Rating: 
Summary: Amazing honesty, incredible book
Review: It seems to me that if you're going to write a memoir, you need to be prepared to offer your readers a "warts and all" account instead of whitewashing your life. Ruth Reichl does that here -- obviously a lot of people were upset by her revelations of extramarital affairs (and don't forget, her first husband played around even more than she did), but she is honest with her readers, and I admire that.I was a big fan of Reichl's first volume of memoirs, TENDER AT THE BONE, and this continuation of her story captivated me from start to finish with its beautifully written accounts of great meals, wonderful chefs (including Hollywood star Danny Kaye), and Reichl's personal ups and downs. I loved the chapters set in exotic locales like China, Thailand and Spain, as well as the stories about Wolfgang Puck and Alice Waters. The story ends with Reichl's pregnancy as she is living in L.A. and working as the restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times. Obviously much has happened since then, including her stints as a reviewer for the New York Times and her current position as editor of Gourmet magazine. That leads me to hope that there will be a third volume of memoirs before too long -- I can't wait!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book, an eventful life
Review: The best thing about this book is Ruth Reichl's outsized lust for life, as reflected in her adventurous attitude towards food, and her ability to be totally enraptured by the perfect mushroom. This is a woman of great appetites--in all areas of life--and fabulous writing skills to boot. I was attracted to this book because we have so much in common--our religious backgrounds, similar politics, and the fact that that picture on the cover looks exactly like me (I am not kidding). To have enjoyed this book as much as I did, given that I am not a "foodie" was surprising. Which just goes to show that you need not be a "Gourmet" subscriber to love this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Good writing, but I am disappointed
Review: I must say first that she is an excellent writer. That's what attracted me to "tender at the bone" in the first place. However, I am very disappointed by her account of immaturity, selfishness, infidelities and betrayal to her first husband. I feel sorry for him. Furthermore her affair with e.g. Colman is not really based on love or passion. I got the impression it was because of Colman's flashy manner and power and fame. She was candid though for writing all this stuff in the book. "Tender at the bone" however is much innocent, pure and leaves you with a good taste. Stop at the "tender at the bone" if you want to have a good memory of the author.
Rating:
Summary: A Delight to be Savored
Review: I don't understand the customers that complained that Reichl should have kept her personal life out of this book. After all, it's a memoir, not the Good Housekeeping cookbook. Reichl understands what a major role food plays in our lives- associating an event with taste, smell, texture enhances memories of that event. Plus, Reichl's annecdotes are interesting and entertaining. Perhaps because she has not lived the most conventional life, she has irritated some of the readers who are put off by her two extramarital affairs. The recipes in this book sound very tempting, but I haven't had the chance to try them yet. I had been longing for a book that would suck me in enough to make me read it cover to cover without putting it down. Comfort Me with Apples accomplished this, and them made me immediately pick up and devour Tender to the Bone.
Rating: 
Summary: A Poorly Written Sequel Which Begged For A Serious Editor
Review: A was VERY disappointed by the book, and could not decide if I was more disgusted by the sloppy manner in which she wrote it, or her inability to take responsibility for the fact that she made a sport of committing adultery. Clearly, this book was dashed out to hopefully continue and cash in on the success of "Tender At the Bone." How is it that one can be applauded for "living life to the fullest"(as other reviewers have commented) when what she seemed to be doing was destroying the lives of those who loved and supported her?
Rating:
Summary: first of all, it's not really about reviewing restaurants
Review: This book is not as interesting as "Tender at the Bone." It also isn't really about her career as a restaurant reviewer. It's about her love affairs and the end of her first marriage. Ruth Reichl comes across as self-absorbed and immature. She seems to have been acting out dramas that most people go through as teenagers, although to be fair it doesn't sound as though she was allowed to be a teenager since she had to deal with serious problems such as her mother's mental illness while she was a teenager. She excuses some rather tacky behavior by claiming to have been in love. And there was more than I wanted to hear about her sex life, written in the same low-brow style as a romance novel. Not her best.
Rating:
Summary: What's this book really about?
Review: At times I was not sure what this book was about. It just seemed as though she was telling one short story after another. How was it all coming together and where are we going, I kept asking myself as I read. At the end, I thought "that's it?" It was an ok book. Since, I too was young in the 70's in Berkeley, I enjoyed those tales, however it didn't all hang together well enough for me.
Rating:
Summary: Love the bit about the food
Review: I must say that I throughly enjoyed reading about what she was eating and the places that she went to, but just way too much information. I haven't read her other autobiography, but it sounds much more enjoyable than this one. I really didn't want to hear about her troubled married life and all her infidelities. But overall, she has great descriptions of food!!
Rating:
Summary: First book much better than second book
Review: I read 'Tender At The Bone' and enjoyed it all the way through and I had looked forward to this second book. The writing about food related events are Ruth Reichl at her best and the recipes are very good. Her personal life was interesting in her first book but should have been a very minor part in this second book.
Rating: 
Summary: More cuisine, less skanking around
Review: Reichl is an outstanding food writer who deserves her legendary reputation. And thus, when in this book she writes about things that have even a tenuous connection to food, it's great. Unfortunately, all too often it bogs down amid the unsympathetic, selfish, narcissistic cast of characters - including Reichl - and their infidelities, petty squabbles, etc. If I wanted that, I'd read Jackie Collins or Danielle Steele....
|
