The Yellow Kitchen

by Margaux Vialleron

Expectation meets Julie and Julia, The Yellow Kitchen is a brilliant exploration of  food, belonging and friendship.

London E17, 2019, a yellow kitchen stands as a metaphor for the lifelong friendship between three women: Claude, the earnest baker, fragile and goal-orientated Sophie and stubborn and political Giulia. They have the best kind of friendship, chasing life and careers; dating, dreaming and consuming but always returning to be reunited in the yellow kitchen.
 
That is, until a trip to Lisbon unravels unexplored desires and the friendship between Claude and Sophie becomes intimate. Having sex is one thing, waking up the day after is the beginning of something new.
 
Exploring the complexities of female friendship, The Yellow Kitchen is a hymn to the last year of London as we knew it, a love letter to womanhood and a celebration of the culture, the food and the rhythms we live by.
 

Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, Lesbian, Literary Fiction, LGBT, Queer, Romance

288 pages, Hardcover

Published July 7, 2022

Reviews

[bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Not bad, but just okay. Felt like a Sally Rooney novel. Unfortunately, I don't like Sally Rooney's writing.

[Zoe Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, but I couldn't quite grasp what the author was trying to achieve. It seemed a bit like the author had a number of ideas for a story, and didn't quite decide which they wanted to focus on. I thought exploring the dynamics of female friendship was really good, and so too was the more cultural side of things, exploring what it was like to live in England during Brexit, especially as an EU national. However, aspects of this just fell a bit flat for me. Nice writing though.

[Caughtintheworldofbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kitchen is always busy with the noise of spoons being slammed against pots in an attempt not to waste any of the tomato sauce, of their wine glasses knocking against the measuring cups, of eggs being broken, and above all, the air is filled with their laughter. They bring a part of their kitchen with them everywhere they go, the spiderweb they thread through their lives and fall back on at difficult times.
4.5 stars

The Yellow Kitchen is a book that I would not typically read, but my life feels so much richer for reading it. I felt entirely welcomed into the book and settled into it comfortably a few pages in. I adored the above quote with my whole heart as it feels like such a multi-dimensional experience. I am transported by the sounds of spoons being slammed against pots and wine glasses knocking, and also transported to my own memories of cooking with my friends and family. There are four people in the kitchen, manouevering around each other, lists of timings, drink top ups, the strong waft of steam when the oven is opened. Though I have never considered it, 'this kitchen' is with me throughout life.

The setting of Walthamstow was very familiar to me and Claude's own kitchen I based on my Aunt and Uncle's house, not far from the street Claude's house is located, which holds a lot of warm and happy memories. The 'vivid burgundy of the bricks when the sun goes down' and Claude's trips to the market brougbt smiles to my face. I loved Sophie's description of summer as 'abandon[ing] the city'; it really captures the aburptness of British weather!

The dynanics between Claude, Sophie and Giulia were fascinating in how all three of them had a different connection with the other. Obviously Claude and Sophie's was deeper in a different way, but each variation had its own particular light and shade. When Giulia reflected that she saw Claude and Sophie almost as parents, I found myself once more given a different dynamic to consider.

You could feel the chemistry between Claude and Sophie on the page. This relationship felt simultaneously secure and fragile, which I think it was proven to be. It did feel like a hopeful ending though which I was glad for. There was a physicality and lightness across the language of the book that I think embodied this fragile/secure tension: 'razor-sharp laugh (...) a special fragment of my Sophie' (p. 172), the 'fragile bones [Claude] has missed dearly, the same cartilage that holds together this body that frightens her.' (p. 227)

I did think that Claude and Sophie needed a break from each other, a literal, physical separation of proximity and emotion. Claude seemed to define her entire existence around Sophie (and Giulia), and it felt like she became a Claude character, removed from her actual self or even lost from herself. When she baked the lemon meringue pie because she wanted to, I was so proud of her (as I was when Sophie cooked for herself in the yellow kitchen). I can empathise with the desire to put your friends' needs and preferences before your own in order to create the best memories for them, and so your own by the sense satisfaction from that. That is not always wholly fulfiling, however. Claude reminded me of the importance of giving yourself space to put as much love in the things you do for yourself as you do for your friends.

I was given this book by a good friend, who in turn had been given it by another of our good friends which I felt added an extra layer and signficance to reading the book. Corners of pages were folded and a stray bus ticket was tucked inside the cover. I'm torn between keeping the book to myself or sending it to another friend - i'll have to make sure a little bit of me is left behind in the book if I do.

