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2.56 AVERAGE
2.56 AVERAGE
I gave up on this book about halfway through. I just didn't care about the chef or if he got his own restaurant or how the porter died. The book just plodded along. I hate giving up on books but I found myself reading the rest of my library stack instead of trying to finish this one.
I was really proud of myself: did not read other reviews or spoilers for this title. This was a bad idea because it took me months (!) to finish. What a long, laborious read. And what a strange, convoluted plot. I'm still somewhat baffled... Blah
i quite enjoyed this - maybe i'm quite enjoying everything that isn't a law textbook these days. ha! monica ali handles the protagonist's unravelling so subtly that you're eventually a talking heads lyrics asking yourself, well, how did i get here? ... in a weird way too, especially given ali's straightforward, everyday style, i never felt sympathy for characters themselves, but perhaps what they represented socially/culturally etc. long read populated by people i wouldn't want to know in real life, but hey, that's what books can do. yay.
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book was extremely slow but in someways I'm glad I finished it. There are a lot of different topics that the author covers: immigration, undocumented workers, forced labor, mental illness.
And I naively thought it would be a light book about a chef, a murder and a love affair
And I naively thought it would be a light book about a chef, a murder and a love affair
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hmm. This book took me a while to read because I just couldn't click with Gabriel as a character- I know he was having a breakdown but he just came off more as a bit of an arse.
The final sixty pages were quite exciting and injected some emotion but otherwise I just got fed up with Gabriel's mania and shooting off all over the place...
The final sixty pages were quite exciting and injected some emotion but otherwise I just got fed up with Gabriel's mania and shooting off all over the place...
This book has been on my to-read list for 7 years and had nearly made it to the oldest 10, but then I needed a book beginning with the letter I. Unfortunately I haven't been able to read beyond the first 40 pages - I find nothing about Gabe, the main character, to interest me. A browse of several pages throughout the rest of the book has given me nothing to draw me in, so that's it. And sadly, I can't allow myself to add this title to the challenge requiring the I - I'll just have to find another one.
I had read Monica Ali’s Brick Lane, some years ago and had loved it. When I chanced upon this book, I grabbed it.
In the Kitchen starts off in a smart London restaurant, which is run by Gabriel(Gabe) Lightfoot, managing his kitchen workers from all over the world. Gabriel is hoping to open his own restaurant and has a steady girlfriend, Charlie, settled life, more-or-less.
His life is turned upside down with the discovery of a death of a porter in the basement of the restaurant and with the appearance of Lena, a mysterious immigrant from Europe. Gabe also learns that his father is suffering from cancer and his grandmother, from dementia. The book is mainly about Gabriel and his reaction to the deal that life dealt him.
The book touches upon multiculturalism in Britain, the various underlying emotions, related to immigration that seem to plague most of the characters using the restaurant kitchen as an interesting setting. After Brick lane, I think my expectations were rather high, and sadly the book, kind of, fell flat -for me. The characters did not appeal, their motives felt rather flimsy, and make believe, although I did enjoy the part where Gabe went up north to his childhood home.. His Nana was one of the few vibrant characters in the book.
It was a book that I struggled to read. There was something definitely missing about the book. It was a book with too many things, and they just did not work well together. All in all, a disappointing read. Especially after Brick lane.
In the Kitchen starts off in a smart London restaurant, which is run by Gabriel(Gabe) Lightfoot, managing his kitchen workers from all over the world. Gabriel is hoping to open his own restaurant and has a steady girlfriend, Charlie, settled life, more-or-less.
His life is turned upside down with the discovery of a death of a porter in the basement of the restaurant and with the appearance of Lena, a mysterious immigrant from Europe. Gabe also learns that his father is suffering from cancer and his grandmother, from dementia. The book is mainly about Gabriel and his reaction to the deal that life dealt him.
The book touches upon multiculturalism in Britain, the various underlying emotions, related to immigration that seem to plague most of the characters using the restaurant kitchen as an interesting setting. After Brick lane, I think my expectations were rather high, and sadly the book, kind of, fell flat -for me. The characters did not appeal, their motives felt rather flimsy, and make believe, although I did enjoy the part where Gabe went up north to his childhood home.. His Nana was one of the few vibrant characters in the book.
It was a book that I struggled to read. There was something definitely missing about the book. It was a book with too many things, and they just did not work well together. All in all, a disappointing read. Especially after Brick lane.
I've read very positive reviews of this book and very negative reviews. I believe this book has suffered more than it deserves from the bad reviews. The beginning was slow, but after the first 100 pages or so, I really began to get into the rhythm of the book and really enjoy the narrative. I like what Ali has done in this book - she has definitely raised my awareness of how horrible things can occur in normal, high-class places - and just how her character is driven mad by these discoveries, so should we all.