Cara is a butcher, a literary enthusiast, and very well read. Wrapping her book memories around food experiences in her own life, and working as a butcher in New York City give her a solid background that combines wide ranging literary tastes and scrumptious recipes into a delightful food-writing book.
Except for one thing. One thing that had me gasping and talking out loud to myself late last night while I began reading this book. Something that may not seem so big to others, but had me shouting at the author in horror.
The first chapter talks about Laura Ingalls Wilder and one of my most beloved books, The Little House in the Big Woods. I read my copy so much as a kid the spine broke, the cover fell off, and pages fell out. I still have it on my bookshelf. Cara also loves this novel, but makes one grave error that horrifies me (and makes me wonder whether the editor was snoozing). She refers to Ma and Pa as Ma and Pa Wilder. For the love of God it's Ma and Pa Ingalls! And does this not just once, but multiple times! And she refers to the Ingalls girls as the Wilder girls. I am gobsmacked by the complete wrongness of this. Quite frankly it made me read the rest of the book with a slight doubt that other characters in other novels I haven't read are somehow misnamed as well.
That said, I enjoyed the combination of literary and food. It's certainly a career that I would love to have--writing about the history of food and the impact it has had on our literary creativity.
Rating: 6/10 for that one horrible huge mistake. It clouded my enjoyment of the rest of the book, which is really quite interesting and mouthwatering, too. If you can get past that, enjoy! And try some of the recipes. They range from simple to challenging.
Available in hardcover and e-book.
