A recipe for life should be a simple thing: love and happiness, family, friends and a little food. But life is rarely straightforward... Alice wants to make the most of life - after all, she knows how fragile it can be - and knows she never feels more alive than when she's cooking. Babetta has spent a lifetime tending the garden of her tiny house on the Italian coast, supplying food to feed a family now grown and gone. One summer these two women are brought together in a crumbling Mediterranean villa, with the shared language of food. There, under the heat of the Italian sun, or the shade of the pomegranate tree, secrets will be spoken, fears and hopes shared. But life's lessons are not learnt easily.
Recipe for Life
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'A rich and heady story, redolent of fine Italian cooking and Mediterranean sunshine' (EVENING TELEGRAPH )
'The descriptions of the Italian dishes are mouth-watering ... a great summer read' (SOUTH WALES ARGUS )
'The descriptions of the Italian dishes are mouth-watering ... a great summer read' (SOUTH WALES ARGUS )
Book Description
Escape to Italy with this sumptuous story of secrets and friendships under Mediterranean skies.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have been a fan of Nicky Pellegrino's books since her first, Delicious. I loved that book but I think I love each subsequent one even more (which is rare and rather lovely). The covers suggest light romance but don't be deceived. Yes, there IS romance but it's never contrived, and certainly never easy. Pellegrino's characters are three-dimensional beings often dealing with difficult emotions and life lessons.
Pellegrino can summon place so well that you are literally transported. Her descriptions of southern Italy are so exquisite, you can nearly feel the sun on your face, the salt spray from the ocean, the heady scent of flowers and -of course - over and above all else - the food.
If Pellegrino weren't a writer (horrible thought), she would undoubtedly be a cook. Not a chef but a wondrous home cook, like the characters in her novels, weaving magic with food.
This novel takes us back to the Villa Rosa (which featured in The Gypsy Tearoom) and revisits the lives of some of the characters, many years on. It's a novel about choice and the message is fundamentally life-affirming. You cannot choose what happens to you but you can choose how to react to it. There is sadness - I won't lie - but the overwhelming message of this book is hopeful and I came away entranced and uplifted.
Highly recommended.
Pellegrino can summon place so well that you are literally transported. Her descriptions of southern Italy are so exquisite, you can nearly feel the sun on your face, the salt spray from the ocean, the heady scent of flowers and -of course - over and above all else - the food.
If Pellegrino weren't a writer (horrible thought), she would undoubtedly be a cook. Not a chef but a wondrous home cook, like the characters in her novels, weaving magic with food.
This novel takes us back to the Villa Rosa (which featured in The Gypsy Tearoom) and revisits the lives of some of the characters, many years on. It's a novel about choice and the message is fundamentally life-affirming. You cannot choose what happens to you but you can choose how to react to it. There is sadness - I won't lie - but the overwhelming message of this book is hopeful and I came away entranced and uplifted.
Highly recommended.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Julia Flyte
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Nicky Pellegrino writes charming books which simply ooze the smells, sights and flavours of Italy. This is her second book set in the (fictionalised) town of Triento in Southern Italy and some of the characters from The Gypsy Tearoom make an appearance, but it is not necessary to have read that book to enjoy this one. It's a warm hearted story about the importance of friendship and food. (Warning: this book will make you hungry!)
The heroine of the story is Alice. After a traumatic rape, she drops out of university in England, goes to stay with a friend in London and starts working as a waitress. The book is about her life as she slowly comes to terms with what happened to her and gradually discovers what she wants from life after events have knocked her severely off course. Triento plays a large part in the story as she spends time there and befriends an older woman, Babetta.
Elements of the story are autobiographical. The author Nicky Pellegrino was herself raped as a student and the initial chapters of Alice's story are very similar to her own experience. However it is not a book "about rape" - that's only a small part of the story.
It's a charming, somewhat predictable but very readable book. And I'll say it again: this is NOT the book to read if you've just started a diet, because the descriptions of food are totally mouth-watering.
The heroine of the story is Alice. After a traumatic rape, she drops out of university in England, goes to stay with a friend in London and starts working as a waitress. The book is about her life as she slowly comes to terms with what happened to her and gradually discovers what she wants from life after events have knocked her severely off course. Triento plays a large part in the story as she spends time there and befriends an older woman, Babetta.
Elements of the story are autobiographical. The author Nicky Pellegrino was herself raped as a student and the initial chapters of Alice's story are very similar to her own experience. However it is not a book "about rape" - that's only a small part of the story.
It's a charming, somewhat predictable but very readable book. And I'll say it again: this is NOT the book to read if you've just started a diet, because the descriptions of food are totally mouth-watering.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Kiwi Mary
Format:Paperback
Nicky's book is a joyful and easy way to pass an afternoon, one spent dreaming of Italian holidays to come and all manners of meals to be enjoyed with friends. A real feast of characters, imagery and unusual plot meanderings. I love how Nicky's metaphors mature along with the characters, particularly Alice and Babette. The former is about food and growth and the latter about nature and constancy -- and of course how the two entertwine. Pick this one up -- you won't forget the experience! (By the by, this book inspired our Book Club to its own yummy Italian feast...)
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4.6 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
I am really disappointed with this book
The story is very predictable, there is nothing which drives it forward, the characters are mediocre. I feel sorry I bought it.
Published 4 days ago by Tatyana Kichukova
5.0 out of 5 stars
Recipe for Life
This was a truly wonderful book, it was first read by Nick Pellegrino. One is transported to Italy, and it just draws you into another world.
Published 1 month ago by Jean
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great reading
I loved everytthing about this book,Alices insecurities how like a lot of other people she opts for the easy life but then has the strength to change things. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jacqueline Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars
Light reading
The first book from this author that I have read and I found it very enjoyable, especially the accounts of the various recipes very interesting and in place mouth watering. Read more
Published 4 months ago by M. V. Martin
2.0 out of 5 stars
Dull and uninspiring
Although it is an easy read I found it a bit dull and not particularly well written. It was very different to what I imagined from the description on the back. Read more
Published 10 months ago by E Brown
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good read
This is good escapist reading. Set in a village in southern Italy, it deals with families, relationships, outsiders and food. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mrs. K. A. P. Wright
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life's lessons are certainly not learnt easily
This is the first title by this author that I have read and I doubt it will not be the last as I believe they are all set in Italy. Read more
Published 19 months ago by LindyLouMac
5.0 out of 5 stars
Be transported to Italy
I read Nicky's books when I want a quick read and need to chill.
She transports me to Italy and the life over there. Read more
She transports me to Italy and the life over there. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Teecee
5.0 out of 5 stars
Be who you want to
Alice is escaping her life, well she is trying. After a horrific night where she is raped, she drops out of university and moves to London and tries to find what it is she wants to... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Joanne D'Arcy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Recipe for Life.
Requested by my Mum for her birthday as she has read other titles by this auther.
Not disappointed a very good read. She would throughly reccommend.
Not disappointed a very good read. She would throughly reccommend.
Published 23 months ago by Jenster
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