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Wednesday, March 12, 2008

The Food of Love by Anthony Capella
Time: 1:44 AM


The story is rather common, lovey-dovey, romantic twaddle of the sort that you have probably seen and read a thousand times before- it shouldn't work but, as a novel, it somehow does .Tommasso is a local boy who sleeps with as many foreign tourists as their pictures will fit on the inside door of his cupboard. He comes across Laura, an American student, and overhears her phone conversation with a friend whereby she says she only wants to sleep with someone passionate about food after her friend tells her this is matched in the bedroom .After bumping into her in a deli and giving her food advice, Tommaso, a waiter, comes up with a plan and tells her first that he is a chef and secondly that he will cook for her an amazing meal- the like of which she has never tasted before. The snag- Tommasso cannot cook but his friend, Bruno, is a highly accomplished chef at a top Italian restaurant.Convincing Bruno to cook for him and passing the food over as his own ,Tommasso manages to woo Laura and win her heart and her passion- but problems arise when Bruno realises he is in love with her the way his good friend never will be and so a classic love triangle is formed.Thus follows, as others have said before me, a classic reworking of Cyrano de Bergerac. The ending when it comes is a bit disappointing being too neat and tidy to be truly realistic but overall the book proves itself to be a cracking read and not too girly at all. Anthony Capella has truly outdone himself in this absolutely delicious feast for the mind as he creates the book as one would a souffle, with careful layers of romance and food descriptions and a light sprinkling of Spanish that brings out the inner Italian in every reader. It is a delicate balance that does not overpower each other and one very artfully constructed. The exquisite descriptions of food too are very detailed and imaginative I was able to taste and savour every flavour in my mind.If Italian food is your thing, then this book was written for you. You might even find it better than a lot of recipe books. The first part of the book is about Roman food, but it’s not the food the tourist gets. It’s the food Italians cook for themselves and you hear about it in detail. The story is divided up into “courses” with each one being introduced by an excerpt from Marcella Hazan’s The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, which sets the scene for the chapters to follow. Capella has portrayed Bruno and Tommaso wonderfully, allowing the readers more than just a glimpse of their personalities. However what is disappointing is that he does not explore the personas of the other characters more deeply especially Laura who is one of the central characters. The Food of Love is a timeless classic that is a light read and thoroughly enjoyable.
Verdict: Must Read. Light Reading.


Planted by : The Gardener
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