Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love

by Lara Vapnyar

In a triumphant return to the short story, the form in which she made her extraordinary debut with There Are Jews in My House, Lara Vapnyar gives us a delightful new collection in which food and love intersect, along with their overlapping pleasures, frustrations, and deep associations in the lives of her unforgettable characters.

From “Broccoli” to “Borscht” to “Puffed Rice and Meatballs,” each of these new stories invites us into the uniquely captivating private worlds of Vapnyar’s Eastern European émigrés. There’s Nina, a recent arrival from Russia, for whom the colorful abundance of the vegetable markets in New York represents her own fresh hopes and dreams. . . Luda and Milena, who battle over a widower in their English class with competing recipes for cheese puffs, spinach pies, and meatballs . . . Sergey, who finds more comfort in the borscht made by a paid female companion than in her sexual ministrations. Each of the women and men who inhabit these witty, tender, and beautifully observed stories needs and longs for the taste and smell of home, wherever--and with whomever--that may turn out to be.

Russian in its wit and in many of its rich details, but American in its insistence on the quest for personal happiness, however provisional and however high the cost, Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love masterfully illuminates a very particular facet of desire with entirely charming results.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Food, Russia, Foodie, American, Food Writing

148 pages, Hardcover

First published June 3, 2008

About the author

Lara Vapnyar emigrated from Russia to New York in 1994 and began publishing short stories in English in 2002. She lives on Staten Island and is pursuing a Ph.D. in comparative literature at CUNY Graduate Center.

Reviews

[Sophie Manu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Borrowed this from my aunt because I loved the cover. Been in a reading rut and this was a collection of short stories about a topic I enjoy; food. My dad is an Eastern European immigrant, and I see the way that food transports him to his childhood. This book resonated with me in that respect, and I thought the recipes at the end were a thoughtful touch. After reading this, I am inspired to keep writing down family recipes, as food is one of the powerful ways to reconnect with old memories and honor those we have lost.

[Karen Yang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Food = desire

[baelgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

straightforward like bad anime

[Aloke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several short and funny stories. Some sex. Then recipes. What more do you want?

[Cristina Kiefer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this little book on a list somewhere when I was looking for books about or involving an immigrant or a refugee. Score! It is really a collection of stories involving several unrelated immigrants, mostly from Russia and one from the Czech Republic-Prague. Each story involved food- usually food of the home country, but not always. I enjoyed it in a quirky sort of way.

[Derek Emerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lara Vapnyar has a fascination with food, although not of the type usually written about and praised. Vapnyar's selection of food resembles her approach to fiction, which is simple, straightforward, and sustaining. Her first collection of short stories ("There are Jews in My House") showed the promise of a gifted story writer, and this second collection (a novel was published in between) confirm earlier expectations. The Russian born writer, now living in New York, came to the U.S. when she was 23 but writes in English. Perhaps writing in a second language has granted Vapnyar an economy with words other writers may want to imitate.

Many of the stories deal with the Russian immigrant experience, especially in New York, where all the Russians are henceforth working as "computer programmers" no matter what their previous work entailed. Nina, the main character in the opening "A Bunch of Broccoli on the Third Shelf," actually was a computer programmer. Now she is obsessed with vegetable shopping, although she never actually gets around to cooking with them. Food, as in many of these stories, shows a hope for the future, of what people like Nina will someday accomplish. In the meantime, the vegetables rot in the refrigerator, another set of hopes turning moldy. However, while Vapnyar may deal in realism, she is not above seeing hope as the story ends with Nina standing on a chair above the broccoli finally steaming on stove as "the warm aroma of broccoli rose up, caressing Nina's face, enveloping the whole of her."


The realism also takes hold in "Salad Olivier" where we see the heroine challenged to find a husband which, according to a psychologist, will allow her father to rise from the couch and reenter life. When she discovers such a man she realizes he may be more for his parents than for her, although she likes everything about him. Tempted to move on, she maintains the relationship in way that may be more familiar to most than they are comfortable with.


Sex and food, never far apart since the creation of the novel (see Fielding's "Tom Jones") are also part of the landscape here; although in "Borscht" it is the lack of sex and in "Slicing Sauteed Spinach" it is the focus on sex for which food is always the backdrop. "Borscht" is a sentimental favorite in the surprisingly quick creation of two sad, yet forward moving lives. In many ways this story highlights Vapnyar's skill with the short story as it creates a range of emotions in just a few pages,all with little action.


