that was never reached. Here is why:
1. Written about Sicily, by a non-Sicilian who "traveled extensively in Sicily", it contains just about every negative stereotype about Sicilians that I have heard and is obviously written by someone who does not understand Sicilian culture.
2. It does not seem accurate for the time portrayed. For instance, while much of the story took place in the city of Palermo, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, some of the details did not seem accurate for the time period. For instance (only one example) Rosa has never ridden in an automobile when she is taken back home from Palermo in the 1960s. This is unlikely for a librarian who lives in the city limits of Palermo, even if she had lived out in the countryside 25 years before.
3. Animal haters. Apparently the character is an animal hater or a budding sociopath. There is gratuitous violence to animals, with no point. Rosa kills her pet pig Miele, with no remorse, and describes the pigs' pleading eyes , her pet parrot burns to death in his cage, a pet pug is trampled by a crowd then the corpse lays in the street and is thrown into a dumpster, when she returns home she slaughters another pig and it looks at her pleadingly and she takes pleasure in feeling nothing for it. These descriptions add nothing of value to the story or any real understanding of the character. The only animal who escapes is a kitten in the last chapter who, in Rosa's opinion is "over loved" (Why? Because he hasn't been cooked, burned or trampled?) In my opinion, gratuitous violence towards animals is often a sign of weak writing skills.
4. Gross and Pervy - A priest that masturbates while young girls confess, a neighbor that masturbates while peeping in windows, brothers that have to be "watched" while mom is away so that they don't violate their sister. Just yuk. What was the purpose here? 50 Shades of Pervy?
5. The conjoined twins. To sum it up, the twins were sweet when young, then they joined the Mafia -.enough character development.....now let's talk in detail about what they did in bed. Um, no thanks!

Like I said, the book had a little bit of potential. There was just enough of a story and information about recipes to keep me interested, and since I am of Sicilian descent and a lover of Sicily, I thought it might turn out to be worth it. There are a few hours of my life I'll never get back. And there is a second book in this saga? Hard pass. I'm done with this book and this author. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a book to put in the recycle bin.

[Katherine]

I am lately interested in books that melt the rich culture of cooking, food, etc., into the souls of their stories. I did a random search and La Cucina showed up on a list. I read the summary, downloaded the book and...WOW! What I mean is that I did not expect what I got...HOWEVER, it was a breath of fresh air. I felt like I was reading some seedy version of Strega Nona (one of my kids' favorite books, by Tomie dePaola)! It has an old world fairy tale feel to it, but is hilariously detailed and very adult, if you know what I mean...wink, wink. The experience is very unique and heart lifting; I found myself surprised into shocked gasps and laughing out loud at many points throughout. The narration was perfect and the ending sweet.

As for my interest, after making my disappointed way through other books who claimed to incorporate the culinary arts, this one really had what I was looking for. Rosa Fiore's calling as a cook is very much part of who she is. It is interesting that, despite this, Prior has her earn her living as a librarian the majority of the story. This seemed to me to drive the point that cooking was part of Rosa, like her arm or part of her heart, her brain. It wasn't a job. La Cucina is a character itself. Most of the monumental events in the story, and indeed in Rosa's life happen in La Cucina. It is her birth place, the place her family mourns their deaths, a place of contemplation and of refuge. It is the beginning and the end of the story. This novel is altogether obscene and yet completely wholesome. I loved every delectable word!

[The Starry Library]

Did you ever stop reading a book because you found it offensive?
.
I did...yesterday. I started reading this book 'La Cucina' by Lily Prior as part of my Taurus Reading Challenge, in which I have to up to 5 books in 30 days that feature food magic. This book was last on my list and was the worst one.
.
It was about this young Sicilian girl Rosa who loves to cook and her Mother who was sleeping around with lots of men after her husband was killed by the mob. Rosa has some pervy brothers and encounters an even more pervy priest. She runs away from home because she was caught having a forbidden romance with a young man who was promised to another girl for a business deal. That boy's father murders him and that's when Rosa leaves her village to establish a new life for herself in Palermo.
.
I was tempted to put it down after a couple of chapters because it just seemed to be about sex. It got worse though. The story jumped forward 25 years where Rosa had become a middle aged spinster but had a sexual awakening when she met a pervy foreigner. The man was basically a rapist, but the author romanticized their sex life as being some sensual loving thing. It was gross and the author completely degraded the female characters.
.
The book was smutty, distasteful, erotic, and offensive. I did not finish it for those reasons. It was a waste of a book to fill its pages with gratuitous sex, rapists, horny men, whoring women, and Italian stereotypes.
.
I thought it was going to be the Italian version of 'Like Water for Chocolate' but it was sleazy and cheap.
.
0/5 Stars