I Am A Reader - Aftertaste: A Novel in Five Courses

I am a reader.  Since childhood, nothing has given me greater pleasure that being caught up in a book.  I read all types of books ranging from fiction to the backs of cereal boxes. I especially enjoy a book that invites me to either share time with a character that comes to feel like a new best friend, allows me to share a part of someone's life that has brought new growth or a new awareness, challenges me to try to see life from a different perspective, leaves me with a desire to try something new.

The description of the book Aftertaste: A Novel in Five Courses by Meredith Mileti, was a natural pull for me. It was about a chef, her restaurant, food, relationship and love!  It was divided into 5 courses, and just as an Italian meal tempts you to want to eat more with its "antipasti," begins to comfort you with its "primi," then satisfies you with its "secondi," adds a little extra with its "contorni," and provides a delicious ending with its "dolci," so did this story begin, develop and end...leaving me satisfied.

The connecting force in all the dynamics of the plot is Mirabella Rinaldi, a young chef and new mother who is trying to deal with the various blows that befall her while life is in session...her unfaithful husband, the loss of her beloved restaurant, her return to her childhood home, the changing roles of mainstay persons in her life.  It is understandable if she is thrown off course as she tries to manage her emotions.  She lives her life the way she cooks.  She is passionate...diving in and immersing herself in her family, her friends, her cooking and her anger.  It is hard for her to restrain her emotions; this is her blessing and her curse.

I connected with Mira.  It could be her interests that seem to echo mine...her love of food, cooking, pulling together tastes, giving and nurturing those who matter to you by feeding them. It could be her personality and values.  It could even be her surname...Rinaldi...which is my own maiden name.  Whatever the reasons, I found myself understanding her and rooting for her as the story progressed.

The pace of the story also held me...smooth and conversational.  Unless a story has the right pace, I tend to become impatient, skimming lines to move it along.  In this case, I read every word.

I remember getting recipes from my Italian grandmothers. One frustration was often the lack of exact measurements of ingredients.  Instead of teaspoon and tablespoon would be the letters "q.b."  Salt...q.b.; water...q.b.; flour...q.b.  Q.B. stands for ""Quanto Basta" (when it is enough); something that is sensed...you just know it.  Mira cooked her life this way...she knew when it was enough: when it was enough with her ex-husband, when it was enough in her reaction to her father's new lady friend, when it was enough of New York.  Not a bad way to cook a life.

Bottom line, I recommend this novel.  In the final pages are some recipes I am eager to try.  The book left me with an aftertaste...for more by Meredith Mileti!