Corked: A Memoir

by Kathryn Borel

Meet Kathryn Borel, bon vivant and undutiful daughter. Now meet her father, Philippe, former chef, eccentric genius, and wine aficionado extraordinaire. Kathryn is like her father in every way but one: she's totally ignorant when it comes to wine. And although Philippe has devoted untold parenting hours to delivering impassioned oenological orations, she has managed to remain unenlightened. But after an accident and a death, Kathryn realizes that by shutting herself off to her father's greatest passion, she will never really know him. Accordingly, she proposes a drunken father-daughter road trip. Corked is the uncensored account of their tour through the great wine regions of France. Uproarious, poignant, painfully introspective, and filled with cunning little details about wine, this is a book for any reader who has sought a connection with a complex family member or wanted to overcome the paralyzing terror of being faced with a restaurant wine list.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Travel, Canada, Book Club, Wine

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Charleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a memoir by Kathryn Borel and in it she relates how she and her father embark on a wine trip across France and she attempts to face some of her demons. I say attempts, because she does not seem to succeed.

There are quite a few problems with this book. First, the book reads like an SAT words overloaded essay. The author has quite the penchant for the literary mechanisms and she fails to implement them well. The analogies are over the top and out of place. The book could have enjoyed better editing to refine her style of writing. The overuse of analogies, metaphors, similes and hyperboles become one of this memoir's downfall. Frankly, it was over the top. She should have toned it down a bit, especially the overused adjectives for she "made a sauce with assiduous attention," and then "Dense fatigue cloaked my face like a goose-down comforter." Now imagine the entire book like the aforementioned sentences.

Second, the characters are unlikable. Although I appreciate the honesty, Ms. Borel's personality comes through quite clearly through the narrative and I did not find her likable. She came across as a selfish, egotistical, megalomaniac, needy, intolerant, desperate child with daddy issues. She also exhibited prepotency and a lousy character. Frankly, by the end of the book I was desperate for it to end, for I did not care one bit what happened in the book, nor to its characters. And that is the biggest downfall of the book.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The concept of this book was so appealing, but the execution was terrible. It's a memoir about a father and daughter taking a tour of French wineries in order to reconnect. Road trip through France tasting wine? I'm there. But oh, no... not good.

I felt the father and daughter's relationship was just so poorly conveyed. The whole time they bickered, but honestly I could not tell if it was real bickering or tongue-in-cheek bickering where they were really just amused with each other. If you can't convey the basic tone of the main relationship of a book, fiction or otherwise, to me it is a failure. Or maybe it was just me failing as a reader--I don't know. All I know is, I could not get a sense for how they really got along.

Also: their quirkiness was intensely annoying. Both the father and daughter just made such strange comments and jokes throughout the book that I just didn't grok. I think they are both just incredibly goofy and off-the-wall in a way that I don't find funny.

The daughter was also ridiculously needy which annoyed me as well. She broke up with her last boyfriend, yet kept harrassing him with text messages because she was lonely and clearly having second thoughts. Run away, former boyfriend--run far away!!

[Wendy · Rating 1 out of 5]

A self-indulgent piece of junk. Borel airs her issues with her father and her inability to make connections with men while recounting a frankly boring wine-tasting trip in France with her father. I resent even the small amount of time I wasted on this book. Avoid at all costs.

[Liz Estrada · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this: a daughter traveling with her Dad who loves wine and tries to imbue this love onto her. Sounded like my Dad. But unfortunately, this "memoir" fell short in many ways, the biggest being the writing itself. Quite dull and pedantic all the way through. 1.5 stars

[Teechbiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a funny memoir about a father daughter tour through Europe's wine country. I found it to be vvery witty and I laughed out loud several times.

[Marilyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually couldn't finish reading this. It wasn't so much about the wine as about the author's personal issues. I tried several times to finish it, but I completely lost interest. Good thing I had only paid $1 for this book at the Dollar Store.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hated the characters - didn't finish reading it.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

A pretentious "memoir" from an even more pretentious author. Don't waste your time.

[Madelyn Hall · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't bother with this drivel - the title says it all. Unsympathetic characters (a father-daughter team) who are far too privileged and boring.

[gini · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love memoirs, love travel, love wine, love road-trips, what's not to like? This book.

[Lori Jackman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Father & daughter work on repairing or rather building a relationship.

[Brande Waldron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love to drink wine, but I must admit I don't know much about it, and I always stick to the one or two brands that I do know I like. One of the reasons that I chose to read and review this book is because I remember growing up in California until I was nine, with two parents who cruised around the California Wine Country for countless days and hours during my childhood. For a long time I completely resented wine enthusiasts, hated them because I my memories were of being stuffed into the back of the car with no AC, fighting with my sister and going on a ridiculous amount of tours. Now that I have grown up I can appreciate it a little more and have grown to love wine even taking my dad on a mini tour while living in NY a few years ago. Boy how times change. I enjoyed to the book imensely as I could relate to Kathryn and her father's relationship as it is similar to my own misadventures with my dad.

