The Food of Love by Anthony Capella - Revision history

Sue at 09:44, 28 September 2020

2020-09-28T09:44:19Z

Sue at 09:48, 7 September 2020

2020-09-07T09:48:48Z

Sue at 08:34, 24 August 2020

2020-08-24T08:34:28Z

Sue at 14:05, 16 March 2018

2018-03-16T14:05:50Z

Sue at 14:45, 11 December 2014

2014-12-11T14:45:01Z

Sue at 12:08, 25 November 2012

2012-11-25T12:08:44Z

Sue at 12:08, 25 November 2012

2012-11-25T12:08:07Z

Keith at 10:34, 7 November 2009

2009-11-07T10:34:34Z

Keith: 1 revision

2009-10-24T17:29:57Z

1 revision

Sue at 13:59, 11 July 2008

2008-07-11T13:59:40Z

New review

{{infoboxsort
|title=The Food of Love
|sort=Food of Love
|author=Anthony Capella
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=A reworking of the classic Cyrano de Bergerac story set in Rome. You'll get a real feel for the food the Romans eat and the dialogue is superb. The plot is predictable, naturally, but it's a good read. Your might prefer to borrow from the library rather than buying.
|rating=4
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|format=Paperback
|pages=320
|publisher=Time Warner Paperbacks
|date=February 28, 2005
|isbn=0751535699

|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0751535699</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0751535699</amazonus>
}}
There were quite a few stickers and recommendations on the front of the book. "Richard & Judy's summertime read 2005" said the first, but I'm not impressed by daytime television. "A fantastic story, you can almost taste the wonderful Italian food." said Jamie Oliver, but that didn't impress me either. Before you act on a recommendation you've got to respect the person who makes it. Then there was the bookshop's "3 for 2" sticker. That convinced me I needn't be quite so snobbish about my reading material.

It's another reworking of the classic [[Cyrano De Bergerac]] story: boy meets girl and asks his friend to help him win her heart. All goes well until the friend falls for the girl too. Laura Patterson is studying art history in Rome. Tired of the type of man she's meeting she decides that she'll only date men who can cook. She's spotted by Tommaso Massi who tells her that he's a chef at one of Rome's best restaurants despite the fact that he's a lowly waiter. To win Laura's heart he gets his best friend, Bruno, who is a talented chef, to cook for Laura, but Bruno falls in love with Laura too.

This book will appeal to a lot of people. If you like Italy then you'll be introduced to the real Rome. The story's set in Trastevere, a working-class suburb of Rome, and you'll get to know the bar where the owner is constantly adapting his Gaggia coffee machine with any car parts he can collect, in the hope of making the perfect cup of coffee. You'll visit the food market at Mercato di San Cosimato, where Bruno buys the food for the meals he cooks for Laura. You'll become familiar with the side streets and alleyways. There's a trip to the beach and, later in the book, some marvellously evocative descriptions of the countryside in Le Marche.

If Italian food is your thing, then this book was written for you. You might even find it better than a lot of recipe books. The first part of the book is about Roman food, but it's not the food the tourist gets. It's the food Italians cook for themselves and you hear about it in detail. The story is divided up into "courses" with each one being introduced by an excerpt from Marcella Hazan's The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, which sets the scene for the chapters to follow. The peasant food contrasts sharply with the overworked dishes which Bruno prepares in Rome's top restaurant, but what I found most interesting was the way that the food in the countryside of Northern Italy differed from that of Rome. Beware though if there are some foods that you don't like: I felt rather ill when offal was being described.

If you're a romantic it's a good story. Given the comparison to Cyrano de Bergerac (which the author himself makes) it's a bit predictable in places, but there are some neat twists and turns which I didn't expect. The sticking point for me with most Cyrano reworkings is that I can never see a compelling reason why the friend would help someone else to win the heart of the girl he loves. Capella manages this in such a way that I never thought Bruno could have done anything else. I thought the final part of the book was the weakest, although it did contain some good recipes. The author has a splendid ear for dialogue too. It's frequently crude, but never gratuitously so. I wouldn't recommend that you use some of the phrases should you be visiting Italy!

The characters of Bruno and Tommaso came across well. I thought I would dislike Tommaso, the womanising wide boy, but I warmed to him. The messes he got himself into were of his own making but I still wanted everything to work out for him. Bruno was superb: Capella captures him perfectly. He's reticent, lacks confidence other than when in the kitchen and is totally loyal to his friends. I was less certain about Laura, who seemed two-dimensional and shallow. Other women in the story suffered similarly - there's a sure touch with the men, but not the women.

If you think it might be your sort of book you can download the first two chapters at [http://www.thefoodoflove.com/download_an_extract.htm thefoodoflove.com] - you might be missing a treat if you don't!

