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From Pasta to Pigfoot #1
From Pasta to Pigfoot
A contemporary, multi-cultural novel that tells the story of Faye Bonsu, a pasta-loving, underachieving PA whose upbringing in leafy Hampstead, London has given her little opportunity to understand her African heritage. Her less than successful attempts to be seen as more than a cultural lightweight take Faye on a journey back to her native Ghana, where she finds love, culture galore and the confidence to fulfil her potential. From Pasta to Pigfoot explores in a light-hearted way the clash of cultures in this modern, multicultural world.
526 pages, Paperback
First published May 21, 2015
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371 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
September 26, 2021
My rating for this novel is actually 3,5 stars. I enjoyed reading about Faye's discovery and understanding of herself throughout this novel. The novel begins in the UK specifically London and and the second half is set in Ghana. This is a wonderful novel that takes us through the culture of Ghana. Filled with excellent secondary characters who are mostly lovable and a few horrid ones, they all help bring life and interest to this coming of age novel. If you're looking for something light and easy to read this is the one and it has a follow up novel called Second Helpings.
December 28, 2017
I liked the premise of this one and learned a lot about life in Ghana, but the story moved much too slow, and the main character was written to be too much of a dimwit who couldn't stand up for herself, especially when it came to her interactions with men. I'm not a fan of books with female characters who act like this, especially if the woman's timidness is what pushes the plot forward.
People who want to become familiar with Ghana and/or want to delve into a light international romance or a coming of age/finding yourself story, will enjoy this one. But be warned, it it entirely too long, and would likely be received much better on screen as possibly a youtube series.
People who want to become familiar with Ghana and/or want to delve into a light international romance or a coming of age/finding yourself story, will enjoy this one. But be warned, it it entirely too long, and would likely be received much better on screen as possibly a youtube series.
September 23, 2016
I'd give it a 3.5 if I could. Really entertaining and descriptive.
September 14, 2021
Faye has a job she's not that interested in, a relationship with a man that continually makes her feel bad about herself and her identity, and no real sense of what is important to her. When a horrible night out pushes her to end her relationship and to take her dad up on his offer to send her to Ghana for 3 weeks to connect with family that she hasn't seen since she was 5. She is excited about the opportunity to understand and connect more with her heritage .. . and to just get away from the routines of her daily life.
Realistically, this was more of a 2.5 star read for me - probably largely influenced by the fact that I'm not much of a romance reader. I appreciated the premise of the book and I definitely learned more about Ghana through the eyes of Faye and her experiences. I did find myself frustrated by how willing Faye was to be with men who treated her poorly - I wanted her to stand up for herself and set some boundaries. Ultimately, she did grow through the book, but there were just too many times where I wanted her to show some backbone. Some of the characters seemed stereotypical - cynical and aloof banker, handsome party boy and womanizer, etc -- I would have liked more depth in some of the main characters. It felt like the author had a good start, but stuck with the sketch when more detail would have made the story richer. The structure of the story - girl visiting a place she doesn't really know- sets the author up to do a lot of telling about the location, culture, etc -- and most of the time it worked fine. There were a few moments (notably when we had the characters reading the mile signs on a road trip to establish the geographic details) that it came across like an info dump. All of that being said, it was a fun, fast read and by the end of the novel, I liked who the character was becoming enough to want to pick up the sequel at some point.
Realistically, this was more of a 2.5 star read for me - probably largely influenced by the fact that I'm not much of a romance reader. I appreciated the premise of the book and I definitely learned more about Ghana through the eyes of Faye and her experiences. I did find myself frustrated by how willing Faye was to be with men who treated her poorly - I wanted her to stand up for herself and set some boundaries. Ultimately, she did grow through the book, but there were just too many times where I wanted her to show some backbone. Some of the characters seemed stereotypical - cynical and aloof banker, handsome party boy and womanizer, etc -- I would have liked more depth in some of the main characters. It felt like the author had a good start, but stuck with the sketch when more detail would have made the story richer. The structure of the story - girl visiting a place she doesn't really know- sets the author up to do a lot of telling about the location, culture, etc -- and most of the time it worked fine. There were a few moments (notably when we had the characters reading the mile signs on a road trip to establish the geographic details) that it came across like an info dump. All of that being said, it was a fun, fast read and by the end of the novel, I liked who the character was becoming enough to want to pick up the sequel at some point.
