Squelch: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Uncertainty

by Nina Katz

The summer tomatoes had no choice but to rot. The mother ducks lost their heads. The chai had to be sent in the mail. In Nina Katz’s first book of essays, a short memoir of queer love, longing, and letting go unfolds. Complemented by recipes from Katz’s home kitchen, their deeply personal and absorbing writing logs a relationship that sunk them into a never ending stomach ache.

Weaving together the author's curious fixations, stubborn devotions, and a drive to nourish those around them, Squelch includes stories of taking precious culinary cargo through airport security, meditations on parenthood amidst a day of butchering, heroic feats in the Goya aisle, and desire as red as tomato purée.

Stepping into the sugary mud of love is one thing - stepping out of it is another.

64 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[Alex Juarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

gay pining & cooking, a great little read :-)

[karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is genuinely one of the most beautiful books i have ever read, the way katz writes is how i wish everything i ever said came out. i would recommend this book to genuinely everyone, it is so incredibly moving for such a short read. the inclusion of the recipes was a clever way to break up such heartfelt, meaningful anecdotes, as well. 10000/5

[frolick inthe machine]

read this in one white hot sitting. A short memoir on the slow and uncertain unraveling of a queer rship narrated through a series of recipes. Food writing x queer heartbreak = rich literary genre !

[Gag City · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story? Gag worthy. Recipes? Delectably gag worthy. Y’all better appoint this diva as the head chef in Gag City!

[leez! · Rating 4 out of 5]

a thoughtful, short read I downed in the airport. poignant reflections on longing and love and food. really special

[Emily Tanner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though it’s one of the shortest books I read this year, it really stayed with me for a long time. Will make your mouth water in one moment, and your eyes tear up the next. A really lovely and tender reading experience for me.