Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Cursed Bread

If you enjoyed reading Bitter Orange you will enjoy this book. It felt strangely similar at times. I liked it enough to read it all in one sitting but I wouldn’t pick it up again, nor do I think I would tell anyone else to read it.

I was incredibly disappointed that Violet and Élodie never hooked up. I realize that thematically, the ending made sense, however I was crushed hearing how cruel they were to her. Perhaps I am the gullible one for thinking they were ever interested.

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

There were incredibly sculpted moments in this book, but the majority of the pacing was not for me. Despite the short length, I found it difficult to keep going and often had to convince myself to come back to it with the thought that there might be another brilliantly written section coming up. I saw it described as a “fever” and I think that fits it perfectly - the highs and lows of temperature.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes beautifully crafted characters who it’s hard to wholly like or hate.

The main character experiences a lot of obsessive thoughts around sex, bodies, eating, and violence, and I would not recommend this book to anyone who might find this triggering.

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Cursed Bread is set in a small village in France in the 1950. Elodie is the wife of the local baker and she’s very frustrated since her husband is obsessed with making the perfect loaf of bread and not at all interested in her. When the American ambassador and his glamorous wife Violet move into the village Elodie is soon fascinated with them and falls under their spell. Meanwhile strange and dark things start occurring in the village. This Women’s Prize longlisted book that was more of a miss than a hit for me. While I could appreciate its literary merits, the sometimes beautiful writing and imagery, this book is often described as a fever dream and I’m not the sort of reader who enjoys fever dreams. I knew the story was inspired by true events and the beginning of the book had me intrigued. The more the story progressed the darker and less easy to comprehend it became. It’s combination of desire, obsession, deceit, and violence plus the level of uncertainty about who to believe and what actually happened meant it didn’t align with my readerly tastes, but it will be perfect for other readers.

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