February 15, 2016
I'm one of those people who not only judges a book by its look by also by its title. Surface to say I only took this book out from library as I had met the author many times.
Decided to make a start of it finally at 12am last night and from the first chapter I was absolutely delighted by it and stayed up reading till 3am.
Great easy fun read that features good looking Ghanian men...me thinks Ghana needs to be higher on my consideration of planned Africa trips.
Anyways if you looking for a fun and easy read about dual nationality and identity then this book is definitely it
It also planted some serious subliminal msgs in my brain as I woke up craving some salmon pasta bake which I promptly went to the stores to get the ingredients to make!
Decided to make a start of it finally at 12am last night and from the first chapter I was absolutely delighted by it and stayed up reading till 3am.
Great easy fun read that features good looking Ghanian men...me thinks Ghana needs to be higher on my consideration of planned Africa trips.
Anyways if you looking for a fun and easy read about dual nationality and identity then this book is definitely it
It also planted some serious subliminal msgs in my brain as I woke up craving some salmon pasta bake which I promptly went to the stores to get the ingredients to make!
February 25, 2023
Loved this one
September 30, 2021
This is a novel about identity, culture and love among other themes. Unlike the title suggest, it is not a cookbook but there is a lot of reference to food in it because the protagonist is a foodie.
The story is set in both London and Ghana. We follow Faye’s story after she left Ghana at the age of five to live in London with her father and her brother following her mum’s death. She was immersed in British culture without visiting or being taught about her Ghanaian culture.
We learn about her friends, colleagues, family and love interest. Her career or lack of and hidden talents and passions.
We travel with her into Ghana and learn so much about Ghanaian culture. Through the pages of this book.
The character development is this book is very good and so is the plot. It is a bit of a love story with the ending tantalising us with the next book, From Pasta to Pigfoot, Second Helpings. I can’t wait to read that one as well. I enjoyed reading this one.
The story is set in both London and Ghana. We follow Faye’s story after she left Ghana at the age of five to live in London with her father and her brother following her mum’s death. She was immersed in British culture without visiting or being taught about her Ghanaian culture.
We learn about her friends, colleagues, family and love interest. Her career or lack of and hidden talents and passions.
We travel with her into Ghana and learn so much about Ghanaian culture. Through the pages of this book.
The character development is this book is very good and so is the plot. It is a bit of a love story with the ending tantalising us with the next book, From Pasta to Pigfoot, Second Helpings. I can’t wait to read that one as well. I enjoyed reading this one.
September 27, 2021
The title of this book contains two food items. The novel is more than just food dishes. It centers around a young woman, Faye who is in search of her cultural identity. She has been raised in London but was born in Ghana. She lacks the connection to her Ghanaian roots. Over the course of the novel, she connects with her heritage and has a little romance along the way.
The author cleverly ends the book with enough intrigue to entice readers to read the second book.
The author cleverly ends the book with enough intrigue to entice readers to read the second book.
December 7, 2023
The author definitely painted a realistic picture of Ghana and I enjoyed learning about it. The first 1/4 of the book drew me in, but it is unclear why she stayed with Michael when he was clearly awful and did not seem to like her in the first place.
The romance, though interesting, was a tad unrealistic. The love interests hardly spent any time together throughout Faye’s 3 weeks in Ghana. I liked seeing Faye come into her own at the end of the book and grow in confidence.
The author seemed to continuously describe the character’s weight and physique throughout the book, most of the time needlessly.
Overall I enjoyed the book.
The romance, though interesting, was a tad unrealistic. The love interests hardly spent any time together throughout Faye’s 3 weeks in Ghana. I liked seeing Faye come into her own at the end of the book and grow in confidence.
The author seemed to continuously describe the character’s weight and physique throughout the book, most of the time needlessly.
Overall I enjoyed the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 8, 2018
My Ghana women are strong and I felt this girl was feeble. I found myself asking throughout who cares? There was far too much description, a very long winded story, but overall it was ok as a side book.
August 2, 2015
Full review to follow.
June 5, 2023
About an hour into the book, Faye's boyfriend has her car. It is noted that he did not bring it back the next day and then he does not speak to her for a week. Four hours of narration later, Faye is now on a plane to Ghana and there's no mention of her car being returned and she has only taken public transportation since then??? At that point the fact that her car was all but stolen by her now ex boyfriend was too distracting for me to focus properly on the book.
