This was a book I bought for 50p from the pub where I work (we have a bookshelf where money raised goes to a dogs charity) so I wasn't expecting much. I knew the author from seeing another of her books in Tesco and after googling her I realised she's actually really famous!
The book is about a man called Lev from Auror (a fictional town situated in Eastern Europe) who moves to live in London after he loses his job at a sawmill. He has a young daughter, Maya, who he leaves behind with his elderly mother because his wife died from cancer a few years before. The whole book details his journey as an immigrant in an unknown country, from his arrival, through his relationships and charting his dreams to open a restaurant back in his hometown.
The first person that Lev encounters is on the coach to England, where he befriends a woman called Lydia, who is a translator. Despite her openly confessing her feelings for him, Lev turns her down and so a trend begins of him taking her for granted. He rents a house owned by the lively Irishman Christy, who is struggling to come to terms with his divorce, and disinterest of his little girl.
Lev gets a job in a restaurant run by chef GK Ashe (who seemed to be based on Gordon Ramsay in my opinion!) and discovers a passion for food and cooking. He meets a young sous chef there called Sophie, and the pair embark on an intimate relationship, helping him to finally get over his dead wife. Sophie leaves him for another man however, making Lev realise how much he has hurt Lydia (who has since left the country as a rich conductor's mistress) and also costs him his job when GK fires him, choosing to keep Sophie on.
Back in Auror, a dam is being built, placing his family and best friend Rudy in a predicament meaning they are being evicted from their homes to live in a new neighbourhood. But due to Sophie, Lev has met Ruby, an old lady in a carehome where she used to volunteer. He begins to go regularly to visit her, and eventually manages to get a job in the kitchen there. Ruby dies and leaves Lev some money, so that together with his earnings he can return to the new town, where he opens a restaurant, his one true dream.
The novel is very passionately written, and the relationships portrayed are genuine and relateable. Though the plot is fairly simple, the book contains a great deal of anecdotes and flashbacks, and really plunges you into Lev's world, so it is a truly gripping read. Unfortunately I kept having to pick it down and come back to it, so I don't think I got its full potential, but towards the end I found myself staying up late to finish it - and that, in my opinion, is the sign of a good book!
No comments:
Post a Comment