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181 reviews for:
Dirt: Adventures in Lyon as a Chef in Training, Father, and Sleuth Looking for the Secret of French Cooking
Bill Buford
3.67 AVERAGE
181 reviews for:
Dirt: Adventures in Lyon as a Chef in Training, Father, and Sleuth Looking for the Secret of French Cooking
Bill Buford
3.67 AVERAGE
i’ve never wanted to travel to lyon, france more then after i read this book. 4.5 out of 5 baguettes
Four and a half stars? Occasionally frustrating, but so much to chew on.
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
I wanted to love it - a book about food and France - but alas. This book is about a lot of things, becoming a chef, the history of French cuisine, moving a family to France, restaurant culture and ultimately it is about nothing. At times pedantic, at times superficial it bounces around without a clear narrative thread or really even a point. There are fascinating snippets, such as the bits about wheat or slaughtering a pig, but as a whole, this book just falls flat.
Lots of interesting information and written with an imitable style. However, sometimes I was confused about where we were or when we were, and I wanted a narrative arc. Tighter editing would have helped immensely.
I loved this book. I'm not especially interested in cooking or the work of professional chefs, but the author's writing is wonderful and everything was so interesting, and often funny. It reminds me a little bit of Bill Bryson: one anecdote leads down a delightful rabbit hole to an unexpected place.
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
This book made me long to travel and eat. If you like Ruth Reich, add this to your list.
3.5 Hard to rate this one because it was all over the map, tone- and content-wise. I'm headed to Lyon soon, so I was interested in the history of the city, its overall vibe at the time Buford was there, and how it changed when he has visited in more recent years. I also appreciate journalists/authors who have questions and take the reader along on a journey to answer them. (Michael Pollan is a master of this.) This book reinforced everything I've come to loathe about "grand cuisine" type kitchens, mainly the macho, toxic arrogance of those working there. The long sections of Buford's time in the kitchen were hard to read. The overall concept of this memoir is good, but it dragged too many times. He jumped around in time and would suddenly start discussing another meal or chef without any context. It was off-putting and confusing here and there. I sometimes had no idea when and where some things were happening. And his wife...wow... he doesn't come off too well in the partner and father department, especially early on. I want to read what she has to say about this time in their lives.
I went back and forth between the hard copy and audiobook. Both are good. Buford's tone in reading the book probably helps land the prose as intended...but I have to say, he really sounds like Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons far too often! I often cackled and his pronunciations and syllabic emphasis.
I went back and forth between the hard copy and audiobook. Both are good. Buford's tone in reading the book probably helps land the prose as intended...but I have to say, he really sounds like Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons far too often! I often cackled and his pronunciations and syllabic emphasis.