Scan barcode
A review by sincerely_reading
Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes by Shauna Niequist
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
3.0
There is so much good here, but also it's a lot...in a lot of ways. I'm trying to distance my own introverted self and view the book objectively. I will say any admittance to her own obvious wealth or excess of time would have been nice and I'd probably be considering a star higher if that was the case. The Paris chapter specifically seemed pointless and just sort of showy. But this is her story and she has the right to tell it. So I'm not sure.
I think every family is different and unfortunately an issue I see with a lot of hospitality books is that they don't account for introverted hosts or introverted family members of hosts. To constantly be hosting parties or be the "go to" house for every event would be exhausting not just to me but to my entire family. Sometimes I think we can possibly lift hospitality to a romanticized level that is both undeserving and unsustainable.
Hospitality is important, but to the working person who may also serve their community in some other larger and dare I say more impactful way, painting hospitality as this cure-all for the world's ailments can be a bit off-putting. Same goes for the bit about parenting our kiddos in a way that lets them see the whole world. My kids may never travel to another country 🤷♀️ what does that mean? Is that the most important thing? No. So why lift it so high?
The theological bits were a bit more obscure than most of the religious non-fiction I am used to reading. Specifically her view on communion is confusing to me. At one point she states that communion is for us all, and I don't know if she is talking to the Christian family or to anyone on the planet.
The organization of the recipes in the back is sooo helpful and made me forgive some repetition within the prose.
Overall, the excitement and overwriting became too much for me. But the first 50-70% of the book is great. At the beginning I thought it might be a five star book...I then began to be distracted by the repetition in the writing, and then it went off the rails there with Paris and the directives at the end.
I think every family is different and unfortunately an issue I see with a lot of hospitality books is that they don't account for introverted hosts or introverted family members of hosts. To constantly be hosting parties or be the "go to" house for every event would be exhausting not just to me but to my entire family. Sometimes I think we can possibly lift hospitality to a romanticized level that is both undeserving and unsustainable.
Hospitality is important, but to the working person who may also serve their community in some other larger and dare I say more impactful way, painting hospitality as this cure-all for the world's ailments can be a bit off-putting. Same goes for the bit about parenting our kiddos in a way that lets them see the whole world. My kids may never travel to another country 🤷♀️ what does that mean? Is that the most important thing? No. So why lift it so high?
The theological bits were a bit more obscure than most of the religious non-fiction I am used to reading. Specifically her view on communion is confusing to me. At one point she states that communion is for us all, and I don't know if she is talking to the Christian family or to anyone on the planet.
The organization of the recipes in the back is sooo helpful and made me forgive some repetition within the prose.
Overall, the excitement and overwriting became too much for me. But the first 50-70% of the book is great. At the beginning I thought it might be a five star book...I then began to be distracted by the repetition in the writing, and then it went off the rails there with Paris and the directives at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Blood