This book dragged. The end romance made no sense. I wanted to like this book so badly but nothing happened for hours. The main character spoke more to characters she was with for less than 24 hours than to the love interest. I spent the last two hours of the audiobook trying not to shout at how stupid that whole thing was. And the author was obsessed with the size of everyone's breasts. To the point that breast size was mentioned every time a woman entered a scene. She also used the word "literally" for things that were obviously literal three times in half an hour.
I would have DNF'd this book - which I never do - except I was 11 hours in when how boring it was really hit me and 11 hours is too much investment to not continue on.
That being said, the parts where you learn about Ghana and the culture there were interesting. Though there was more time spent describing Rocky being... in theory romantic but I would have slapped him if it were me so whatever word fits that... than on a funeral, which was frustrating. I did like the first 1/4. Some of the characters were absolutely horrendous but seeing Faye in that situation and work through the aftermath was a good story. It just became undone by another problematic love interest.
There's also lots of positive interactions between Faye and other women and there's a lot of positive friendships there, which was nice.
Had this book been briefer, I think I would have enjoyed it more than I did, but it dragged too much and I just could not get into the love interest and their interactions at all.
This book dragged. The end romance made no sense. I wanted to like this book so badly but nothing happened for hours. The main character spoke more to characters she was with for less than 24 hours than to the love interest. I spent the last two hours of the audiobook trying not to shout at how stupid that whole thing was. And the author was obsessed with the size of everyone's breasts. To the point that breast size was mentioned every time a woman entered a scene. She also used the word "literally" for things that were obviously literal three times in half an hour.
I would have DNF'd this book - which I never do - except I was 11 hours in when how boring it was really hit me and 11 hours is too much investment to not continue on.
That being said, the parts where you learn about Ghana and the culture there were interesting. Though there was more time spent describing Rocky being... in theory romantic but I would have slapped him if it were me so whatever word fits that... than on a funeral, which was frustrating. I did like the first 1/4. Some of the characters were absolutely horrendous but seeing Faye in that situation and work through the aftermath was a good story. It just became undone by another problematic love interest.
There's also lots of positive interactions between Faye and other women and there's a lot of positive friendships there, which was nice.
Had this book been briefer, I think I would have enjoyed it more than I did, but it dragged too much and I just could not get into the love interest and their interactions at all.
December 14, 2021
//3.5//
Read about 100 pages of this and then ignored it for a month and then read the rest in a day. So much fun as a novel and contains great main characters. Really shows of aspects of Ghanian culture like food, marriage, funerals, business ownership, markets, westernisation vs tradition and explores thems of self discovery, identity, family and love. At times the themes it touched on felt very on the nose, despite including greatly important topics such as slavery and westernization and cultural identity, and at times the language was incredibly simple. Therefore I think this would be fantastic for a young teenager reader, as a way to diversify their western perspective and introduce them to important themes in a more lighthearted and fun story. Will be reading the second book.
One critic is that this book describes the main character as slim and her close friend and cousin and curvy and wanting to go on diets, while the main character impresses a man by eating alot. This felt quite early 2000s/2010s…
Read about 100 pages of this and then ignored it for a month and then read the rest in a day. So much fun as a novel and contains great main characters. Really shows of aspects of Ghanian culture like food, marriage, funerals, business ownership, markets, westernisation vs tradition and explores thems of self discovery, identity, family and love. At times the themes it touched on felt very on the nose, despite including greatly important topics such as slavery and westernization and cultural identity, and at times the language was incredibly simple. Therefore I think this would be fantastic for a young teenager reader, as a way to diversify their western perspective and introduce them to important themes in a more lighthearted and fun story. Will be reading the second book.
One critic is that this book describes the main character as slim and her close friend and cousin and curvy and wanting to go on diets, while the main character impresses a man by eating alot. This felt quite early 2000s/2010s…
March 9, 2023
The book was quite interesting and being Ghanaian, I could relate to a lot of things that took place during Faye's trip. Because I know most of the details the writer tried to give indepth explanations to, it made the book feel like a drag but it's good knowledge for people who are not exposed to Ghana to learn a lot about our culture from funerals, to facts about historical sites and the everyday Ghanaian life.
I enjoyed the second and third parts of the book more than I enjoyed the first and once I got into the latter part of the story, the title of the book made sense.
