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Like Eloise growing up in the Plaza Hotel, Charlotte Silver grew up in her mother's restaurant. Located in Harvard Square, Upstairs at the Pudding was a confection of pink linen tablecloths and twinkling chandeliers, a decadent backdrop for childhood. Over dinners of foie gras and Dover sole, always served with a Shirley Temple, Charlotte kept company with a rotating cast of eccentric staff members. Her one constant was her glamorous, indomitable mother, nicknamed "Patton in Pumps," a wasp-waisted woman in cocktail dress and stilettos who shouldered the burden of raising a family and running a kitchen. But when the restaurant—forever teetering on the brink of financial collapse—looks as if it may finally be closing, Charlotte comes to realize the sacrifices her mother has made to keep the family and restaurant afloat and gains a new appreciation of the world her mother has built.
ElizabethBenedict
Posted February 20, 2012
I love this book! It's witty, vivid, funny, and so moving - about a girl growing up in a very unconventional way: spending every night at her mother's posh restaurant, located above a club connected to Harvard. It's about having a rich (in event and experience, not money) , unconventional childhood with a bold, brassy mother and a Bohemian father - and it's written with wonderful verve, insight, and wit. The cover, alas, does not do justice to the wit and intelligence - and the wonderful writing.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Dana77
Posted July 19, 2012
The prologue held such promise.
I read a lot of memoirs and this just didn't do it for me. Lacking character development , let alone exploration of the characters in her life makes this book one-dimensional. Where is the life lesson? What am I as a reader / audience supposed to take away from this?
As fiction, I might have given this a better review. As a memoir, it's disappointing.
Anonymous
Posted May 8, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted March 17, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
Like Eloise growing up in the Plaza Hotel, Charlotte Silver grew up in her mother's restaurant. Located in Harvard Square, Upstairs at the Pudding was a confection of pink linen tablecloths and twinkling chandeliers, a decadent backdrop for childhood. Over dinners of foie gras and Dover sole, always served with a Shirley Temple, Charlotte kept company with a rotating cast of eccentric staff members. Her one constant was her glamorous, indomitable mother, nicknamed "Patton in Pumps," a wasp-waisted woman in ...