But "Luda and Milena" stands out in the collection as a story which is bound to be anthologized in future collegiate readers. Here we find two older single women (one a widow) using food as a way to entice the lone, elderly Russian man in their ESL class. The Friday potlucks become battlegrounds in the war for the heart, made only more hilarious by the complete dislike of cooking each women holds. The ending creates a satisfying resolution, but one completely unexpected.


Vapnyar's not afraid of ending a story, although like many short stories written today they can be seen as "slices of life." But the reader gets a complete picture in each story and Vapnyar is usually willing to point the story in a direction which goes beyond her pages.


At the end Vapnyar even throws in some recipe's with her own stories, although cold borscht may not be on everyone's menu. More importantly, as a whole we have a complete collection of stories offering a unique voice to American literature and a great new writer of the short story.

[Tanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel bad giving a mostly negative review to creative work produced by a fellow Soviet expat, but that is also the very reason why I *must* give an honest, not so glowing review.

Initially, I was compelled to pick up this collection of stories because I like reading fiction about the immigrant experience, especially if it's written by someone who shares a lot of the same memories and experiences that I do, having come to the States from Russia in 1993.

I was more than a little disappointed by the stories in this book, however. To me, all the nuances fell flat and the prose felt as wilted as the broccoli stuck in the refrigerator of Nina, the woman in the first story. The entire thing feels like a series of clichéd pastiches distilled from genuine experience, mixed with a heavy dose of American expectation of what it must have been like to be Russian and an immigrant. One of the women in Vapnyar's stories feels taken aback whenever she's asked to recall "the horrors of communism," but instead chooses to share some simpering anecdote expected of her by her American lover. Just as this girl gives in to the expectation, so it seems does Vapnyar pander to some sort of readership that needs to hear about matchmaking mothers, about borscht, about standing in line for food for several hours. True, these are not particularly interesting anecdotes to me, but that's not my the main point of contention for me. When it comes to being an immigrant, a complex experience so rich with emotion and great fodder for writing really soul searching fiction, this book of stories reads flatly and doesn't inspire me to recommend it to any of my American friends who might be curious to read about the experiences many of my fellow expatriates went through.

I will give Vapnyar credit for truly, genuinely caring about each and every one of her characters. There is a great deal of affection and compassion for the men and women in her stories, possibly inspired in some way by people she may have encountered in real life. Vapnyar's writing does carry across the sadness and the hopes, but it's still not quite there to garner a 3-star from me, personally.

[Letande D'Argon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Picked this one up because the title was intriguing. Turned out to be a collection of short stories that... OK, back in the days we used to call it "women's fiction". No idea how they call it nowadays and honestly, can't say that I care. You've got the idea. And to be honest... I always enjoyed to read something like that from time to time. And since this one is also about a food... what can go wrong? Well... turned out that everything can go wrong.

Don't get me wrong, I totally noticed the attempt to create something interesting here. Short love stories with food playing a very important role... There's a lot in the idea. The irony, the romance, a cute little touch... The idea itself... loved it. Unfortunately, the author clearly has no taste whatsoever. And she ruined everything that she started here. That borscht story is a nice example. The author literally wrote some cheap pornography, added a scene with the borscht in the end and thought that it's a smart thing.

Here's a hint - it isn't. it's just a lack of taste (oh, the irony...). If you can enjoy some dirty laundry with a weird aftertaste (again, the irony...), then there's a chance you'll enjoy this book. But for me it turned out to be a real torture. Made me want to puke with no proper reason. Thankfully, it was a short reading.

[Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I learned from this book: Chop garlic, chop parsley, mix together with salt, put in a bowl, add hot borscht. See recipe chapter--it's funny.

