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Showing posts from May, 2020

A Love Letter to Food, Faith and Family: To Lahore With Love, Hina Belitz

Synopsis: Newly-wed Irish Pakistani Addy is a gifted cook and aspiring chef. She hopes to open her own restaurant one day or work for a Michelin-starred restaurant, and is married to the man of her dreams, Gabe. When her marriage comes under strain, Addy, her devoted Nana and her best friend Jen take a trip to Lahore to reconnect with Addy’s Pakistani family. There, she learns about how to accept the bad with the good in life, and to let go of what she can’t change, as well as discovering some truths about her own extended family. My review: This is a readable, simply-written novella that on the surface follows all the familiar conventions of chick-lit: hopeful young woman, dastardly handsome man, breakdown of relationship and the subsequent journey of self-discovery as the heroine searches for the strength to move on. However what stops it from being just another chick-lit novel for me was its focus on two things: the alchemy of food to transform our emotions, and the

The Good, The Bleak & The Unread: What I read in April & What's on my List in May

I don't know about you, readers, but after an initial surge, I for one have found it pretty hard to concentrate on reading - or writing - lately. Other book-bloggers who have got through 12 books or more in a month - how?! I have however rounded up what I have managed to get through over the past few weeks and  what I'm looking forward to reading in May. April Wrap-up: Title: The Last Man  Author: Mary Shelley Lots of people have been talking about this recently. Set 60 years from now, this book follows one man's fortunes and friendships while mankind is in the process of being wiped out by a pandemic. The faint glimmer of hope Shelley eventually holds out doesn't stop this from being bleak, bleak, bleak. Give it a miss if you're feeling fragile. Title: Hashim & Family Author: Shahnaz Ahsan A thoughtful look at migration, belonging and racism through the experiences of one family's experiences in Manchester and Bangladesh. This is J