Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table - Softcover

Reichl, Ruth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0767903382 ISBN 13: 9780767903387

Publisher: Broadway, 1999

Synopsis

At an early age, Ruth Reichl discovered that "food could be a way of making sense of the world. . . . If you watched people as they ate, you could find out who they were." Her deliciously crafted memoir, Tender at the Bone, is the story of a life determined, enhanced, and defined in equal measure by a passion for food, unforgettable people, and the love of tales well told.  Beginning with Reichl's mother, the notorious food-poisoner known as the Queen of Mold, Reichl introduces us to the fascinating characters who shaped her world and her tastes, from the gourmand Monsieur du Croix, who served Reichl her first soufflé, to those at her politically correct table in Berkeley who championed the organic food revolution in the 1970s.  Spiced with Reichl's infectious humor and sprinkled with her favorite recipes, Tender at the Bone is a witty and compelling chronicle of a culinary sensualist's coming-of-age.

About this title

Review:

New York Times restaurant critic Ruth Reichl reads her (only very slightly abridged) memoir with the same humor, care, and intimacy that she put into its writing. The voices of the chefs, waiters, and gourmands who taught her to love food and its preparation come to life in this audiobook. Particularly compelling is her wonderful tale of "Life on Mars"--boarding school in Montreal might well have been on another planet. We listen as her halting French becomes fluent, as she shares weekend forays for forbidden smoked meat and cream puffs (the cure for all homesickness) with her new friend, Beatrice, and as her encounter with Beatrice's father, Monsieur du Croix, introduces her to a new level of joy in food. Audiobook listeners are also treated to a handy booklet of recipes included with the tapes that represent a dish from each of the main characters we meet in Ruth's life.

From the Back Cover:

"Reading Ruth Reichl on food is almost as good as eating it. . . . Reichl makes the reader feel present with her, sharing the experience."
--Washington Post Book World

"An absolute delight to read . . . how lucky we are that [Reichl] had the courage to follow her appetite."
--Newsday

"A poignant, yet hilarious, collection of stories about people [Reichl] has known and loved, and who, knowingly or unknowingly, steered her on the path to fulfill her destiny as one of the world's leading food writers."
--Chicago Sun-Times

"While all good food writers are humorous . . . few are so riotously, effortlessly entertaining as Ruth Reichl. . . . [She] is also witty, fair-minded, brave, and a wonderful writer."
--New York Times Book Review

"[In] this lovely memoir . . . we find young Ruth desperately trying to steer her manic mother's unwary guests toward something edible. It's a job she does now . . . in her columns, and whose intimate imperatives she illuminates in this graceful book."
--The New Yorker

"A savory memoir of [Reichl's] apprentice years. . . . Reichl describes [her] experiences with infectious humor, . . . the descriptions of each sublime taste are mouth-wateringly precise. . . . A perfectly balanced stew of memories."
--Kirkus Reviews

About this edition

• Publisher: Broadway
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0767903382
• ISBN 13: 9780767903387
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304