AUTHOR: John Baxter
STARTED: October 18, 2009
FINISHED: October 19, 2009
PAGES: 270
GENRE: Memoir / Food
FIRST SENTENCE: Most years, the first queries from the United States or Australia arrive just after Thanksgiving.
SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] A witty cultural and culinary education, Immoveable Feast is the charming, funny, and improbable tale of how a man who was raised on white bread—and didn't speak a word of French—unexpectedly ended up with the sacred duty of preparing the annual Christmas dinner for a venerable Parisian family.
Ernest Hemingway called Paris "a moveable feast"—a city ready to embrace you at any time in life. For Los Angeles–based film critic John Baxter, that moment came when he fell in love with a French woman and impulsively moved to Paris to marry her. As a test of his love, his skeptical in-laws charged him with cooking the next Christmas banquet—for eighteen people in their ancestral country home. Baxter's memoir of his yearlong quest takes readers along his misadventures and delicious triumphs as he visits the farthest corners of France in search of the country's best recipes and ingredients. Irresistible and fascinating, Immoveable Feast is a warmhearted tale of good food, romance, family, and the Christmas spirit, Parisian style
THOUGHTS: Do not read this book on an empty stomach. I grew so hungry after the pages upon pages of food and cooking descriptions that my stomach growls probably awoke my neighbors.
I know Baxter as a writer of books about books - so I was quite curious to read about his relationship with food and cooking. His writing in Immoveable Feast meandered and wandered and took its time to get where it was meant to be. In may ways, this style reminded me of the kind of conversation that occurs at a long, sit-down meal. No one feels rushed and stories and themes wander in and out of the conversation. That style created an emotion of comfort as I read. I didn't know where Baxter was headed with this book, but I didn't care. I was along for the ride and enjoyed it immensely.
The food. Dear god, the food. Baxter has a way with description and this book practically drips with succulent sauces and wafts with aromas of fresh bread and cooked meat. In may ways, the text breaths because its constantly emitting such vivid description that I could clearly picture the scenes and the emotions therein. Baxter made me miss France and Paris in a way I never thought possible. He also made me long for Thanksgiving - the next time I will sit down with my family and share such a meal.
Baxter says he is writing about the crafting of a specific meal, but I think its more than that. I think he's writing about home - and all that entails.
RATING: 8/10 [Terrific]
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