Cooking for Harry
A Low-Carbohydrate Novel
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
Harry became a fabulous cook. It began with a simple indulgence: secret bowls of buttery popcorn that he and his wife, Francie, would share after the children were tucked into bed. The aroma of melting butter, the hot kernels on their tongues, the salt crystals sticking to their lips—it was their own private romantic feast, imbuing their marriage with a new kind of passion. Soon, Harry began to dazzle Francie with luscious bisques and brioches, delectable soufflés, rich risottos, and classic versions of coq au vin that left her breathless.
Their family life came to revolve around the dinner table, where each night Harry’s cooking brought Francie and their four children together for an awe-inspiring and mouthwatering meal. But inevitably the years slip by, and when all but one child has left the house, Harry wins a digital scale in his company’s Holiday Raffle and their happy bubble bursts in a single instant. Harry’s cooking has finally caught up with him. His doctor confirms it: He desperately needs to lose weight.
Terrified of losing him, Francie puts Harry on a strict diet, leaving him eternally frustrated at the table and in the kitchen. When they both realize that he has to take a break from his culinary passions if this diet is to work, Francie begins to cook. Eventually a younger-looking, leaner, and more driven Harry emerges—one so newly committed to his job and his low-carb support group that not only is he no longer in the kitchen, he’s hardly ever at home. Feeling confused by the dynamics of their new relationship, Francie must contend with her need to keep Harry on his diet, and also with the women who have suddenly begun to eye her truly attractive husband. The question now becomes: Will love be enough to keep this marriage together, or will the Atkins Diet ultimately tear Harry and Francie apart?
Pop a pan of cookies into the oven and put up your feet. Cooking for Harry is a deliciously good time.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
James takes one part battle of the sexes and one part diet wars and, along with a soup on of humor, whips up a treat with this cheeky romantic comedy. Pittsburgh physical therapist Francie Kligler has a rewarding career, a small herd of quirky but charming adult children, and a loving, quarter-century marriage to Harry, a shy computer programmer who also happens to be a brilliant chef ("He candied his own ginger, blanched his own almonds. He braised, he saut ed, he caramelized"). Unfortunately, Harry also eats too much of what he cooks: his doctor tells him that thanks to his eating habits, healthwise he's a "ticking bomb." Eschewing a life of salads, good ol' "I can't live without butter" Harry joins a nutritional study of low-carb diets, while Francine gamely (and slightly ineptly) takes over the cooking. But Harry's Atkins-style transformation from whale to near-whippet brings a host of ancillary problems, including a personality transformation that means more success at work but also opportunities for infidelity. James's warm way of chronicling the quirks of family life makes for a quick, engaging read, and she hits the mark with her lightly comic take on the support groups each partner joins to deal with the food dilemma. The ending that resolves the dalliances of both partners is formulaic and sappy, and James also stumbles into Erma Bombeck style suburban clich s in several chapters. Beneath the light comedy, though, this novel offers some telling, sly commentary on our contemporary obsession with food and how it permeates, and sometimes dominates, our lives. FYI:James is the pseudonym for a successful, apparently literary author ("I am amazed at the fun I had writing a "commercial" novel," she notes). Cooking was written with the help of an unnamed, financially struggling friend, with whom James is splitting the profits.
Customer Reviews
Awesome!
I read this book a long time ago. Before the iPad or any book reader was out. I'm 18 and I read this when I was 15. I still talk about this book because it truly is inspirational and hopeful! I guarantee you'll want popcorn after this!