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The Lost Art of Mixing
By Erica Bauermeister
(Putnam Adult, Hardcover, 9780399162114, January 24, 2013, 288pp.)

The Short of It:

A literary treat for the senses.

The Rest of It:

If you haven’t read a book by this author yet, you are really missing out.

In The Lost Art of Mixing, Bauermeister returns to Lillian’s restaurant, first featured in The School of Essential Ingredients. Lillian’s restaurant is known for bringing people together. It’s a place to rediscover yourself and the pleasures around you. Through her carefully prepared meals and the cooking classes she offers, her simple acts of kindness provide the much-needed tonic that these folks have been searching for.

Included are some familiar characters from the first book, but we also meet Al, an accountant whose marriage has left him pondering who he is. Finnegan, nineteen years-old and orphaned at a young age, he finds solace when he gets a job as a dishwasher for the restaurant. Isabelle, who is struggling with dementia but finds a friend in Chloe, who you might remember from the first book and then finally Louise, Al’s wife who doesn’t seem to know her husband at all, but at the same time, seems to know everything about him.

The first book was filled with the smells of cooking. I literally drooled my way through it and then did not have any food in the house which was bad planning on my part. It was hard for me to believe that a book could evoke such feelings of comfort, but it really did. This time around, there is a lot less cooking, but more going on with the characters. They are complex and intricately layered with real-life problems that readers can relate to. I found the characters to be endlessly fascinating.

Additionally, there is something wonderful that happens when you return to familiar territory and I loved visiting with these characters again. The Lost Art of Mixing is a fabulous complement to The School of Essential Ingredients. Although you can read this one as a stand-alone, I encourage you to read her other book first. The writing is wonderful in both and trust me, you’ll want to extend your visit once you are done reading them.

Release Note: This wonderful book does not hit the shelves until January 24, 2013! If you can hold out, I promise to host a giveaway once the book is released.

Erica’s website.

Erica’s Facebook page.

Erica’s TLC tour stops.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher via TLC Book Tours.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Lighthouse Road
By Peter Geye
(Unbridled Books, Hardcover, 9781609530846, October 2012, 293pp.)

The Short of It:

Geye has hit it out of the park again.

The Rest of It:

The story begins in the late 1890’s at a Minnesota logging camp. Thea Eide, an immigrant from Norway lands herself a position as a cook and after being raped by a visitor of the camp, finds herself pregnant with few prospects for raising the child. Hosea Grimm, who runs the apothecary and functions as the village doctor, gives her a place to stay and promises to help her with the child. Rebekah Grimm, also “saved” by Hosea some years before, becomes attached to Thea and later to her son, Odd Einar.

Twenty years later, Odd is a young craftsman making his living building fine fishing vessels. Having known Rebekah all of his life, the two share an unusual bond; one that takes a romantic turn which forces them to consider life outside of the village. What begins as an adventure, quickly settles into worry for Rebekah as she begins to doubt the decisions she’s made.

A couple of years ago I read Safe from the Sea and was amazed, overwhelmed and touched by its beauty. Geye’s sense of place was remarkable and the ease with which he told the story, stayed with me for a very long time.

In his new book, Geye’s sense of place is still present as he takes us back and forth through time, weaving in and out of the narrative as nimbly as if he’s been doing it all his life. These characters struggle with place in the form of setting but also within themselves. Rebekah’s previous life shapes who she is and although she left her previous life behind, not all was left behind.

Hosea Grimm’s goodness is marked by something a bit darker and he too is not all that he appears to be. These characters are flawed by previous experiences or lack thereof and it makes for wonderful reading. This is a quiet, reflective type of read but it has some surprises too. It’s the type of book that you settle in with after a long day at work. That’s how I enjoyed it anyway!

If you haven’t read any of his books, you really must. Simple stories, well told with beautiful writing. I’ve been a fan since Safe from the Sea and he did not disappoint with this one.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher via Net Galley.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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