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A review by martha_is_reading
Hungry by Grace Dent
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
A memoir of Grace Dent's working class childhood in Carlisle, how her ambition to be a writer brought her to London and how her family brought her back to the North. Food is weaved throughout in a way that is neither intrusive nor trite, it is intrinsically linked to her upbringing, to her later career and its limitations in being able to solve some of the problems she faces in her life.
Having only encountered Dent in Masterchef, it had taken be a few series to get past the slightly barbed, aloof vibe she gives off, but this book was all humanity. She was thoroughly relatable and her journey to revered food critic was reassuringly ordinary - full of instances where she didn't have a clue about wine and was fully aware of the absurdity of some of the food she was encountering. Her frequent imposter syndrome made me like her all the more as a woman in a mainly male industry. The way in which she described her experiences caring for her father was surprisingly devastating, I finished the book in tears.
Having only encountered Dent in Masterchef, it had taken be a few series to get past the slightly barbed, aloof vibe she gives off, but this book was all humanity. She was thoroughly relatable and her journey to revered food critic was reassuringly ordinary - full of instances where she didn't have a clue about wine and was fully aware of the absurdity of some of the food she was encountering. Her frequent imposter syndrome made me like her all the more as a woman in a mainly male industry. The way in which she described her experiences caring for her father was surprisingly devastating, I finished the book in tears.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Minor: Cancer