I am a book blog reader. Most of the books that get on my TBR pile are ones I read about on people's blogs. This one wasn't one of those. I just came across it at the library, suggested it to my book club friends, and it was a go. A big risk, if you ask me!
What I liked about it: I loved the focus in friendship amongst women. I loved a glimpse into a mother's life as she waits to hear if her daughter finally has a viable pregnancy. I loved how the women supported one another. I loved how they welcomed their differences. The book is interspersed with information about ingredients in the recipes, and the information relates to the women and their friendships. I also loved that the recipes they make are included. I love how they share their story about how they made or came to choose which cookies to make. It made me want to join a cookie exchange!
What I didn't like about it: there was a fair bit of language in the book that I was uncomfortable with. I don't really like books with cursing and vulgarities, and this had a bit of that. I also found myself uncomfortable with some of the difficult situations. I'm not claiming to be the perfect language user - but I just think it doesn't have to be in books. Snobbery?? I don't know.
I had to cringe through some parts of the story as the women talked about the challenges they were facing. One woman is having an affair with another's father (??!), one recently had her son die in an accident, one just lost her home, is struggling with unemployment and her husband walked out on her. I think it is interesting that I didn't like those parts of the story. They are just a normal part of life - but I am often afraid of the heartache of those kinds of situations and so I find myself wanting to close my eyes and pretend it isn't there. Maybe that isn't so good.
Some notable quotes:
p. 53 "People say to me, Too bad he didn't get to life his full life. You know, marry Jenny, maybe have children together, grow old together. All that. But now I wonder why we insist that a full life lasts 80 years and anything less is s cheat. That was his life. Those 27 years. It was his full life."
P. 73 sometimes I can't get my mind around the different versions of me, Marnie. And yet the friends who met the other adaptations of me through the decades are still a part of my current life. It is as though my friends give testimony to my history. Witnesses, when we are ok together, to my existence. I love them as I love myself in all my varieties and aspects. And I love them for the spectacular women they are, each in their own way.
P. 138 Love grows from bonds, not biology.
P. 230 I learned not to assume anything. I learned to fill my life up and live every moment. I also learned that love was useless if it wasn't forever and knew that nothing is forever except your children. And your girlfriends.
P. 270 People are mixes of ingredients, too. Each one is a combination of sugar and salt, of spiciness combined with sweetness that enhances both flavors. Our love and support is leavened with the nutrition of nuts and wheat, the sharpness of ginger and the opulence of vanilla, the headiness of chocolate - all plants, like people, which are rare and sometimes tricky to pollinate!
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