My only real gripe was that some of the political dialogue and references felt a bit on the nose, occassionally feeling like the author hijacked the character's dialogue sometimes. Claude's line about sleeping with centrists teetered between serious and ironic. I don't typically read books as recent as this, or indeed this genre or with various uses of personal voice, so perhaps it is a more present feature of very recent narratives that I'm not used to. I have seen a lot of people say it is Sally Rooney-esque but having never read nor watched Rooney's work, I can't make that comparison for myself. I can appreciate that Brexit had an influence on Giulia's life especially so I understand its inclusion from that perspective, but some of the more periphery political content didn't add too much for me.

However, you could tell this book was crafted with a whole lot of love. I will definitely be trying the recipes at the back of the book. A truly wonderful book.

[Dylan Kakoulli · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sprinkle of Love, a dash of loss, mixed alongside a generous dash of desire and hope (oh and some sumptuously decadent descriptions of food I might add). The Yellow Kitchen is a hearty meal of a debut, exploring the many complexities that come with friendship, sexuality and culture, all against a backdrop of rather tumultuous (understatement much) political period in the UK.

I must admit, though the writing is beautifully evocative -especially when Vialleron’s speaks of the rich and favour fullness of food. The depictions when it comes to such an intensely close female friendship and the constant referencing to Brexit, did leave me feeling rather emotionally unattached.

Though perhaps that’s due to my own issues.

As personally I think brexit and politics in general, is still such a painful subject here in the uk (or anywhere for that matter) and I just didn’t quite feel as though it added much to the narrative of the story, or the wider political discussion when it came to these issues. That’s not to say I disagreed with the opinions expressed in the book. It just felt like it was the same types of discussions that I (and probably most people) have heard or are still debating over -for what feels like centuries now!

Anyway, politics aside for a second. The other slight issue I had with the book (which again I think is my own personal gripe) is that I couldn’t ever fully connect to the dependant and intimate relationship these three women shared.

Female friendship -especially in the media, is often seen as such a universal and integral part of a woman’s life. Think sex and the city, desperate housewives, Girls, clueless, the list goes on. And though these three women’s (Sophie, Guilia and Claude) relationship isn’t always perfect. Their level of dependency and shared experiences feel so far from my own reality. That’s not to say I don’t have amazing female friends in my life, I do -and you all know who you are! But this # girls squad that is so often perpetuated in the media is something I have never had and probably never will. Instead, my “female friendships” are sporadic and mostly separate from one another -whether that’s geographically, differing in ages, interests, etc. I just wish that we had more stories of female friendships that are seen simply as JUST friendships, rather than this unrealistic # super squad pedestal !

But maybe that’s my introverted -can count my friends on one (maybe two) hands, self speaking.

3 stars

PS. Thanks so much to the publishers at Simon & Schuster for sending me a copy to review !


https://www.instagram.com/dylankakoulli/

[charlotte, · Rating 3 out of 5]

felt quite sally rooney derivative without ever having the depth of her books, especially regarding politics (still on the fence as to whether the line "I don't sleep with centrists, you know that" was entirely serious, coming after soph had confessed to voting lib dem). had promise, didn't quite live up to it.

CWs: disordered eating

[lauraღ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lightness and being. Freedom is a muscle one must exercise for oneself.

3.5 stars. I'm trying to figure out the vibe of this book... it was pretty easy to read, pretty easy to like, and it had the potential to be more, but it ended up missing the mark in ways I don't know how to describe. It's literary fiction about a trio of women, their tight-knit friendship, their relationships with food and cooking, the politics of London in the late 2010s, the tumult that shakes the friend group after two of them develop feelings for each other. It was very typically lit-ficcy in some ways, but it surprised me in others. Like the degree to which cooking and food played a part in this, the ritual and the soothingness of it, and the particular connection each woman had with it. It also approached POV in an interesting way, not one I'm sure that I really loved? It was mainly told with a sorta of removed third third omniscience; not my favourite, but as always, it's more tolerable in lit fic. We would sometimes also get first person chapters from each of the characters, and sometimes little first person snippets or flashbacks in the middle of a third person chapter. That latter example was always a little jarring and disruptive to me, and I'm not sure if it achieved what the author was going for, stylistically?

The characters are Claude, baker and daughter of a French immigrant; Sophie, fashion expert, daughter of fashion moguls, on the privileged side; and Giulia, political, Italian immigrant. The friendship is beautiful, the romances are poignantly written, and there's a lot of good commentary about Brexit, immigration, family and food. Not a lot of it goes anywhere really, but the writing really pulls everything together. Lots of really striking lines about love and human nature. There were so many lines that I unfortunately didn't stop to take a note of, because I was just so into the flow of the story, but I could help but remark on how well the author had expressed an emotion, or described a certain situation. The way the characters interacted was also really natural and easy to read, even when their relationships got messy and conflicted. Really, there's a lot of good in this, but I just know I wanted something more. This is one of the few cases where I don't think I needed the book to be longer, necessarily. But I liked Claude and Sophie's complicated relationship a lot, and I do wish we'd gotten more of them, both in the past and the present. And I'm not sure how much I love the place the book chose to end.

