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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It wasn’t really a mystery but maybe a ghost story but also not that interesting.
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pros: The food descriptions are out of this world, piles and piles of adjectives and similes and flavors heaped on top of each other it feels almost every other page. The details of running a restaurant are interesting and fun. And the story builds to a genuinely surprising and touching conclusion.
Cons: It took a while to get through this book. It didn't fly for me until the last 100 pages. Prior to that it felt like very long setup, when I had expected this to be a culinary version of Before the Coffee Gets Cold. So a mismatch of expectation and reality I suppose. But I also couldn't really connect to the characters. Who was Kostya beyond a grief-stricken loser? What were his interests before he began cooking his aftertastes? Related to that, I also was very skeptical of how quickly Kostya was able to turn his aftertastes into a career as a chef - even if he could taste these things, I couldn't believe that a six month stint at a three Michelin star restaurant would provide sufficient technique. Chefs train for years in a specific cuisine and somehow he became able to nail anything? I couldn't get that out of my head.
Ultimately: a well-written, truly unpredictable narrative, probably just not for me.
Cons: It took a while to get through this book. It didn't fly for me until the last 100 pages. Prior to that it felt like very long setup, when I had expected this to be a culinary version of Before the Coffee Gets Cold. So a mismatch of expectation and reality I suppose. But I also couldn't really connect to the characters. Who was Kostya beyond a grief-stricken loser? What were his interests before he began cooking his aftertastes? Related to that, I also was very skeptical of how quickly Kostya was able to turn his aftertastes into a career as a chef - even if he could taste these things, I couldn't believe that a six month stint at a three Michelin star restaurant would provide sufficient technique. Chefs train for years in a specific cuisine and somehow he became able to nail anything? I couldn't get that out of my head.
Ultimately: a well-written, truly unpredictable narrative, probably just not for me.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-paced
Loved the story, hated the endless enumerations. The characters weren’t fleshed out enough for me.
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The premise here was interesting but extended to within an inch of its life (heh) in a 400-page book. This reads a bit like a darker version of Before the Coffee Gets Cold (food summons a deceased loved one for a limited period of time tied to the food being served). Konstantin is not terribly likable or interesting, so it's a bit of a slog following him as he continues to not do very much and behave like a bit of a loser, jealous of his roommate who has lots of attention from girls.
About 40% into this book, I felt like the premise had already run its course, which is not a great sign when you have a good 250 pages left in the story. I honestly started skimming at the end because it doesn't feel compelling enough to be dangerous to any of the main playersgiven that Maura has already "died" multiple times and come back, including once when Konstantin finds her again so it really feels like people can just casually die, go and cook on the other side, and then return with zero repercussions. .
None of the characters are terribly likeable or very interesting and the premise starts to wear thin well before half the book was done so I can't say I had a good time with this o
About 40% into this book, I felt like the premise had already run its course, which is not a great sign when you have a good 250 pages left in the story. I honestly started skimming at the end because it doesn't feel compelling enough to be dangerous to any of the main players
None of the characters are terribly likeable or very interesting and the premise starts to wear thin well before half the book was done so I can't say I had a good time with this o