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annie_g_scott's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I love the way the author wove the story together, joining past and present. I enjoyed her writing style and the depictions of Sicily, and her honest recounting of a hard-fought love and the value of family and home.
leannecoppola's review
5.0
Excellent. I cried, I smiled, and wanted to indulge in good Italian food.
chelseatm's review
3.0
I enjoyed the book for the most part but I felt that the latter half seemed to peter out and repeat itself almost. It just seemed to lose steam and then arrive at a forced-feeling conclusion. The food sounds spectacular and the imagery was awesome but I just wished she had been firmer on the ending.
lastpaige111's review
5.0
So evocative of Sicily that I feel like I’ve been there; so honest about starting over that I have hope for all good women at points of re-invention.
suvata's review against another edition
3.0
#ReeseWitherspoon Book Club May 2019 pick
I’m not much of a “foodie” so all the talk about food was not very interesting to me. Still, I really enjoyed the story of the families and communities from different cultures with their various customs. All in all, a pretty good read.
Bonus: For those who are into it, there a lot of good sounding recipes at the end of the book.
I’m not much of a “foodie” so all the talk about food was not very interesting to me. Still, I really enjoyed the story of the families and communities from different cultures with their various customs. All in all, a pretty good read.
Bonus: For those who are into it, there a lot of good sounding recipes at the end of the book.
rballenger's review
3.0
Type of read: Commuter Read.
What made me pick it up: We were prepping for our trip to Italy and I was looking for books that had a similar Italian theme.
Overall rating: A personal story of grief, growth, and remembrance. I think I've said it before, but I always feel bad rating and reviewing memoirs. These are people literally putting their life, thoughts, and feelings out for all of us to experience with them. I think Locke did a beautiful job telling their story, remembering their love, and finding the light that kept them going. I did feel like it was a very long, drawn-out book. There is a lot of detail that maybe wasn't quite necessary. Additionally, some of the writing was just a little more wordy than it probably needed to be. While I don't think 'From Scratch' is one of that end-all, be-all, I have to go run and tell everyone about memoirs, I am thankful Locke chose to share this beautiful story.
What made me pick it up: We were prepping for our trip to Italy and I was looking for books that had a similar Italian theme.
Overall rating: A personal story of grief, growth, and remembrance. I think I've said it before, but I always feel bad rating and reviewing memoirs. These are people literally putting their life, thoughts, and feelings out for all of us to experience with them. I think Locke did a beautiful job telling their story, remembering their love, and finding the light that kept them going. I did feel like it was a very long, drawn-out book. There is a lot of detail that maybe wasn't quite necessary. Additionally, some of the writing was just a little more wordy than it probably needed to be. While I don't think 'From Scratch' is one of that end-all, be-all, I have to go run and tell everyone about memoirs, I am thankful Locke chose to share this beautiful story.
book_concierge's review
4.0
Subtitle: A memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home
While in Florence Italy as an exchange student Tembi met the man of her dreams. Saro was Sicilian, a chef, and more than a decade older than Tembi. She was an African-American college student, with attorney parents from Houston Texas. It was love at first sight, and the deal was sealed with the gift of a bicycle (probably stolen). This was an impossible relationship, but they made it work.
And then he got cancer.
This is a wonderful memoir full of love and tenderness, grief and frustration, joy and a sense of belonging.
Locke narrates the audiobook herself. I cannot imagine anyone doing a better job. Brava!
While in Florence Italy as an exchange student Tembi met the man of her dreams. Saro was Sicilian, a chef, and more than a decade older than Tembi. She was an African-American college student, with attorney parents from Houston Texas. It was love at first sight, and the deal was sealed with the gift of a bicycle (probably stolen). This was an impossible relationship, but they made it work.
And then he got cancer.
This is a wonderful memoir full of love and tenderness, grief and frustration, joy and a sense of belonging.
Locke narrates the audiobook herself. I cannot imagine anyone doing a better job. Brava!