Nancy Spiller

Don't be fooled by the title, this novel is not a superficial story about a foodie's faux pas hosting dinner parties, but a unique creation by the author to weave fiction into memoir. Through creating this memoir, the narrator, who is unnamed, carries the reader along the journey of her life. Paragraphs of the past are interwoven with the present preoccupation of preparing for a dinner party. We are allowed to see how the circumstances of the past, the pain of a mentally ill family member, the isolation from everyone but her dog and husband, and passion for cooking has molded and shaped the narrator into the obsessive, doubtful, fraudulent food writer she has become. But this isn't just a story of the past, but a tale of a woman who discovers the deeper meaning to life--life that she's avoided for over a decade. Spiller's unique method of storytelling lets us witness the food writer answer her own questions about love, life, perfection, and the importance of family.… (meer)