I loved how Faye related to the people she encountered on her trip to Ghana and how she opened herself up to learn about the things she didn't know. The romance bit of the story was quite predictable however the writer explored some twists that put a bit of suspense into it.
I look forward to read the 2nd part of this book to know how things end between Faye and Rocky.
I enjoyed the second and third parts of the book more than I enjoyed the first and once I got into the latter part of the story, the title of the book made sense.
I loved how Faye related to the people she encountered on her trip to Ghana and how she opened herself up to learn about the things she didn't know. The romance bit of the story was quite predictable however the writer explored some twists that put a bit of suspense into it.
I look forward to read the 2nd part of this book to know how things end between Faye and Rocky.
December 31, 2023
This book dragggedddd! The only way I got through it was to eventually listen to the audiobook. I felt like it took an eternity to get through. I do like that the protagonist learns her roots and connects with where she is from. I wish this was the main focus and there was no love interest to sway her but alas.
The writer adds a lot of unnecessary descriptive words and constantly talks about various individuals weight when descriptions them which I didn’t understand.
I feel this story has a lot of potential but didn’t live up to my expectations. I despised Michael and Faye herself at the beginning for not having any backbone and can’t see why she stayed with him for so long. I’m a hater so I can’t accept that Rocky came back after six whole months and she just accepted him back?? She didn’t spend enough time with him initially to have such strong feelings! But yes… it’s a book
The writer adds a lot of unnecessary descriptive words and constantly talks about various individuals weight when descriptions them which I didn’t understand.
I feel this story has a lot of potential but didn’t live up to my expectations. I despised Michael and Faye herself at the beginning for not having any backbone and can’t see why she stayed with him for so long. I’m a hater so I can’t accept that Rocky came back after six whole months and she just accepted him back?? She didn’t spend enough time with him initially to have such strong feelings! But yes… it’s a book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2020
Slow, easy read
This is slow paced and pairs great with a good Pinot Grigio. This was a 3.5 read for me. I liked Faye and connected with her well enough and many of the ancillary characters. Michael, by design was meant
to be hated and provide the catalyst for Faye to discover her roots. However, I don’t think Rocky was much better. He was aloof and wishy washy and I would tell my daughter to leave him be. He didn’t inspire any sort of romantic inclination, to me.
I bring that up because this is supposed to be romance.
Otherwise, I enjoyed Faye’s journey of self discovery and look forward to book two. It was wonderful seeing a peek into modern Ghana from a Ghanaian’s perspective.
This is slow paced and pairs great with a good Pinot Grigio. This was a 3.5 read for me. I liked Faye and connected with her well enough and many of the ancillary characters. Michael, by design was meant
to be hated and provide the catalyst for Faye to discover her roots. However, I don’t think Rocky was much better. He was aloof and wishy washy and I would tell my daughter to leave him be. He didn’t inspire any sort of romantic inclination, to me.
I bring that up because this is supposed to be romance.
Otherwise, I enjoyed Faye’s journey of self discovery and look forward to book two. It was wonderful seeing a peek into modern Ghana from a Ghanaian’s perspective.
September 20, 2022
A fun read with some great and engaging characters! I surprised myself realising how i had grown to like Faye by the end of the book, while at the beginning she was extremely eye roll worthy, she definitely learned and grew into herself over the course of the the story.
There was often a disconnect with how she was described outwardly vs how she actually behaved and perceived herself but I think now that was done purposely to counterpoint her character growth.
Some charming cultural tidbits about Ghana which certainly did add texture without being too “educational”
3* as it was super predictable more or less from the beginning which did get frustrating as it is quite a long book, but can definitely see this making a fun rom com
There was often a disconnect with how she was described outwardly vs how she actually behaved and perceived herself but I think now that was done purposely to counterpoint her character growth.
Some charming cultural tidbits about Ghana which certainly did add texture without being too “educational”
3* as it was super predictable more or less from the beginning which did get frustrating as it is quite a long book, but can definitely see this making a fun rom com
March 21, 2019
Growing up between cultures, because the country you live in is different to your ancestral roots, can be a challenging journey of self-discovery. That’s why for me, reading ‘From Pasta to Pigfoot’ by Frances Mensah Williams, was a complete revelation.
Here was a novelist who skilfully articulates these insecurities about identity and deftly weaves them into an engaging story about cultural awakening. If only this book had been around when I was growing up!
I loved the book so much, I looked for the author and asked her some more about the book. You can see my interview with her here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_co...
