Description
Book Synopsis''A tremendous novel that combines powerfully moving moments with hilarious satire'' Daily Mail
''Eva Thorvald is the new Olive Kitteridge'' Elisabeth Egan
''Kitchens of the Great Midwest is terrific'' Jane Smiley, Guardian
Have you met Eva Thorvald?
To her father, a chef, she''s a pint-sized recipe tester and the love of his life. To the chilli chowdown contestants of Cook County, Illinois, she''s a fire-eating demon. To the fashionable foodie goddess of supper clubs, she''s a wanton threat. She''s an enigma, a secret ingredient that no one can figure out. Someday, Eva will surprise everyone.
One by one, they tell their story; together, they tell Eva''s. Joyful, quirky and heartwarming, this is a novel about the family you lose, the friends you make and the chance connections that make a life.
On the day before her eleventh birthday, she''s cultivating chilli peppers in her wardrobe like a pro. Abandoned by her
Trade Review
An oven-warm yet bittersweet collection of character studies circling the story of Eva Thorvald . . . Hilariously precise in its cultural geography . . . But in spite of its locavorous detail, the novel's plot is driven by a universal truth: that food brings people together * Independent on Sunday *
This offbeat debut features many satisfying ingredients, including triumph over adversity, recipes and a warm Midwestern backdrop * Mail on Sunday *
Stradal creates something quirky, affecting and delicious * Sunday Mirror *
Fun and original * Woman and Home *
Stradal's delicious debut reveals Eva's sweet, sad, funny self in a series of funny vignettes * Psychologies *
A gorgeous feast that feeds both the senses and the soul * Simple Things *
A tender coming-of-age story with a mix of finely rendered pathos and humour . . . Ultimately, Kitchens reveals the strong interplay among food, family and our most cherished memories . . . Stradal suggests that love - or the absence of love - is the most powerful condition of all * Washington Post *
Time flew by when we sat down with Kitchens of the Great Midwest, a charming and unusual first novel . . . We were blown away by Stradal's flair for depicting messy emotions and mixed-up families, and delighted by his insightful and funny reflections on foodie culture and class dynamics * iBooks, Book of the Month *
A warm and enjoyable read about life, love, food, family . . . and chilli eating contests * Stylist, book of the month *
This wise and witty tale of immigrant assimilation wholeheartedly embraces a passion for food . . . Laugh-out-loud funny . . . Stradal is so good at evoking the inner lives of his characters, male and female, young and old . . . Stradal has a sharp eye for the evolution of culture and for landscape; his tone is light, always a little askew . . . Midwesterners never forget what things cost, and Kitchens of the Great Midwest is a terrific reminder of what can be wrested from suffering and struggle - not only success, but also considerable irony, a fair amount of wisdom and a decent meal -- Jane Smiley * Guardian *
This lovely, poignant, hilarious book is the best thing I have read this year. Everything about it is original and wonderful . . . The writing is whipcrack smart and it's both powerfully moving and brilliantly satirical, especially about kitchen snobbery. Read it, read it! -- Wendy Holden * Daily Mail *
Despite a life pockmarked by poverty and other adversities, Eva has an equally outsize heart. A warring mass of desires, talents and imperfections, she's an attractively flawed, completely likable demigoddess . . . Kitchens of the Great Midwest is not only Eva's story but also a gastronomic portrait of a region . . . It's an impressive feat of narrative jujitsu . . . This colorful, character-driven story . . . keeps readers turning the pages too fast to realize just how ingenious they are * New York Times *
Eva Thorvald is the new Olive Kitteridge * Elisabeth Egan, author of A Window Opens *
Teenagers and foodies (teenage foodies especially), will love this book. It's about Eva, a bullied girl who triumphs over her adversaries to become a legendary chef. This is great in itself, but there's so much more to it than that . . . The story-within-a-story action ranges all over the U.S. and is a celebration of great American food as well as the great American underdog. A tremendous novel that combines powerfully moving moments with hilarious satire, especially about kitchen snobbery -- Wendy Holden * Daily Mail *