Listened to the audiobook as read by Heather Long and other supporting voices, and I did enjoy it. I'm very glad that there were different narrators for the chapters in first person, and for those little first person interludes, because otherwise, this could have been a very confusing read. Even though I didn't love this as much as I wanted to, it still struck a chord, and I'm glad I gave it a try.

It is what matters then: to create future memories despite the fear of generating knots, of losing continuity; to become a family as new stitches appear.

[Daniela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Si tuviera 30 años me habría gustado

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher via NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I'll start with a confession - this book probably, objectively, deserves a better rating than I can will myself to part with. The Yellow Kitchen is about three friends, Claude, Guilia and Sophie, who are in their late-twenties, trying to navigate adulthood in post-Brexit 2019 London. Vialleron clearly sets out to explore the complex nature of female friendship post-university in that tricky part of life where it can feel like you and your peers are at wildly different stages of life. The yellow kitchen itself becomes a place of care and convalescence where the three friends can come together, safe from the outside world.

Everything about this novel should have worked for me - I, too, am a young woman in my mid/late twenties living in London. I think it might have been the way in which this book hit too close to home that desperately put me off it. Where the use of food and cooking should have felt like the real strength of this book, it often had the effect of making the three women feel a bit sickly sweet. The food that is mentioned - the oysters at the beginning, lemon meringue pie, etc. - felt indulgent and bourgeois to the point of nausea. The trip to Lisbon also felt out of touch and instagram-perfect. The whole thing read like a colourless social media feed, or a really beige Pinterest board. The overall effect was of a narrative that was determined to keep me at arm's length. The author herself seems to lack self-awareness of the indulgence of her characters' lifestyles, which is what I think makes the whole thing feel hollow and hopeless. I spent the whole time reading this feeling like I was having a very benign nightmare. On a pettier level, nothing rubs me the wrong way like rich girls who insist on calling their parents by their first names - especially if that parent's name is something as posh as Allegra! Eughhh.

I felt a little like this novel was guilty of the navel-gazing that Sally Rooney is accused of, and conspicuously less successful at interpolating real-world news events than, say, Ali Smith. There are certainly glimmers of a good novel in here - at its best this novel made me feel seen, or struck upon some quirk of my character I hadn't seen reflected before. However, its writing felt self-conscious, and a little overwrought, particularly in its dialogue, which felt more than slightly affected.

This book had potential and will definitely be enjoyed by many readers, though sadly not me.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written tender novel. I was swept away by the story and all the relationships between characters. I want to cook dinner for my friends immediately.

[Grace Donnelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought I would love this book from its synopsis but it just felt all a bit hollow and rushed. I felt no real desire to understand or care for the characters. I think that’s because the author forgot to give them a complete description or personality. It just fell flat for me.

[tabitha✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lyrical, rich in flavour & emotion, deeply personal. A gem. An exquisite exploration of friendship, food & belonging. I loved it.

[Connie White · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Millie Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three friends brought together by food? Count me in :-)

[Meg]

This was sweet & now I’m analyzing all my trio friends through this lens

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

“That’s what we will try to do together, Claude, find yourself and what you love about yourself so nobody can ever take it away from you, and so you can be loved and love safely.”

There’s something peculiar and intoxicating about the way The Yellow Kitchen is written. It’s almost as if you’re reading it through one of those grainy filters that make everything look slightly out of focus and magical. From the warmth of the yellow kitchen to the coldness of the tiles in the bathroom of a Portuguese apartment and then Rome; from food to family and then Brexit, loss, grief… and a letter. There’s texture, tension and silence. The Yellow Kitchen is everything but conventional.

[Derval Tannam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I'm a sucker for a female-centred story, so I enjoyed this one. The language felt a bit stilted at times, particularly the conversations. I wonder if maybe there was a translation issue, but can't figure out (very brief Google attempt) if the author's first language is English. Anyway, that aside there were a couple of unresolved moments, in particular a near-accusation of non-consensual activity. That didn't sit very well, but overall an engaging read.

[narglednic · Rating 1 out of 5]

Privileged. Self-indulgent. Exhausting.

[Menna · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
Conversations between characters felt clunky and there was lots going on that felt ‘thrown in’ rather than properly explored but maybe that’s because there simply is so much going on.

