Eating Crow : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Very Funny
Review: A very entertaining, very quick read. Don't take the tale too seriously, for it's only a tale! Rayner writes in an entertaining style and, if you're a foodie, his descriptions--and his sources--are wonderful. I'm ready to place my order for salt caramel truffles from L'Artisan du Chocolat in London tonight.

Rating:
Summary: Funny premise and start, but not a strong conclusion
Review: This is definitely worth a read. It's short, under 300 pages, and if you have some time to kill, it's light enough to whip through in a few hours. The story and main character (Marc) get off to a very funny start. However, about mid-way through the book, about the time the Marc gets his job as chief apologizer to the world, the humor is harder to find. On the whole, it's completely worth reading though.
A couple of other minor issues that might bug some readers: if you aren't a foodie, the pages long descriptions of individual meals and foods could put you off. They're easy enough to skim through after the first few and after all, the author is a professional food critic so he's writing what he knows. American readers beware, some of the British slang might throw you. And, if there's any serious flaw it's that I didn't find either of Marc's two female love interests to be very believable or complete characters. They seem to just exist in the story for Marc's benefit, and don't stand very well on their own. The author put more effort into describing some of the chocolates in the story than he did development of the girlfriends.
But it's definitely still a funny book and worth reading. I found it a very entertaining balance to some weightier non-fiction I'm struggling through.