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In the Kitchen: A Novel
 
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In the Kitchen: A Novel (Hardcover)

by Monica Ali (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
RRP: £17.99
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 432 pages
  • Publisher: Doubleday (30 April 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0385614578
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385614573
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.5 x 4.1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 146,156 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #4 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > A > Ali, Monica

Product Description

Product Description

'Who ends up in the kitchen, Gabe?' 'Misfits', he said, 'psychos, exiles, culinary artists, and people who just need a job'. "In The Kitchen" is Monica Ali's stunning follow up to Brick Lane. It opens with a mysterious death in the cellars of a smart, cosmopolitan hotel and over the course of the ensuing pages, peels back the layers of polyglot London to reveal the melting pot which exists below. Once again it confirms Monica Ali not only as a great modern storyteller but also an acute observer of the vagaries of a contemporary culture.


About the Author

Monica Ali is one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists of the decade, Newcomer of the Year at the 2004 British Book Awards and has been nominated for most of the major literary prizes in Britain. Her first novel, Brick Lane, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the George Orwell Prize for political writing and the prestigious Commonwealth Writers' Prize. Internationally there has been similar recognition, including, in the United States, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times 'First Fiction' Prize, for which the book was shortlisted. Monica Ali lives in London with her husband and two children, and is working on her next novel.

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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars In The Kitchen, 4 May 2009
By Lincs Reader (Lincolnshire, England) - See all my reviews
Executive chef Gabriel Lightfoot runs the kitchen of the Imperial Hotel in London. He is under constant pressure to juggle the demands of the hotel management whilst secretly attempting to set up in business on his own. His kitchen staff consists of weird and wonderful characters from all over the world, he also has the added pressure of worrying about his Dad, back up north and dying from cancer.

When one of the hotel porters is found dead in the basement, Gabe's world starts to unravel drastically, the added appearance of Lena in his life doesnt help matters at all.

The opening chapters of 'In The Kitchen' appear a little confused and overwhelming - the vast array of multi-national characters make it a little difficult to keep up at times, however, after this initial burst of drama, the story slows down and events and characters are gently unfurled. There is a feeling of 'menace' running through the story, with some shadowy, dark secrets hidden away, with just a peek at what is to come every now and then.

Gabe is a fantastically well-drawn character, by no means perfect, but basically a sound guy who wants the best for everyone he is involved with. This gets him further and further into trouble; with hotel management, his glamourous night-club singer girlfriend and his family back home. When Gabe visited his dying father and senile grandmother back home, he re-visits his childhood. When Gabe and his sister Jenny talk about their long-dead Mother it is fascinating to see how their memories differ, and how Gabe's whole take on life changes when he realises that his Mum wasnt quite what he thought.

After initial difficulty with the first chapter or so, I was soon drawn into this story. The descriptions of place and character are wonderfully written and the story gently unfolds and kept me turning the pages wondering just what would happen next.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful evocation of postmodern Britain, 12 May 2009
Monica Ali's new book exposes some of the rotting timbers propping up postmodern British society in a subtle, refreshing, and thoroughly entertaining way.

The story centres on the breakdown and eventual personal redemption of an entrepreneurial chef (Gabe Lightfoot) as he struggles with multiple pressures: crazy work environment in a London hotel made up of a "staff of UN refugees", a complicated personal life (all of his own making...or is it?), and the death of his father and the Northern community that has surrounded him.

While it's the story of the search for the real 'him', it's ultimately about the search for the real 'us', ie. Britain at the start of a new century as the cosy post-industrial moral consensus comes under increasing pressure (from financial crises, endemic MPs' sleeze, gang masters and immigration, even celebrity chefs serving ready-meals in their restaurants!).

The great strength of the book is that it's both an easy read - the story is fast paced, with memorable characters and a mini cliffhanger at the end of each chapter - but also a stimulating one - there are many sections I benefitted from lingering on or returning to to appreciate some of the subtleties of what was being (not) said.

Gabe's 'executive sous chef', for example, is a late middle aged Jamaican lady with a thick accent and an irritatingly laconic approach to work. On a first reading you could be forgiven for thinking that, while an entertaining character, aspects of her are unnecessary stereotypical. But I felt that it was precisely her unfashionable personality and attitude, in contrast to Gabe's supposed go-getting dynamism, that was the more laudable. She, an unlikely figure, is perhaps the real hero of the book.

You need to give this book some space to breath in your mind. But if you do it'll keep you thinking for a lot longer than many other books.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A journey into another world, 1 Jun 2009
By K. Taylor (Bedford, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Monica Ali has a knack for summing up a time and place with a few, well chosen, words. After the first chapter of this book I had become immersed in the life and politics of the hotel kitchen, and was intrigued by the multitude of diverse characters. As soon as I read the phrase 'the chandelier, ugly as a bejewelled dowager' I knew exactly what the hotel restaurant was like. This book is both enlightening and entertaining - give it a whirl!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars In The Kitchen
Monica Ali's latest novel focuses on chef Gabe Lightfoot who is being pulled in different directions by recent events and the variety of people who influence his life, with... Read more
Published 3 days ago by Alison Turner

2.0 out of 5 stars Didn't deliver
I loved Brick Lane by this author and started this book with enthusiasm. Unfortunately I found it a very slow, unrewarding read and only finished it because I had to discuss it... Read more
Published 1 month ago by MaryAnne

3.0 out of 5 stars putting the knife in
Was really looking forward to this book, as i loved brick lane and my hubby is a head chef in a large hotel. Read more
Published 1 month ago by ann bolyne

5.0 out of 5 stars Great research
She researches well and with sensitivity. This is an intriguing tale with some touching moments, and as in Brick Lane, some of her scenes are bald and shocking. Read more
Published 2 months ago by P. Stewart

3.0 out of 5 stars Overall a good read

The story starts with a dead body, something which I thought would be central to the story, maybe it would be a crime novel and the killer would be unmasked in the... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Melanie Trevelyan

3.0 out of 5 stars "Thinking only gets you so far Gabriel, Life carries on its own sweet way"
While set in a frenetic and fast-paced kitchen of a London hotel, Ali's latest book is really about the romantic and familial entanglements of the hotel's head chef Gabriel... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Michael Leonard

3.0 out of 5 stars An unsettling book ...
I found this to be a frantic and unsettling read. Firstly it felt like watching a car crash as Gabe careers from one disaster of his own making to another. Read more
Published 4 months ago by S. Bruch

4.0 out of 5 stars A tour de force
Monica Ali's In the Kitchen is a tour de force which brings together many of the author's pet themes -- identity, racism, the importance of family and the shifting nature of... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Claire

5.0 out of 5 stars The Imperial Chef
Monica Ali has written another novel that may very well be one of her best. If you can slog through the first third of the book, then you have it made. Read more
Published 4 months ago by prisrob

5.0 out of 5 stars Her best work yet
Ignore some of the lukewarm and cheese paring reviews that have appeared and dive instead, and without hesitation, into the nuanced, complex and subtle dish that is 'In The... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Laslo Acs

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