{{amazontext|amazon=0751535699}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=5264768}}

{{commenthead}}
{{comment
|name=tracey_rainbow
|verb=said
|comment=

Sue Magee is spot on with her review.

It really is the food that is the main character of this novel the descriptions of the preparation and cooking is fantastic, it is almost as if you are smelling and eating the food without putting on the weight.

}}

@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 If you think it might be your sort of book you can download the first two chapters at [http://www.thefoodoflove.com/download_an_extract.htm thefoodoflove.com] - you might be missing a treat if you don't!
-We also have a review of [[Love and Other Dangerous Chemicals by Anthony Capella]]. You might also enjoy [[Delicious! by Ruth Reichl]].
+We also have a review of [[Love and Other Dangerous Chemicals by Anthony Capella]]. You might also enjoy [[Delicious! by Ruth Reichl]] and [[The Italian Matchmaker by Santa Montefiore]].
 {{amazontext|amazon=0751535699}}

@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 If you think it might be your sort of book you can download the first two chapters at [http://www.thefoodoflove.com/download_an_extract.htm thefoodoflove.com] - you might be missing a treat if you don't!
-You might also enjoy [[Delicious! by Ruth Reichl]].
+We also have a review of [[Love and Other Dangerous Chemicals by Anthony Capella]]. You might also enjoy [[Delicious! by Ruth Reichl]].
 {{amazontext|amazon=0751535699}}

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 |reviewer=Sue Magee
 |genre=General Fiction
-|summary=A reworking of the classic Cyrano de Bergerac story set in Rome. You'll get a real feel for the food the Romans eat and the dialogue is superb. The plot is predictable, naturally, but it's a good read. Your might prefer to borrow from the library rather than buying.
+|summary=A reworking of the classic Cyrano de Bergerac story set in Rome. You'll get a real feel for the food the Romans eat and the dialogue is superb. The plot is predictable, naturally, but it's a good read. You might prefer to borrow from the library rather than buying it.
 |rating=4
 |buy=Maybe
@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 |aznus=0751535699
 }}
-There were quite a few stickers and recommendations on the front of the book. "Richard & Judy's summertime read 2005" said the first, but I'm not impressed by daytime television. "A fantastic story, you can almost taste the wonderful Italian food." said Jamie Oliver, but that didn't impress me either. Before you act on a recommendation you've got to respect the person who makes it. Then there was the bookshop's "3 for 2" sticker. That convinced me I needn't be quite so snobbish about my reading material.
+There were quite a few stickers and recommendations on the front of the book. "Richard & Judy's summertime read 2005," said the first, but I'm not impressed by daytime television. "A fantastic story, you can almost taste the wonderful Italian food," said Jamie Oliver, but that didn't impress me either. Before you act on a recommendation you've got to respect the person who makes it. Then there was the bookshop's "3 for 2" sticker. That convinced me I needn't be quite so snobbish about my reading material.
 It's another reworking of the classic Cyrano De Bergerac story: boy meets girl and asks his friend to help him win her heart. All goes well until the friend falls for the girl too. Laura Patterson is studying art history in Rome. Tired of the type of man she's meeting she decides that she'll only date men who can cook. She's spotted by Tommaso Massi who tells her that he's a chef at one of Rome's best restaurants despite the fact that he's a lowly waiter. To win Laura's heart he gets his best friend, Bruno, who is a talented chef, to cook for Laura, but Bruno falls in love with Laura too.
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 If Italian food is your thing, then this book was written for you. You might even find it better than a lot of recipe books. The first part of the book is about Roman food, but it's not the food the tourist gets. It's the food Italians cook for themselves and you hear about it in detail. The story is divided up into "courses" with each one being introduced by an excerpt from Marcella Hazan's The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, which sets the scene for the chapters to follow. The peasant food contrasts sharply with the overworked dishes which Bruno prepares in Rome's top restaurant, but what I found most interesting was the way that the food in the countryside of Northern Italy differed from that of Rome. Beware though if there are some foods that you don't like: I felt rather ill when offal was being described.
-If you're a romantic it's a good story. Given the comparison to Cyrano de Bergerac (which the author himself makes) it's a bit predictable in places, but there are some neat twists and turns which I didn't expect. The sticking point for me with most Cyrano reworkings is that I can never see a compelling reason why the friend would help someone else to win the heart of the girl he loves. Capella manages this in such a way that I never thought Bruno could have done anything else. I thought the final part of the book was the weakest, although it did contain some good recipes. The author has a splendid ear for dialogue too. It's frequently crude, but never gratuitously so. I wouldn't recommend that you use some of the phrases should you be visiting Italy!
+If you're a romantic it's a good story. Given the comparison to Cyrano de Bergerac (which the author himself makes), it's a bit predictable in places, but there are some neat twists and turns which I didn't expect. The sticking point for me with most Cyrano reworkings is that I can never see a compelling reason why the friend would help someone else to win the heart of the girl he loves. Capella manages this in such a way that I never thought Bruno could have done anything else. I thought the final part of the book was the weakest, although it did contain some good recipes. The author has a splendid ear for dialogue too. It's frequently crude, but never gratuitously so. I wouldn't recommend that you use some of the phrases should you be visiting Italy!
 The characters of Bruno and Tommaso came across well. I thought I would dislike Tommaso, the womanising wide boy, but I warmed to him. The messes he got himself into were of his own making but I still wanted everything to work out for him. Bruno was superb: Capella captures him perfectly. He's reticent, lacks confidence other than when in the kitchen and is totally loyal to his friends. I was less certain about Laura, who seemed two-dimensional and shallow. Other women in the story suffered similarly - there's a sure touch with the men, but not the women.
 If you think it might be your sort of book you can download the first two chapters at [http://www.thefoodoflove.com/download_an_extract.htm thefoodoflove.com] - you might be missing a treat if you don't!
 {{amazontext|amazon=0751535699}}

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{infoboxsort
+{{infobox1
 |title=The Food of Love
 |sort=Food of Love
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 |date=February 2005
 |isbn=0751535699
-|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0751535699</amazonuk>
+|cover=0751535699
-|amazonus=<amazonus>0751535699</amazonus>
+|aznuk=0751535699
 }}
 There were quite a few stickers and recommendations on the front of the book. "Richard & Judy's summertime read 2005" said the first, but I'm not impressed by daytime television. "A fantastic story, you can almost taste the wonderful Italian food." said Jamie Oliver, but that didn't impress me either. Before you act on a recommendation you've got to respect the person who makes it. Then there was the bookshop's "3 for 2" sticker. That convinced me I needn't be quite so snobbish about my reading material.

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 |buy=Maybe
 |borrow=Yes
 |pages=320
 |publisher=Time Warner Paperbacks
@@ Line 31: / Line 30: @@
 If you think it might be your sort of book you can download the first two chapters at [http://www.thefoodoflove.com/download_an_extract.htm thefoodoflove.com] - you might be missing a treat if you don't!
-{{amazontext|amazon=0751535699}}  {{waterstonestext|waterstones=5264768}}
+{{amazontext|amazon=0751535699}}
 {{commenthead}}
@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
 |name=tracey_rainbow
 |verb=said
-|comment=
+|comment=Sue Magee is spot on with her review.
 It really is the food that is the main character of this novel the descriptions of the preparation and cooking is fantastic, it is almost as if you are smelling and eating the food without putting on the weight.
 }}

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 There were quite a few stickers and recommendations on the front of the book. "Richard & Judy's summertime read 2005" said the first, but I'm not impressed by daytime television. "A fantastic story, you can almost taste the wonderful Italian food." said Jamie Oliver, but that didn't impress me either. Before you act on a recommendation you've got to respect the person who makes it. Then there was the bookshop's "3 for 2" sticker. That convinced me I needn't be quite so snobbish about my reading material.
-It's another reworking of the classic [[Cyrano De Bergerac]] story: boy meets girl and asks his friend to help him win her heart. All goes well until the friend falls for the girl too. Laura Patterson is studying art history in Rome. Tired of the type of man she's meeting she decides that she'll only date men who can cook. She's spotted by Tommaso Massi who tells her that he's a chef at one of Rome's best restaurants despite the fact that he's a lowly waiter. To win Laura's heart he gets his best friend, Bruno, who is a talented chef, to cook for Laura, but Bruno falls in love with Laura too.
+It's another reworking of the classic Cyrano De Bergerac story: boy meets girl and asks his friend to help him win her heart. All goes well until the friend falls for the girl too. Laura Patterson is studying art history in Rome. Tired of the type of man she's meeting she decides that she'll only date men who can cook. She's spotted by Tommaso Massi who tells her that he's a chef at one of Rome's best restaurants despite the fact that he's a lowly waiter. To win Laura's heart he gets his best friend, Bruno, who is a talented chef, to cook for Laura, but Bruno falls in love with Laura too.
 This book will appeal to a lot of people. If you like Italy then you'll be introduced to the real Rome. The story's set in Trastevere, a working-class suburb of Rome, and you'll get to know the bar where the owner is constantly adapting his Gaggia coffee machine with any car parts he can collect, in the hope of making the perfect cup of coffee. You'll visit the food market at Mercato di San Cosimato, where Bruno buys the food for the meals he cooks for Laura. You'll become familiar with the side streets and alleyways. There's a trip to the beach and, later in the book, some marvellously evocative descriptions of the countryside in Le Marche.

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