Allegra Goodman's The Cookbook Collector
I've loved pretty much all of Goodman's previous books, but for some reason this one just didn't do it for me. I liked the two main characters, sisters (who, of course, are total opposites, with one being practical and one flighty, as fictional sisters always are), and I liked the explorations of Hasidism, and all the cookbooks, but I found most of their romantic foibles to be annoying, wasn't very interested in the late-90s dot-com-boom setting, and thought the end was a little predictable. It's getting great reviews, though, and certainly Goodman writes very well, so don't take my word for it. Weirdly, I have seen a few reviews call it "a modern Sense and Sensibility"--maybe because of the two sisters?--but didn't see many overt parallels. I don't know how to grade this. It just made me tired. B?
I just finished this and I have to say I agree with your assessment - the 9/11 twist was just kind of lame. It would have been more interesting if the older sister could have told Jonathan to shove it for being a dishonest jerkface.
ReplyDeleteI did love George, though, even if he was old & kinda creepy. And I totally wanted to read those cookbooks!
The Jane Austen comparison confuses and horrifies me, though.
I will take your recommendation and go read something else by Allegra Goodman.