the_one_krissy's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Reviewing this book is, frankly, impossible for me.
On one hand, I'm way too biased to be impartial, because I was born and spent my entire childhood in the exact region Moriyama writes about. I recognise so, so much of what she says and it immediately makes me keel over from nostalgia, want to hop on a train and go visit my mom in Joensuu. I want Karelian pastries like nothing else, NOW, and you just can't get the real ones in any other region. The craving is its own special kind of torture, I'm telling you.
Actually, I do believe Marthas have organised pastry-making courses in my region, too, and I am a member, even if I'm not very active. Maybe it's high time I participated more... Marthas are fantastic people with an incredible array of practical skills, and that is a fact.
On the other hand, this book kind of fell flat for me and much of Moriyama's praise and wonder went straight over my head, because the things she talks about have been normal everyday life for me for as long as I can remember. Nothing special as far as I'm concerned, although I do realise it probably is for people who do not share my background.
I do love it when people appreciate things I love and have grown up with, though. I very much like the insights Moriyama got during her time here, and I sincerely hope this book can spark the same kind of self-reflection and ideas in others. Overall, reading this book was a nostalgic and humbling experience for me.
On one hand, I'm way too biased to be impartial, because I was born and spent my entire childhood in the exact region Moriyama writes about. I recognise so, so much of what she says and it immediately makes me keel over from nostalgia, want to hop on a train and go visit my mom in Joensuu. I want Karelian pastries like nothing else, NOW, and you just can't get the real ones in any other region. The craving is its own special kind of torture, I'm telling you.
Actually, I do believe Marthas have organised pastry-making courses in my region, too, and I am a member, even if I'm not very active. Maybe it's high time I participated more... Marthas are fantastic people with an incredible array of practical skills, and that is a fact.
On the other hand, this book kind of fell flat for me and much of Moriyama's praise and wonder went straight over my head, because the things she talks about have been normal everyday life for me for as long as I can remember. Nothing special as far as I'm concerned, although I do realise it probably is for people who do not share my background.
I do love it when people appreciate things I love and have grown up with, though. I very much like the insights Moriyama got during her time here, and I sincerely hope this book can spark the same kind of self-reflection and ideas in others. Overall, reading this book was a nostalgic and humbling experience for me.
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