[Sandy Mckenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Corked is the true story of 26-year-old Kathryn Borel's wine-tasting trip through France with her father. Mr. Borel was born in France and is a great lover of wine with an extensive wine cellar. This trip is Ms. Borel's attempt to get to know her father and develop a deeper understanding of his passion for wine. Kathryn hopes to strenghten her bond with her French-born wine aficionado father. The results will make you laugh out loud.
The book also deals with some serious issues Kathryn has to deal with, like forgiving herself for accidentally killing an old man, and getting over her last broken relationship with an ex-boyfriend.
I liked Ms. Borel's story. Her analogies for the wines she was tasting were
perfect. The writing is contemporary and fun and a book I highly recommend not only for the lessons in wine/tasting/history but also for the lessons in love.

[Mary BookHounds · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I thought this would be a run of the mill memoir about a father and daughter taking the trip of a lifetime, but it quickly became much more than that. Borel's honesty about what has happened in her life, from an accident where she kills a pedestrian, her break up with her boyfriend and the relationship she really doesn't have with her father all come together and make for a satisfying read. There is some harshness in the story and I thought it all came together when she confronts her father and in the end both are stronger for it.

[Surban · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst books I've read in a while....I found it incredibly obnoxious. The author seemed to think that physically fighting with her elderly dad was funny and made light of killing someone with her car (literally, there are jokes about this). It was juvenile and frustrated me as a reader (and a human) to no end. Ugh.

[Kristi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible.

[Judy · Rating 1 out of 5]

One star? I did NOT like the majority of this book. Warning - it's not so much about wine, but about a whining adult woman who acts like a child.
Kathryn joins her father on a trip to France to visit a large number of wineries. But Kathryn is a whining baby who wants her father to be something he is not. How can you be an adult and just realize that the father you had your entire life doesn't fit your mold of a father?
The author gets angry with her father, with the owners of the wineries, with the people in the hotels and the restaurants. She is just not a nice person.
So, wait, did you think this was a book about wine? Or maybe a book about a bonding experience between a father and daughter? This book is so stupid. The author needs major head therapy. It took me forever to read this book because I just never wanted to pick it up again after each time I read it. I hoped it would get better. I wanted to know more about some of the wineries and hear some interesting fun facts about France.
The reviews on the back of the book are very misleading. "[..] funny, quirky, bittersweet [..]", "[..]totally lovely and laugh-out-loud hilarious book[..]".
OMG are you seriously kidding me? There is no humor in extreme mental health.
I am putting this book in the trash. I am not going to donate something that might harm someone else mentally.


Oh, spoiler alert: (Do not continue reading if you don't want to know)



Yes, the part where she almost kills her father. I wanted to call the police myself.
OMG this book is so stupid. The author needs major head therapy. Please do not read.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. Written in a literary style, it details a dysfunctional father-daughter trip through France while encompassing all the angst of a young woman in crisis, a blind or ambivalent parent, and all of the unhealthy coping skills they've developed to deal with their lives and each other. It's not meant to be a feel good book, but a snap shot of one person's spiral while they struggle to deal with one tragedy while imagining every other tragedy that could possibly happen in the future. We get a window into a family's private language, all the little inappropriate quirks, sayings, and banter that aren't for public consumption. While the reader, being on the outside looking in, can laugh at the absurdity of most of it, anyone who has experienced trauma will also recognize Kathryn's horror at being on the inside of her own actions. This book is so much more than a travel a book, a book about wine, a book about a family trip. It's an exploration of recognizing your own crazy and trying to put a leash on it.

[D · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is your archetypical fame whore, she tried to falsely accuse someone in Canada of sexual harassment, and then when proven a liar she somehow finagled a visa to work in the United States as an editor of the New York Times
She is part of the femi-Nazi meetoo Movement where everything is trumps fault, but they love to saddle up to Harvey Weinstein and be his best friend, history will prove what a loser the social climber is and her literature why waste your time reading it, she probably had someone on fiverr write it for her

[Posy Lou Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a very interesting read. Borel has a cryptic and dark sense of humor that is also very “cork”-y *wink* and relatable. Having lost my father 2 years ago, this book really hit home when it comes to contemplating life and death. This book brings to light the importance of getting to know your family and sharing life experiences to better understand why people are the way that they are. I really enjoyed this book and was left wanting more.

[Woody Chandler · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was hoping for something along the lines of "Sideways", "Travels with Charley" and/or "Travels with Barley", but instead, I got an all-too-often TMI account of a petulant 26 y/o daughter on an excruciating road trip with her bizarre father. Whoever recommended this to me should be shot 🔫!

[Amanda D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be rather depressing. A story of a woman who has constantly been trying to impress her father and gain his praise. She wants to make memories and connections with him but it doesn’t seem like she ever feels good enough or feels as though she makes him proud.

[Diane Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick read and a good romp, at times. It flags in places and at the end, but I enjoyed the journey nonetheless.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and funny

[Bruce Biggin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Egads! Does the author have any idea how horrible she makes herself sound?

[Steve Saunders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well that was interesting....lots more than just having wine tastings in France!

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved the idea of the father/daughter wine trip but this was lacking in all other areas.

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I quit reading after the author spoke unfeelingly about hitting an 83 yo man with her car and killing him. She blamed the "stupid jaywalking old man and his breakfast groceries" for ruining her life.

[Alexandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can’t get through this book. So BAD!

[Danika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would that we all could pick and choose a two-week tour of wineries in France for a nervous breakdown.