ncrabb's review against another edition
4.0
Sarah Vaughan’s excellent talents are immediately on display as this book opens. If you read it, you will be introduced to five people—four of whom will draw you deeply into the book.
In 1966, Kathleen Eaden, wife of a fictional supermarket chain owner in the UK, began writing a book for the store’s shoppers in which she instructs them in the art of baking. Kathleen Eaden appears to be the epitome of perfection. Her baked goods are top flight; her newspaper columns are widely read by the British public. But Kathleen Eaden’s life is not what it appears to be. Her story is interwoven with the stories of five contestants who have been selected by the store to revive Kathleen Eaden’s image—to become the new Mrs. Eaden.
Jennifer is an empty-nest mom in her 50s. She has developed her skills as a cook and baker such that her family knew of her love for them based on the food she served. Jennifer has, as one might who is highly skilled in culinary things, gained a significant amount of weight over the years. Does she eat to mask pain? What then is the source of that pain?
Vicki taught school before marrying the guy who can provide her with a comfortable living and not much else. He’s way hands-off when it comes to helping raise their three-ear-old son, and Vicki has learned that motherhood is a far different and more challenging thing than teaching in many respects. She doubts her ability to be a good mother. Interestingly enough, Kathleen Eaden’s story is intermingled through flashbacks with the stories of the contestants to replace her. And Kathleen, too, doubts her ability to be a mother, but for far different reasons from Vicki’s.
Karen is basically a cougar with serious OCD stuff going on. Her life is regimented by her need for perfection, and her unfilled sexual appetite means she takes risks and behaves differently from most women in their early 40s who have figured some things out and found a balance.
Claire is a single mom with a nine-year-old daughter who understands the grit and grime of real poverty. Impregnated at 18 by a charmer who promptly stepped away from her life when the daughter was born, Claire is forced to watch every penny and to dream of a time when she can demonstrate her significant talent as a baker.
The least drawn out of these characters is Mike, a single dad who is putting his broken life together after the love of his life dies as a result of breast cancer. Mike is still relatively young, but he’s wise beyond his years.
This is the story of these five contestants and how they come together to deal with life. All of them recognize soon enough that creating culinary perfections is a far easier thing than creating perfection in life.
Some of you by now have written this off as some kind of soggy chick lit—typical stuff with a slow-moving boring plot and lots of angst. It would be that in the hands of a less talented writer. Sarah Vaughan breathes life into these characters in ways that will keep them vivid in your mind long after you close the book. You cheer for them, and unless you’re particularly jaded and cynical, you’ll even come close to reaching for the Kleenex a time or two. I clearly had a favorite among these contestants, and I was so caught up in their lives that I wanted to sit at her table and immerse myself in the flavors of her work.
There are chapters in which contestants take on specific tasks. They make things called Battenberg cakes; they churn out loaves of bread and cookies (Biscuits if you’re in the UK), that made me hungry.
Book-loving foodies will be drawn to this. You will see how the original Kathleen Eaden’s story enriches the book and gives life and richness to the stories of the other contestants.
If you can snag the commercial narration of this, you should. Julia Barrie does a magnificent job with it. I almost wonder whether the audio book would be more impressive than the print one; I suppose that all depends on the preferences of the reader.
In 1966, Kathleen Eaden, wife of a fictional supermarket chain owner in the UK, began writing a book for the store’s shoppers in which she instructs them in the art of baking. Kathleen Eaden appears to be the epitome of perfection. Her baked goods are top flight; her newspaper columns are widely read by the British public. But Kathleen Eaden’s life is not what it appears to be. Her story is interwoven with the stories of five contestants who have been selected by the store to revive Kathleen Eaden’s image—to become the new Mrs. Eaden.
Jennifer is an empty-nest mom in her 50s. She has developed her skills as a cook and baker such that her family knew of her love for them based on the food she served. Jennifer has, as one might who is highly skilled in culinary things, gained a significant amount of weight over the years. Does she eat to mask pain? What then is the source of that pain?
Vicki taught school before marrying the guy who can provide her with a comfortable living and not much else. He’s way hands-off when it comes to helping raise their three-ear-old son, and Vicki has learned that motherhood is a far different and more challenging thing than teaching in many respects. She doubts her ability to be a good mother. Interestingly enough, Kathleen Eaden’s story is intermingled through flashbacks with the stories of the contestants to replace her. And Kathleen, too, doubts her ability to be a mother, but for far different reasons from Vicki’s.
Karen is basically a cougar with serious OCD stuff going on. Her life is regimented by her need for perfection, and her unfilled sexual appetite means she takes risks and behaves differently from most women in their early 40s who have figured some things out and found a balance.
Claire is a single mom with a nine-year-old daughter who understands the grit and grime of real poverty. Impregnated at 18 by a charmer who promptly stepped away from her life when the daughter was born, Claire is forced to watch every penny and to dream of a time when she can demonstrate her significant talent as a baker.
The least drawn out of these characters is Mike, a single dad who is putting his broken life together after the love of his life dies as a result of breast cancer. Mike is still relatively young, but he’s wise beyond his years.
This is the story of these five contestants and how they come together to deal with life. All of them recognize soon enough that creating culinary perfections is a far easier thing than creating perfection in life.
Some of you by now have written this off as some kind of soggy chick lit—typical stuff with a slow-moving boring plot and lots of angst. It would be that in the hands of a less talented writer. Sarah Vaughan breathes life into these characters in ways that will keep them vivid in your mind long after you close the book. You cheer for them, and unless you’re particularly jaded and cynical, you’ll even come close to reaching for the Kleenex a time or two. I clearly had a favorite among these contestants, and I was so caught up in their lives that I wanted to sit at her table and immerse myself in the flavors of her work.
There are chapters in which contestants take on specific tasks. They make things called Battenberg cakes; they churn out loaves of bread and cookies (Biscuits if you’re in the UK), that made me hungry.
Book-loving foodies will be drawn to this. You will see how the original Kathleen Eaden’s story enriches the book and gives life and richness to the stories of the other contestants.
If you can snag the commercial narration of this, you should. Julia Barrie does a magnificent job with it. I almost wonder whether the audio book would be more impressive than the print one; I suppose that all depends on the preferences of the reader.
piepieb's review
3.0
The author's take on the show The Great British Bake Off, a show I've never seen, but I love anything to do with the Food Network, so it probably sounds like something I would watch.
I loved the British narrator, and the story o would have to give 3 1/2 stars. The four female contestants - Vicki, Claire, Jenny, Karen - all seem a little bit similar at first but over time you start to distinguish their characters. The single male contestant, Mike, had so much potential, and I don't think he was given as much story space as he could have, and definitely not as much as the women.
It's hard to pick a favorite character, but I know I didn't really like Vicki. She indulged her whiny little son far too much. Jenny put up with her husband for far too long, and so maybe Claire was my favorite - she deserved all the good things she could get.
I did like the flashbacks to Kathleen Eaden's life in the '60s, as an aspiring cookbook author and as she suffers miscarriage after miscarriage.
All in all, not a bad story. As a major foodie, I loved all the bits about food - what the dishes the characters made looked like and what they tasted like.
I loved the British narrator, and the story o would have to give 3 1/2 stars. The four female contestants - Vicki, Claire, Jenny, Karen - all seem a little bit similar at first but over time you start to distinguish their characters. The single male contestant, Mike, had so much potential, and I don't think he was given as much story space as he could have, and definitely not as much as the women.
It's hard to pick a favorite character, but I know I didn't really like Vicki. She indulged her whiny little son far too much. Jenny put up with her husband for far too long, and so maybe Claire was my favorite - she deserved all the good things she could get.
I did like the flashbacks to Kathleen Eaden's life in the '60s, as an aspiring cookbook author and as she suffers miscarriage after miscarriage.
All in all, not a bad story. As a major foodie, I loved all the bits about food - what the dishes the characters made looked like and what they tasted like.
smartin1991's review
4.0
I won this through Goodreads first reads and it was a really easy read. Not to mention I love the cover. It stands out amazingly on my bookshelf. Although it is a bit deceptive. This book is more about motherhood and family than it is about baking and follows a series of women instead of just woman. I really enjoyed this book and like I said was a really easy read.
lisadee's review against another edition
3.0
Goodreads Giveaway…Thanks to publisher and/or author for providing me with this book.
This book took me so long to read! I almost gave up on it because the story is told from many points of view and something about the characters made me not care to remember which story went to which character. I can read and love stories that are set up that way but this one was a chore for over half the book.
I have always loved a food-ish fiction story especially a bake off type of story (one of my childhood favorites was a story of some kids having Betty Crocker bake-off-like competition) so I jumped at the chance to read this book early. I started to feel like this one was overly pretentious in it's descriptions of recipes. I guess it's the British-ness of it… no British bashing intended, but the book seeks to show comfort with the process of baking and these dishes seemed anything but that. With a book focused on cooking I was wishing for a few actual recipes to go along with the descriptions but none were included.
Towards the end of the book I did start to warm to some of the characters as they finally revealed why they were acting the way they did. Each has a back story on top of how they each came to be a contestant for the new MRS. Eaton.
I really liked the comparison between baking and raising a family. You wish life had a recipe and if you follow that recipe yours will turn out perfect every time like the most complicated pastry. Life, marriage, children are not like that. What works perfect for one person does not for someone else. This overall meaning to the story saved this book for me and pushed me to give it the three stars over the two.
This book took me so long to read! I almost gave up on it because the story is told from many points of view and something about the characters made me not care to remember which story went to which character. I can read and love stories that are set up that way but this one was a chore for over half the book.
I have always loved a food-ish fiction story especially a bake off type of story (one of my childhood favorites was a story of some kids having Betty Crocker bake-off-like competition) so I jumped at the chance to read this book early. I started to feel like this one was overly pretentious in it's descriptions of recipes. I guess it's the British-ness of it… no British bashing intended, but the book seeks to show comfort with the process of baking and these dishes seemed anything but that. With a book focused on cooking I was wishing for a few actual recipes to go along with the descriptions but none were included.
Towards the end of the book I did start to warm to some of the characters as they finally revealed why they were acting the way they did. Each has a back story on top of how they each came to be a contestant for the new MRS. Eaton.
I really liked the comparison between baking and raising a family. You wish life had a recipe and if you follow that recipe yours will turn out perfect every time like the most complicated pastry. Life, marriage, children are not like that. What works perfect for one person does not for someone else. This overall meaning to the story saved this book for me and pushed me to give it the three stars over the two.
duranceau22ced's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Eating disorder
bethly's review
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was a fun fluffy read although I did struggle to differentiate between some of the narrators as the switched at the beginning.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder
bianca89279's review
4.0
I recently read The Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan, so when I saw this on the library overdrive, I immediately borrowed it wanting to experience more of her writing.
This was a well-crafted story, with very relatable characters - although, they're stereotypes of sorts: Karen, the well-off, super fit, perfect looking woman; Claire, the young single mother, working as a cashier; Jenny, the epitome of the stay-at-home fifty-something wife, who's an empty nester; Vicky, the new mother, a teacher, who's at home with her three-year-old and doesn't find it fulfilling as she thought it would/should be. These three women and Mike, a widower with two young children, come together in a baking competition for the New Mrs Eaden - the author of the famous "The Art of Baking", which had inspired many homemakers over decades. (She's a fictional character, I Googled her).
The four bakers can concoct the perfect cakes, bread and other baking delights. While they can bake to perfection, unsurprisingly, their lives are far from perfect.
I particularly liked how Vaughan interspersed the four people's stories with that of the famous Kathleen Eaden, who appeared to be not only the perfect baker but also the perfect wife and mother.
This novel should come with a warning: Careful, you'll want to bake!
People who enjoy the cooking shows will probably appreciate The Art Of Baking Blind even more than I did.
I enjoyed listening to the audiobook, even though it sounded familiar.
This was a well-crafted story, with very relatable characters - although, they're stereotypes of sorts: Karen, the well-off, super fit, perfect looking woman; Claire, the young single mother, working as a cashier; Jenny, the epitome of the stay-at-home fifty-something wife, who's an empty nester; Vicky, the new mother, a teacher, who's at home with her three-year-old and doesn't find it fulfilling as she thought it would/should be. These three women and Mike, a widower with two young children, come together in a baking competition for the New Mrs Eaden - the author of the famous "The Art of Baking", which had inspired many homemakers over decades. (She's a fictional character, I Googled her).
The four bakers can concoct the perfect cakes, bread and other baking delights. While they can bake to perfection, unsurprisingly, their lives are far from perfect.
I particularly liked how Vaughan interspersed the four people's stories with that of the famous Kathleen Eaden, who appeared to be not only the perfect baker but also the perfect wife and mother.
This novel should come with a warning: Careful, you'll want to bake!
People who enjoy the cooking shows will probably appreciate The Art Of Baking Blind even more than I did.
I enjoyed listening to the audiobook, even though it sounded familiar.
musette's review
5.0
I loved this delightful little book, though ...poor Mike! Obviously The Token Guy gets short shrift here but his short story is charming, nonetheless. I was surprised to find myself totally invested in every one of the contestants!
rachm77's review
4.0
I loved this book! My only hesitation in giving it 5 stars was because I initially found the multiple narrative perspectives confusing - a few of the contestants are similar ages and I kept getting them mixed up. I would also have liked some of their stories to be more fully developed, a couple of them seemed to be simply filling out the novel as stock figures.
Having said that, I found myself increasingly captivated by the characters' lives, the competition, and the central story of Mrs Eaden herself. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys either a good character driven story, or baking!
Having said that, I found myself increasingly captivated by the characters' lives, the competition, and the central story of Mrs Eaden herself. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys either a good character driven story, or baking!