Here was a novelist who skilfully articulates these insecurities about identity and deftly weaves them into an engaging story about cultural awakening. If only this book had been around when I was growing up!
I loved the book so much, I looked for the author and asked her some more about the book. You can see my interview with her here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_co...
December 21, 2021
A very light and predictable read. While I enjoyed Faye's arc of self-confidence and her search to connect with her identity, the scenes and characters seemed too forced. To me, the jokes were unnatural and the change in POV in some chapters was often disjointed. I did however, enjoy the light-heartedness of the characters which reflected the Ghanaian mindset and the care that was taken to explain the culture to Faye and the reader. It was often predictable, but that's not always a bad thing. A few corny lines, but I guess they couldn't be helped.
May 29, 2023
3.0
Not too bad, but not interesting either. I like the discussion of diaspora for 1.5 gen immigrants, I think it's an extremely intriguing topic to write about, however this was too light-hearted for such a topic. Also I don't think the author hits what she wanted to hit, at least for me it didn't make too much of an impact, and the message tended to fall flat.
I did really like Faye, the main character though, she was in almost every sense, a walking contradiction and I liked how her arc turned out. She deserved better than Rocky though.
Not too bad, but not interesting either. I like the discussion of diaspora for 1.5 gen immigrants, I think it's an extremely intriguing topic to write about, however this was too light-hearted for such a topic. Also I don't think the author hits what she wanted to hit, at least for me it didn't make too much of an impact, and the message tended to fall flat.
I did really like Faye, the main character though, she was in almost every sense, a walking contradiction and I liked how her arc turned out. She deserved better than Rocky though.
April 13, 2018
I found the lead character so annoying - maybe because I cannot relate to the obsession with having babies and getting married. And how on earth did she get to keep has job as she seemed to spend great lengths of time making personal calls whilst at work. There was a lot of hand gesticulation whilst reading this which may have looked a bit odd on the bus
December 1, 2022
A good read, being from a Caribbean background i enjoyed learning about Ghanaian culture. There was a lot of emphasis on the weight of one particular character neither in a positive or negative way- i struggled to understand the need to continually mention it.
I love a love story, about to start the sequel.
I love a love story, about to start the sequel.
May 8, 2023
The premise of this book is good and one I imagine experienced by many second generation immigrants I'm England. However it would be half the length if all the unnecessary adjectives were removed and it'd make the protagonist far more relatable because at the moment she doesn't think in a narrative I could identify with despite being mostly likeable if not a little naïve.
December 15, 2023
4.5 ⭐️
I got so attached to the characters that I was frustrated with them a lot. Especially Faye and Rocky!! 😑
I do think the story moved kinda slow in parts and/or there were too many unnecessary details which made the story longer than it needed to be.
Otherwise, I enjoyed Faye’s journey of becoming, the Ghana culture and the ease of the storyline.
I got so attached to the characters that I was frustrated with them a lot. Especially Faye and Rocky!! 😑
I do think the story moved kinda slow in parts and/or there were too many unnecessary details which made the story longer than it needed to be.
Otherwise, I enjoyed Faye’s journey of becoming, the Ghana culture and the ease of the storyline.
September 26, 2021
This book is really a 3.5
I’m not a fan of romance novels, but I really enjoyed this book. This story of a young woman figuring out who she is by connecting with her Ghanian history was fun and refreshing. I have already ordered the sequel.
I’m not a fan of romance novels, but I really enjoyed this book. This story of a young woman figuring out who she is by connecting with her Ghanian history was fun and refreshing. I have already ordered the sequel.
March 1, 2025
A love letter to culture shock, to details, to slow love, platonic and romantic. Very sweetly written. I don’t like seeing bw suffer so the first part w her 👎🏾 chewing gum type boyfriend was not it but it was very cute.
June 2, 2021
3.5 stars***
November 17, 2021
I really liked this book. It was a nice light read. It was very enjoyable and entertaining.
September 28, 2022
3.5 stars
It started well but fell off in the middle.
It started well but fell off in the middle.
April 13, 2023
2.5 or 50% is not available…
how long can the legs be to merit numerous (read a lot) repetition across the book?
other than that, an entertaining coming of age and culturally informative read.
how long can the legs be to merit numerous (read a lot) repetition across the book?
other than that, an entertaining coming of age and culturally informative read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews