Overall Rating
3
out of 5
Written By:
LiteraryFeline
(
Southern California
)
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Dreams Can Come True
Date: August 22, 2010
This review is for the
Print
format.
"Those of you who know me well, know I am not fond of the kitchen. I like to eat, but my tastes are rather simple. Therefore, I am not sure I would feel at home in a high class French restaurant. So what was it that drew me to a book like The Hundred-Foot Journey, a novel about a young Indian boy who pursues his dream of becoming a famous French chef? It certainly wasn't the elaborate descriptions of food and slaving over a hot stove. I do, however, enjoy an inspiring story about reaching for one's dreams. And I like going behind the scenes in worlds or lives I am not familiar with, including getting a look inside the workings of a restaurant.
The Hundred-Foot Journey is not a deep novel, nor is it one I would label as a light read. Hassan Haji retells his life story, about his beginnings in the family kitchen in India to his eventual training in a haute cuisine French restaurant in Lumiére, just one hundred feet away from his family's own Indian restaurant and then onto strike it on his own in Paris. His family is forced to flee India after a tragic event that destroys everything his family worked. The family's relocation to France is met with some resistance, as is their attempt to establish themselves in the restaurant business there.
There was a distance in the telling of the story, and it made getting to truly know Hassan difficult on some level. However, from what I did learn about him and his life, I liked and admired him. He has a natural talent for cooking and even his chief rival cannot deny it.
Overall, it was an enjoyable book on one hand, but lacking on the other. I really would like to have gotten to know Hassan more. But there was a simplicity to the novel that was quite appealing. I enjoyed reading the behind the scene descriptions of shopping in the market for the freshest foods, the search for the perfect venue, spending time with Hassan's family, and seeing Hassan go from a young boy still trying to find his way to reaching his dreams."
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