[Chiara Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might have something to do with the fact that I took a year-long break in between reading it but I don't think I understood this book. It felt all over the place. Somehow it was trying to be very poetic but then especially towards the end also really political and rooted in real-life events which just didn't work in combination. Overall it felt really pretentious and like nothing really happened (except for when the author mentioned real events like Brexit oe Boris Johnson) and none of the character development felt deserved. I loved the idea of a story about love and friendship and the ways they intersect but it didn't work here (don't write about a trio and then just make it a love story between two people??) Bonus point for the recipes at the end.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

London, food, politics (Brexit) and the dynamics of female friendship all sharing the page together. Whilst in the UK, I’ve wanted to read books centric to where I am currently situated. A perfect example of, right book at the right time.

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really appreciated the detail and love in this book. The style of narration was maybe not my favorite and I think I need to know a bit more British politics to get the full picture.

[penny mackett · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5)

[goldenlikedaylight · Rating 3 out of 5]

when i first read the blurb of this book i felt that i was going to love it and i couldn’t wait to dive into it. unfortunately i could not connect with it.

[Benedicty · Rating 3 out of 5]

easy light read that was tame enough for me to power through

didn’t really understand what all
the political references added ?

fluff that did not give me depression which is nice - i wanted more sex scenes but actually kinda refreshing without.

2.5/5

[Ceri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the most Sally Rooney book that Sally Rooney never wrote, and that is the biggest compliment I can think to give to this novel.

[Siobhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Yellow Kitchen is a novel about food, friendship, and love, as three friends navigate 2019. Claude, Sophie, and Giulia are three women who live in London, centred around the yellow kitchen in Claude's flat where she bakes them food and they share their lives. When a trip to Lisbon causes Claude and Sophie to explore their attraction to each other, the three friends' dynamic is changed, amidst a tempestuous year in politics.

I was drawn to the premise of this book, which is written both from the first perspective of each of the three main characters, and also from a third person omniscient narrative voice. The effect of this was to navigate both the broader happenings, and some of the characters' pasts and emotions. Overall, there's not a huge amount of plot in The Yellow Kitchen, as it is more about character development, though with three protagonists I didn't always feel like I knew them all that well, which might well be the point. The characters have their flaws, and the book depicts complexity of friendship, not just in navigating romantic love and attraction with friends, but also in ways in which all three of them interact, and their tendencies to not communicate well or not get along. They don't always understand each others' lives, but they can find ways to get past that, which is particularly noticeable around politics and their differences there.

I liked the depictions of food in the book, which are crucial as the title suggests, and the ways in which the characters, especially Claude, use food in navigating emotions. However, I found that the book wasn't always that engrossing, and the relationship between Claude and Sophie, which should've been a deeply interesting heart of the book, or at least the blurb suggests so, was just okay, not quite immersing the reader into the difficulties of navigating what kind of relationship you want with someone, romantic or otherwise. There was perhaps missed potential in my opinion, as the book was stylish but didn't quite have the substance that satisfied my tastes, at least.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Yellow Kitchen is a story about the complexities of female friendships, the families we create for ourselves and the parts of ourselves we hide even from our closest people.
Debut author Margaux Vialleron plays with food, language and identity in the setting of the London of 2019, a tumultuous year politically and socially, but also the last year of London as we knew it before the pandemic.
As an Italian national who moved to London with a suitcase full of hopes and dreams for a life in the United Kingdom, very much like Giulia's character, I absolutely adored Vialleron's truthful depiction of being an European expat in London. We need more characters like Giulia in English-language literature and to move the focus away from the superficial and stereotypical portrayal of Italian nationals.
The Yellow Kitchen is a book about loneliness too, depicted beautifully by the author's use of the first person for Claude, Giulia and Sophie and thus making the girls' moments together in the third person even more special. Everyone dreams of a friendship like this, but equally the novel shows the difficulties of caring for such a relationship, and proves that female friendships are love stories and can be so on many different levels. I didn't want the book to end, and I wish I had been sitting at the table with the girls as Claude baked, Sophie poured another glass of wine and Giulia curiously asked about the cooking process.
The Yellow Kitchen is a special book, filled with life and questions, and such tenderness that you will find yourself returning to it again and again, finding new nuances in the characters, their relationships and the stories that have led them to be who they are.
I also particularly loved the way the mothers of the three protagonists are written. Vialleron's language manages to be lyrical and complex whilst being straightforward and concise, making these characters come to life within just one sentence.
I will be buying a copy of The Yellow Kitchen for everyone I know and I cannot wait to read what Margaux Vialleron will write next.

[Katie Mullender · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 💛

[Jemima Chamberlain-Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like this book, so overly pretentious. Things I didn't like: the characters, the way it was written, the length. I genuinely thought the book could have finished at any point and I would not have cared about what happened. The whole thing felt lofty, detached and self involved. The way the characters spoke to each other is just not how people speak and the constant political references urghhhh too much. No thank you.

[Rowena Eddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Three friends from different countries, in their twenties, live and love in London in 2019. Believable characters, but the conversations don’t ring true.