The New York Times Book Review - Irina Dumitrescu
Hood's essays are like hot chocolate, cozy and warm. Her collection of meditations on food and life touches the big themes: grief for a brother and a small child gone suddenly, two divorces and the end of a grand affair. Still, Hood describes them with the easy intimacy of a friend, confessing her foibles as she stirs a pot of red sauce. The recipes closing each chapter hint that every heartache can be soothed by the deft application of cheese and carbohydrates.
From the Publisher
"A feast for the heart, mind and senses."— USA Today
"These tales of ingredients, recipes and meals will lift your spirits."— Bethanne Patrick Washington Post
"Hood’s essays are like hot chocolate, cozy and warm. Her collection of meditations on food and life touches the big themes."— Irina Dumitrescu New York Times Book Review
"Ann Hood is a gifted storyteller.… [Kitchen Yarns is] perfect holiday season fare, but be forewarned: You’ll want to keep both kitchen and Kleenex close at hand."— People
"In this cozy read, Hood shares recipes that shaped her… and the poignant life lessons about loss, love, and friendship she learned in the kitchen."— Nora Horvath Real Simple
"A must-give book for any cooks in your life.… A charming and heartfelt collection of personal essays, all centered on the thread of food."— Lauren Daley South Coast Today
"[Hood] never pulls back from writing with searing honesty—even about painful topics."— Laurie Higgins Cape Cod Times
"At the end of Kitchen Yarns, you may empathize with Hood’s sadness, but you will not be disheartened. You will just want to rinse out the pan and start over."— Betty J. Cotter Providence Journal
"Moving.… Hood’s sharp essays emphasize food as emotional nourishment, bringing family and friends together—both to celebrate the joys and heal the wounds of life."— Publishers Weekly
"From the first page to the last, readers know they are in the hands of a master storyteller.… Full of humor and love, overflowing with heart and life, Kitchen Yarns is a beautiful read."— Book Reporter
Kirkus Reviews
2018-09-12
In this culinary confessional from the acclaimed author, it's less about the kitchen and more about the yarns.
Writing a compelling food memoir is a delicate act; the recipes have to live up to the memories they evoke. In the hands of prolific author Hood (Morningstar: Growing Up with Books, 2017, etc.), the stories themselves are the main dish—but the food still has to be delicious. "I grew up eating. A lot," she writes at the beginning. "As the great food writer M.F.K. Fisher said, ‘First we eat, then we do everything else.' That describes my childhood home." From the kitchen of her Italian grandmother Gogo through her career as a flight attendant, a seemingly perfect American suburban existence, the death of a child, divorce, and fairy tale-like second chance at true romance, Hood recalls each moment through the meals she was preparing, recipes both great and, well, not-so-great. The good ones include her family's traditional meatballs: "The secret to [the] meatballs is how you roll them, a skill my father could never master. Neither could I." The bad ones include her father's scrambled eggs made with sugar. Then there are the heartbreaking ones: the "doctored" ramen Hood makes on the anniversary of her 5-year-old daughter Gracie's death (which she movingly chronicled in her 2008 book, Comfort). "It still hits me when I see seckel pears in the grocery store," she writes. "Little blonde girls in glasses. Hear the Beatles singing ‘Eight Days a Week.' The sharp stab of a memory rises to the surface out of nowhere." But her ramen, featuring a poached egg, butter, and American cheese, helps. While some of the stories feel redundant, with repeated bits of history rephrased, when Hood is focused on her prose, it's like a classic recipe—all the flavors sing.
A full plate of heart and hearty eats.
