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lucyp21's review against another edition
4.0
This was another book that I would have not picked up of my own accord but received it in a book box and decided I wanted something short to read for this reading challenge.
This book is about Grace's 70th birthday where she is having a meal with her children, grandchildren and friends. As she is cooking the meal with her daughter, she thinks about her life and how food connected her to her parents, her friends, her husband and her children. As we learn more about her, there are more and more hints there is something wrong within the family itself.
I really enjoyed Grace as a character. I was very sympathetic towards her, even when some of her past actions were far less sympathetic. She's a woman of 70, who rebels at the thought of her life being over simply because she has gotten old, and has a complicated relationship with her two older children. She has a very uncomplicated relationship with her grandchildren but it was lovely to see a mixture of personalities within the family and seeing some resentment stirred up between the lot of them. These are people who probably wouldn't spend any time together if they weren't family and the fact that they are and they love each other makes matters all the more complicated.
The book was a much quicker read than I had expected. I was thinking it was going to be a slower, more character-driven book than it was and while the characters were definitely the centre of things, we kept getting hints throughout the book about what is going on in this family and it kept me reading because I wanted to find out what happened between Grace and her husband and why her children were so resistant to her new boyfriend. I spent so much of my time in this book disliking Des, only to get a whole new perspective on him at the end at the same time as Grace and it was really well done.
Anger and how poisonous it can be if you hold onto it was such a good, well-done theme of this book and I especially liked how it talked about grief. Not to mention all the descriptions of food in this book made me very hungry and I got cooking halfway through.
4.5 stars!
This book is about Grace's 70th birthday where she is having a meal with her children, grandchildren and friends. As she is cooking the meal with her daughter, she thinks about her life and how food connected her to her parents, her friends, her husband and her children. As we learn more about her, there are more and more hints there is something wrong within the family itself.
I really enjoyed Grace as a character. I was very sympathetic towards her, even when some of her past actions were far less sympathetic. She's a woman of 70, who rebels at the thought of her life being over simply because she has gotten old, and has a complicated relationship with her two older children. She has a very uncomplicated relationship with her grandchildren but it was lovely to see a mixture of personalities within the family and seeing some resentment stirred up between the lot of them. These are people who probably wouldn't spend any time together if they weren't family and the fact that they are and they love each other makes matters all the more complicated.
The book was a much quicker read than I had expected. I was thinking it was going to be a slower, more character-driven book than it was and while the characters were definitely the centre of things, we kept getting hints throughout the book about what is going on in this family and it kept me reading because I wanted to find out what happened between Grace and her husband and why her children were so resistant to her new boyfriend. I spent so much of my time in this book disliking Des, only to get a whole new perspective on him at the end at the same time as Grace and it was really well done.
Anger and how poisonous it can be if you hold onto it was such a good, well-done theme of this book and I especially liked how it talked about grief. Not to mention all the descriptions of food in this book made me very hungry and I got cooking halfway through.
4.5 stars!
thebookendreviews's review
3.0
Grace and her daughter Susan are preparing a meal to twelve to celebrate Grace's 70th birthday. Whilst cooking the meat and peeling the veg we take a trip down memory lane. It's apparent from her memories that not all those important to Grace will be present at the meal.
This book is full of references to food, family traditions and family secrets. It made me smile at times, bringing back memories of my late grandparents and their traditions and thoughts of the world around them.
Completely character driven, I found myself wanting a bit more of a plot and although I had my own family memories, I found it hard to connect with Grace and her experiences in life.
I think this novel is well written with fully formed characters, some with very distinct backgrounds, and whilst I liked the book there were no deeper feelings towards it.
This book is full of references to food, family traditions and family secrets. It made me smile at times, bringing back memories of my late grandparents and their traditions and thoughts of the world around them.
Completely character driven, I found myself wanting a bit more of a plot and although I had my own family memories, I found it hard to connect with Grace and her experiences in life.
I think this novel is well written with fully formed characters, some with very distinct backgrounds, and whilst I liked the book there were no deeper feelings towards it.
felicity's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
kali's review
4.0
Food brings this family together, but each of a mother and two adult children feel alone and misunderstood in their suffering following a tragic even in their past. Beautifully unfolding and great descriptions of food.
whatjasread's review
3.0
This was another one of those books that I had chosen to review, that I was sceptical about. I didn't know much about it, other than that it focused on twelve people sitting at a very tense dinner table. In honesty, the book focuses on more than just this one gathering. Through a stream of consciousness narrative, Grace's Table examines the events of the past that have led up to the broken bonds between family members.
The stand-out point of this book for me was the ability to express emotions through food. In this sense, Grace's Table held a very personal meaning for me. In my own family, we often talk about the recipes that my great-grandparents would make, and about how we're no longer capable of making them the exact way they made them. While many people see women cooking as a misogynistic endeavour, I see it as a way to connect with my family and my culture, to really know where I'm from, to know the people and the culture that has shaped me into the person I am today.
This definitely shone through in Grace's Table. The way I cook is very different from the way my mum cooks, simply because she was raised in a very different environment and was taught by her mother. Grace's Table explores that difference through Grace and her daughter, Susan, who constantly frowns upon Grace's cooking methods. Grace's Table highlights the generational divide this way, and in many other ways.
The book also focuses on the consequences of loss and grief by telling the story of Claire, Grace's daughter who passed away as a child. Her death is ultimately the primary cause of the rift between family members, not to mention the abusive husband Grace survived. Narratives of abuse are never easy to write, but Sally Piper does a great job of it. She dedicates the narrative not only to the abuse of his wife but also of his children and the mother's helplessness to do anything about it in such a restrictive time period.
Grace's Table is very much a character-driven story rather than a plot-driven one. The events of the book take place over the span of a few hours (though the stream of consciousness, of course, dates much further back). At times this could be harrowing, particularly as numerous characters are insufferable with their superiority complexes and their ignorance towards grief and abuse. Nonetheless, Grace's Table is a work of elegant prose, telling the timeless story of generations past, present, and future.
Thank you to Legend Press and Sally Piper for this opportunity!
The stand-out point of this book for me was the ability to express emotions through food. In this sense, Grace's Table held a very personal meaning for me. In my own family, we often talk about the recipes that my great-grandparents would make, and about how we're no longer capable of making them the exact way they made them. While many people see women cooking as a misogynistic endeavour, I see it as a way to connect with my family and my culture, to really know where I'm from, to know the people and the culture that has shaped me into the person I am today.
This definitely shone through in Grace's Table. The way I cook is very different from the way my mum cooks, simply because she was raised in a very different environment and was taught by her mother. Grace's Table explores that difference through Grace and her daughter, Susan, who constantly frowns upon Grace's cooking methods. Grace's Table highlights the generational divide this way, and in many other ways.
The book also focuses on the consequences of loss and grief by telling the story of Claire, Grace's daughter who passed away as a child. Her death is ultimately the primary cause of the rift between family members, not to mention the abusive husband Grace survived. Narratives of abuse are never easy to write, but Sally Piper does a great job of it. She dedicates the narrative not only to the abuse of his wife but also of his children and the mother's helplessness to do anything about it in such a restrictive time period.
Grace's Table is very much a character-driven story rather than a plot-driven one. The events of the book take place over the span of a few hours (though the stream of consciousness, of course, dates much further back). At times this could be harrowing, particularly as numerous characters are insufferable with their superiority complexes and their ignorance towards grief and abuse. Nonetheless, Grace's Table is a work of elegant prose, telling the timeless story of generations past, present, and future.
Thank you to Legend Press and Sally Piper for this opportunity!