Well I liked these stories much better than Memoirs of a Muse: A Novel, which I barely remember. Funny that usually the first and last stories of a collection are placed to be the most powerful or poignant, but I liked the middle stories best, especially Borscht. A quick read and a cute premise: Eastern European immigrants in New York and their nostalgic food ideas. Kind of like my real life husband who, when homesick for Austria, reads Das grosse Sacher Kochbuch: Die österreichische Küche like a story book.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book of short stories for two reasons: (1) it has "broccoli" in its title and (2) the author's first name is "Lara" and I liked that character in Boris Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago," especially as she was played by Julie Christie in the 1965 movie. To say that a collection of Russian short stories about Eastern European émigrés living in America is sad is perhaps to be redundant. Vapnyar wanders around the intersection between food and love, as she promises to do in the collection's title. Somehow, despite the drenching sadness in each of these stories, she finds humour in each character and each situation. And her humour redeems these stories from depression. The collection suitably ends with an addendum in which she offers recipes for many of the dishes which figure significantly in the stories.

[Yuzhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A savory book, only wish it was longer. Each short story was like a well-crafted puff pastry, the layers just keep coming off, revealing a flavorful center worth thinking about for days. My favorite is the one titled Luda and Milena; the ending was just too much black humor. First published in The New Yorker, it was funny but also bleak.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun collection of short stories, all food-related, all with Russian immigrant characters. I'm not usually a short-story fan, but each of these was satisfying enough, maybe because I love reading about food and culture and love.

[Lai-san · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but somewhat forgettable. I found some of the story endings a bit pat, but she still has a strong knack for description and touching situations. I haven't tried any of the recipes included, but I now do want to eat borscht for the first time ever.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to make more Russian salads. . .

[Nina]

my bf and i met a guy at a bar recently, through a friend of a friend of a friend, and after talking for a while he decided we were going to be best friends. he invited us to see his (new, unfurnished) apartment and loaned us this book out of one of his boxes. we hung out with him a second time a few weeks ago, and it was fine--not exactly underwhelming, but not as great as it was in some parallel universe. reading this book was kind of like meeting this guy. it was exciting at first, because there was so much for me to like right off the bat; but then it settled into a normal "ok, this is a book" by the end of the first story.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely read to fill a short flight or spend an afternoon. Vapnyar conveys the immigrant experience - the complexities of acculturation and assimilation, the pain of longing and desire, of nostalgia and its false promises, of the resistance of conformity and preservation of customs. My favorite was "Luda and Milena," the story of two older women who lust over the same man in their ESL class, and the catastrophic consequences of the Russian meatball melee they incite. Just be careful not to pick up on an empty stomach or you'll be deep in salivation when you finally put it down.

[Dianne Danielson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book should've been entitled, "Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Sex." All the short stories include lovers; none include love. But I've given it a three because the writing was delightful and I enjoyed her explanations with the recipes at the end.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lara Vapnyar writes beautifully. Each story was connected to a certain food. Most of the stories were about sad, lonely, love hungry individuals. It was a bit depressing but well executed. She provides recipes at the end.

[Genesis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

stories that are about food, but not about great food, or even comfort food. more of food as metaphor.

[Alycia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every short story in this book. They just got better and better. And the recipes in the back are really fun to read.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting concept. People do relate food to events in their life and this shows some rather weird, but entertaining examples. Short and though provoking.

[Catherine Mustread · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to Salad Olivier performed by Jane Kaczmarek for Selected Shorts at Chautauqua.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite read. I liked Luda & Milena the best of the stories. The book just didn’t thrill me.

[Jason Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars.

[Dina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Umbra · Rating 5 out of 5]

First ever book that I recall that mentions green walnut gem.

[Frances · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me awhile to hunt down Lara Vapynar’s short stories “Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love.” It is a short collection and one I never felt I was able to sink my teeth into, despite the subjects.

Vapynar is a Russian immigrant and the tales she tells are those of other immigrants. Food has obvious cultural significance and in each story the characters are trying to connect with or rediscover some part of themselves through the dishes they create and consume. The familiarity of a dish or the taste of a specific ingredient has the ability to transport people into the past. This is certainly one of the fascinating attributes of food; it has the remarkable ability to link a person with other moments in time and with the people who shared the meal.

I appreciate Vapynar’s acknowledgment of the power of what we fill our bodies with. But unfortunately the magic instilled in the dishes she honors does not manifest in many of her characters.

