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A review by karieh13
Blue Plate Special: An Autobiography of My Appetites by Kate Christensen
4.0
This was a lovely book that turned out to be far more about the author’s life and experiences than about food. The tastes, sensations, preparations and occasions described by author Kate Christensen are a constant thread throughout the book, but the story of her life proved far more complex and interesting than the menu items.
I found it interesting that the book starts and ends with memories of her father. As close a bond and connection she feels with her mother, the enigma that is her father is the one that most seems to define her. When, as a two year old, she raises her hands to her parents and says, “Comfort me,” - “There they were, my parents, comforting me. The memory is one of the nicest ones I have of my father. There he was, being a father, just for a moment. I had to ask him to, in the spirit of curiosity about a word, but he complied. I have always kept this memory in the mental equivalent of a velvet box at the back of a top shelf in a closet, where rare things are hidden so no one steals of breaks them.”
Christensen’s descriptions of the people in her life, of relationships and the dynamics of family struck the deepest chords. “We all shared the same old jokes. We were a little rusty with Emily, and she with us, but only at first. The habits of being in a family are deep and ingrained. Over the decades, during all of the rifts and schisms and confrontations and silences and offenses and resentments, something had been at work, a strong undertow of love, in all of us.”
There is a great deal of heartache and anger and depression and uncertainty in Christensen’s life, but through that, and through a great deal of joy as well, she comes to know herself well and appreciate the journey. “Everything that has ever happened to me – every meal I’ve ever eaten, every person I’ve loved or hated, every book I’ve read or written, every song I’ve heard or sung – is all still with me, magnetically adhering to my cells.”
And the thread of food, and her relationship with it, is the undercurrent that moves this story along, the constant rhythm that accompanies her journey. She describes it well, tying in the memories and senses that accompany each recipe. “We ate at a homey old Italian place in Williamsburg called Milo’s whose owners, and ancient Italian couple, tottered around serving two-dollar beers and rustic red wine along with mounded plates of cheap, homemade spaghetti with meatballs; we always dared each other to order the half goat’s head, but we never did. I inhaled all this food; I would have rolled around in it if such a thing had been possible.”
“Blue Plate Special” was a wonderfully emotional and evocative book, and inspires me to experience some of the other books written by this talented author.
I found it interesting that the book starts and ends with memories of her father. As close a bond and connection she feels with her mother, the enigma that is her father is the one that most seems to define her. When, as a two year old, she raises her hands to her parents and says, “Comfort me,” - “There they were, my parents, comforting me. The memory is one of the nicest ones I have of my father. There he was, being a father, just for a moment. I had to ask him to, in the spirit of curiosity about a word, but he complied. I have always kept this memory in the mental equivalent of a velvet box at the back of a top shelf in a closet, where rare things are hidden so no one steals of breaks them.”
Christensen’s descriptions of the people in her life, of relationships and the dynamics of family struck the deepest chords. “We all shared the same old jokes. We were a little rusty with Emily, and she with us, but only at first. The habits of being in a family are deep and ingrained. Over the decades, during all of the rifts and schisms and confrontations and silences and offenses and resentments, something had been at work, a strong undertow of love, in all of us.”
There is a great deal of heartache and anger and depression and uncertainty in Christensen’s life, but through that, and through a great deal of joy as well, she comes to know herself well and appreciate the journey. “Everything that has ever happened to me – every meal I’ve ever eaten, every person I’ve loved or hated, every book I’ve read or written, every song I’ve heard or sung – is all still with me, magnetically adhering to my cells.”
And the thread of food, and her relationship with it, is the undercurrent that moves this story along, the constant rhythm that accompanies her journey. She describes it well, tying in the memories and senses that accompany each recipe. “We ate at a homey old Italian place in Williamsburg called Milo’s whose owners, and ancient Italian couple, tottered around serving two-dollar beers and rustic red wine along with mounded plates of cheap, homemade spaghetti with meatballs; we always dared each other to order the half goat’s head, but we never did. I inhaled all this food; I would have rolled around in it if such a thing had been possible.”
“Blue Plate Special” was a wonderfully emotional and evocative book, and inspires me to experience some of the other books written by this talented author.