Book Review- Jessica Stone's Craving London: Confessions of an Incurable Romantic with an Insatiable Appetite

Thank you to Ripe Press for providing me with a copy of Jessica Stone’s memoir Craving London: Confessions of an Incurable Romantic with an Insatiable Appetite, in exchange for an honest review.

After a break-up in her twenties, New Yorker Jessica Stone took a leap of faith and without having an apartment (flat) or job, she moved to London. Failure was not an option as Stone literally pounded the pavement looking for openings at copy writing agencies and trying to navigate life in her new city. Soon, Stone finds herself settled into London life and although the dating scene is tricky, she finds love in London cuisine and other joys of city life.

One of the primary reasons that I wanted to review Craving London is because I am missing my favorite city. My husband is English and we usually visit England ( often including London) at least once a year. This year, the pandemic caused us to cancel our vacation. I was looking to Stone’s memoir to provide a bit of armchair travel to a city that we mutually adore, she did not disappoint.

In fact, one of her favorite places, is also mine: Borough Market. Borough Market is a culinary delight that I did not discover until a more recent trip to London. It’s a massive covered market with vendors selling food from around the world. It’s an overwhelming sensory experience. Stone is a huge food fanatic and budding chef. While in London, she took a patisserie course at the prestigious Cordon Bleu and she sought out both unique ingredients and food experiences in the city. Her memoir will make you hungry! It also made me keenly aware at how many amazing food experiences I have yet to try in London and despite having taken food tours of the city, nothing I experienced was repeated with Stones. I made a list of her recommendations!

Her memoir includes several recipes. I always think this is a nice touch when I see it in a book that is not specifically a cookbook, but I must admit that I never actually try the recipes. It did work with the themes in Craving London.

Stone’s primary struggle that is woven throughout her memoir is dating. She is a passionate woman who is living a very full and exciting life, including joining running and rowing clubs, yet her romantic life always seems to fizzle. She meets men who are not the right fit or as equally committed. Sometimes it seems to be due to cultural differences, but also it just seems to be that she is meeting jerks. I think it is common for people to worry about the aspects of their lives that seem incomplete, especially if it happens to be a romantic relationship, but from my perspective, Stone had quite a fabulous and enviable life. She had a solid ( mostly) career, plenty of friends, was engaged in many activities, well-traveled and she was living in one of the best cities in the world.

Craving London ended with Stone realizing this and she is quite an inspiration for all people to get out and enjoy life, whether or not romantic love comes your way. I’m writing this review on Valentine’s Day 2021 and although I am happily married, I can get behind this theme of living your best life, whatever that looks like for you. Thinking back to when I was single, I also lived my life like Stone, enjoying things that made me happy and never letting a lack of a partner prevent me for dining in a restaurant or trying something new. It’s human to struggle over feelings of disappointment or lack, but it is also important to hear that being single isn’t all doom and gloom. Stone didn’t learn this lesson over night either.

Craving London is the ideal memoir for both Valentine’s Day and these months that we’ve spent lock-inside due to the pandemic. I relished both Stone’s personal journey and her thoughts on life in London.

Book Review - K-Ming Chang's Bestiary

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of K-Ming Chang’s novel, Bestiary, in exchange for an honest review.

K-Ming Chang’s Bestiary tells the stories of different generations of the same Taiwanese family who has immigrated to the United States, first ending up in Arkansas and finally settling in California.

Bestiary is one of the most unusual stories that I have ever read. It’s not told in a linear fashion, instead it is like being tossed about in waves, as it shifts from different perspectives and blurs the lines between mythology, magical realism and reality.

For example, a chapter that made a big impression on me, had a father and young son’s violent altercation shift to where they were like kites fighting in the wind, with the mother/sister observing the action. I thought this was a fascinating way to describe an abusive relationship as it allowed for a new perspective. It shifted from the POV of the father/son, to the mother/daughter who are silent observers to the abuse. The distance of the perspective was almost more horrific than the moments when the violence is close. It was cinematic in its effect.

I’m not Taiwanese and I’m certain that many of the cultural/mythological references went over my head. However, I was still absolutely transfixed by Chang’s writing. Her phrasing and style is truly unique. I often stopped to read passages aloud simply to delight in her words. Her writing is visceral, unexpected, and honest. I recommend Bestiary as a work of art that is quite special.

Book Review- Cecily Von Ziegesar's Cobble Hill

Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with a copy of Cecily Von Ziegesar’s latest novel, Cobble Hill, in exchange for an honest review.

In tony NYC neighborhood of Cobble Hill, four very different middle-age couples find their lives intersecting.

Stuart is a has-been rockstar who is struggling with his wife Mandy, a former groupie, who has become mysteriously ill. When a lice outbreak happens at his son’s elementary school, Stuart meets Peaches, the attractive nurse. Peaches is stunned by Stuart, whom she has been obsessed with for years. Even Peaches’ husband, Greg, a mild-mannered music teacher, has a man-crush on Stuart, although this turns complicated when he suspects that his wife has been cheating with her crush. Best-selling British author, Roy and his magazine editor wife, Wendy, are recent additions to the neighborhood. Roy meets Peaches at a local bar that is owned by the eccentric, and often MIA, avant garde artist Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s husband Tupper is an inventor, who feels disconnected from his wife and is having trouble coming up with a new product.

Von Ziegesar is famous for the Gossip Girl books. I never read the Gossip Girl books, but I was a fan of the television series, and I was pleased to see the same type of humor in Cobble Hill. Much like Gossip Girl, Cobble Hill makes New York City another character and I love how the story has such a strong sense of place. Who doesn’t adore New York City?

Cobble Hill explores adults in a mid-life crisis. Three of the main couples are raising children, yet often the lines are blurred between adult and teenage behavior. The adults unleash their inhibitions, acting-out as if they have nothing to lose. It very much reminded me of the 1997 film, The Ice Storm, where a massive storm prevents travel, keeping several parents overnight at their “key party",” where they let loose, while the teenagers are stuck with their friends. Von Ziegesar shows us teenagers who witness aspects of their parent’s behavior, such as using marijuana, excessive drinking, and kissing other people, and how this impacts them. At one point a child’s life is in immediate danger due to poor parental choices. It’s horrific.

Overall, I enjoyed Cobble Hill. Being a similar age to the adult characters, I could relate to the feeling of wanting to have the freedom to make reckless choices, like a teenager, but I could also definitely see the enormous consequences of some of their actions. I liked living vicariously through them, until it became obviously harmful.

The ending wrapped up a little too neatly, maybe a little too sweet as well. It ended with a theme of everyone loving the eccentricities and imperfections of their neighbors. It’s a nice idea, but I’m not sure it fit with the overall tone of the novel. Although there was plenty of humor, I felt the negative behavior of the adults became increasingly dark and less humorous as the story progressed. I’m not sure that the message in the end was the big take-away from the story. Cobble Hill was much heavier than the ending conveyed. I think Von Ziegesar sold herself short with the ending, which minimized the meat of the story.

One more minor thing that bothered me was this running situation regarding a serial killer. A serial killer was on the loose and the news story captivated the imagination of several characters. I kept anticipating this to actually impact the story, but it was never bigger than something on the news. I felt this was akin to Chekhov’s Gun. I kept waiting for it to go off and was disappointed when nothing happened.

These issues are small, as I definitely enjoyed Cobble Hill. Von Ziegesar has crafted intriguing characters and plonked them down in one of my favorite cities. I was game for Cobble Hill and I look forward to her next novel.