The immigrant’s dream of America is often an unfulfilled or poorly sketched one. Anything put on a pedestal is bound to fall short of the heights expected of it and America’s superior virtues have been questionable for almost as long as they’ve been praised. For most of Vapynar’s characters the prevalent sentiments are loneliness and disappointment. These emotions rarely incapacitate but certainly affect the young woman who loses her husband to the novelties of America and the rug layer whose wife in Russia is content to stay apart as long as he continues to send money.

Solace is sought or appears in unlikely places. A nanny who doubles as a prostitute to make more money for her family in Russia soothes a man whose resolve has faltered, with her borscht; two elderly women slave over meatballs to win the heart and stomach of a Russian widower in their English language class. There is humor amidst the adjustments necessarily made for a new life and the author has an eye for the ironic twist.

Most of the dishes described by Vapynar were unfamiliar to me. To my delight, the author included the recipes for the meals her characters consume and cherish at the conclusion of the book. It was in these post-scripted moments of the collection that Vapanyr came alive as a writer. Her relationship to these foods evoked far more than the supposed predilections of the characters she created. The reality of the food and its familiar and nourishing comforts twinkled with their real worth in the final pages.

Within the boundaries of the stories themselves everything has a much more abstract form. The background for these stories, New York of course, never emits any energy of its own. It remains a two-dimensional backdrop of hardly any consequence, a strange lens through which to view that bustling city. As a result, the characters who play against this static setting are flat themselves.

Vapnyar’s are portraits of hypotheticals, not of people. Thus the appearance of the animated recipes at the book’s finish is particularly heartening. Unfortunately the taste of her expertise came too late and I was left with the sweetness of the final course could not disguise the blandness of those that preceded it.

http://bookingaround.tumblr.com/

[BrocheAroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's great. I say that knowing full well I picked it up expecting it to be good, and being thrilled that I wasn't disappointed. Do you ever have those hunches? When you look at a book, totally judging it by its cover, and think, yeah, I bet I'm really going to enjoy reading you. This was one of those books for me. Let me also tell you that I'm a rather recent, but assuredly passionate, short story/essay lover. Who knew? Seriously, this is an adult-life discovery. I think we should start encouraging more children/teens/young adults to read short stories because (though I wasn't this way as a child), so many children get really overwhelmed by the size of a large book, tiny words, pages and pages of text. If they knew they only had to sit down and read one little story, and then maybe turn the page a day later and read another little, and then they may sit and read two in one sitting - perhaps soon they would be reading a whole book, just for that sense of accomplishment that comes when you've turned the final page, and as much as you've enjoyed the tale, boy are you glad you now have permission to be done and get up and go back to the rest of your life.

Clearly I digress. Lara Vapnyar writes about food as if it's there on the page in front of you for you to taste. She writes about love the same way. The fact that she is able to combine the mostly inner monologue of people's musings on life and love (she could be writing about a day in your own life, really), while simultaneously making your stomach growl for the hot borscht with sour cream someone in the story has just made, is an absolutely brilliant way of inviting other senses to partake in this primarily visual experience (that of reading the actual words on the actual page). Her stories reflect the food in them in the sense that if the food is unsatisfying in the tale, you may be left with a brief lingering and longing sensation for something just a little better or a little more of the tale to come along. If the food has been completely filling and satisfying, the story wraps up with a warm, contented closure. At the end, just as with a fabulous meal, I was sad it was over, and simultaneously relieved the self control was taken out of my hands or else I would have gorged myself a little too much.

[Sue Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sue Russell - Library Journal

This collection by Vapnyar (Memoirs of a Muse) follows up her first collection, There Are Jews in My House, which won the Prize for Jewish Fiction by Emerging Writers from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture in 2004. Among the growing number of writers, including David Bezmozgis and Ellen Litman, who use eloquence and sardonic wit to capture the experience of Eastern European immigrants from the Communist bloc resettling in American cities, Vapnyar is one of the best. Her new collection, with its focus on food, captures the delights of abundantly packed grocery shelves and, conversely, the sadness associated with the makeshift recipes of home, like Salad Olivier, a creative assemblage consisting of items that were generally available even in hard times, including boiled potatoes, canned peas, and bologna. The thematic nature of the collection is also its downfall, unfortunately, and not owing to any lack in quality. The book feels thin and is over too fast, leaving the reader, perhaps appropriately, hungry for more. Recommended for urban public libraries.